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We asked the sustainability consulting company Fokus Zukunft to calculate our corporate carbon footprint. They used the official GHGP guidelines to calculate our emissions balance.

A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases (measured in CO₂ equivalents) that are directly or indirectly generated by a person, company, organisation or product. It includes all the emissions generated by raw materials, production, transport, trade, usage, recycling and disposal. Calculating our carbon footprint helps us assess and compare our impact on the climate. This in turn enables us to pinpoint and implement important and effective steps to reduce our impact. A corporate carbon footprint refers to the overall carbon footprint of a company, while a product carbon footprint refers to the amount of CO₂ generated by a single product.

Through its SBTi commitment, Estyria Naturprodukte GmbH is pledging to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in line with scientific evidence. In concrete terms, this means that we will reduce our direct emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030 and 2050, and will also analyse and reduce emissions across the entire value chain (Scope 3). The aim is to contribute to limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. With our successful acceptance into the SBTi, we are among the first three food companies in Austria to commit to this goal and to have set specific short-term climate targets.

According to the “Clean Development Mechanism” described in the Kyoto Protocol, unavoidable greenhouse gases that are emitted in one part of the world can be offset by funding climate protection projects in other parts of the world. This is done by buying carbon credits for listed climate protection projects in six different project sectors (biomass, cooking stoves, solar energy, reforestation, hydropower and wind energy). Each carbon credit represents one tonne of CO₂ that is offset by the project in question. Countless climate protection projects have been initiated round the world, most of which focus on renewable energy. Those who initiate the projects are awarded carbon credits which they can then trade in the form of climate protection certificates. Each project is assigned a certain number of credits based on the amount of emissions they save compared to those generated by a coal-fired power station.

Various emission factors (kilowatts of electricity, litres of petrol etc.) are used to ascertain how much energy a company uses (e.g. electricity, fuel). Most of these emission factors come from DEFRA (Germany’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), while a few are taken from the GEMIS database (Global Emissions Model Integrated Systems, IINAS) and the Ecoinvent database. All are updated on a regular basis.

As soon as you buy a carbon credit, it is cancelled. This is important because unless the credits are cancelled, you can’t market a company or product as carbon-neutral. And that’s because you could otherwise theoretically continue trading with the carbon credit – which would completely defeat the object of reducing additional emissions.

Those who initiate climate protection projects (mostly in the field of renewable energy) are awarded carbon credits which they can then trade in the form of climate protection certificates. The number of credits they’re awarded is based on the amount of renewable energy they generate compared to the equivalent amount of emissions that would have been generated by a coal-fired power station.

We work with Fokus Zukunft to support biomass, wind energy and hydropower projects in India. You’ll find detailed project descriptions in our article about Estyria’s certified climate protection projects.

Yes. The climate protection projects we support are all accredited, approved and monitored to one of three internationally recognised standards – VCS (Verified Carbon Standard), UN CER (United Nations Certified Emission Reduction) or WWF’s Gold Standard. The project results (actual carbon savings) are validated by an independent body such as TÜV (Technical Inspection Association).

Climate change is a global crisis. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where in the world the CO₂ emissions are generated or reduced – what counts is the sum total of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The internationally binding Kyoto Protocol says climate protection projects should be located in places where they can make a big impact in terms of avoiding or absorbing greenhouse gases. As a result, most projects of this nature are based in emerging/developing countries where new technology can potentially reduce emissions by a high amount. In addition, conditions in these countries are often far more favourable for renewable energy sources (solar, wind, water, biomass) than is the case in industrialised European countries – where, incidentally, there are very few approved and certified carbon offset projects.