5 tips for CO₂ reduction for companies

Why is CO₂ reduction important?

In Germany alone, carbon dioxide accounts for 87.1 percent of the greenhouse gases released.¹ This makes carbon dioxide one of the most significant greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. 

By effectively tackling CO₂ reduction, companies can actively help to mitigate the most devastating effects of climate change and shape a sustainable future. 

Below we provide you with the five best measures for effective CO₂ reduction.
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1. use of renewable energies

Switching to renewable energy sources such as solar or wind energy not only reduces CO₂ emissions, but can also lead to cost savings in the long term. A complete switch to renewable energy can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 100 percent. It is also possible to install your own solar panels on the office building, making your company completely independent of the energy supply.

2. sustainable procurement

Purchasing energy-efficient office equipment such as computers or printers can significantly reduce energy consumption. Here, the EU energy label or the Blue Angel help with orientation.² Buying recycled production materials (e.g., remnants) or equipment also saves CO₂ emissions. For example, a monitor purchased second-hand saves around 44 kg of CO₂ emissions, while a laptop saves around 113.5 kg of CO₂.³ Added to this are the raw materials saved. One provider, for example, is Circulee.

3. cloud-based work

In-house servers and data centers require tons of hardware, large systems with power supply and cooling to keep companies up and running. The use of a cloud counteracts this, as the applications consume less infrastructure and physical space as well as energy per user. In addition, large providers with their sustainable resources are best placed to lead the way to a climate-neutral cloud. According to a study, companies worldwide could save almost 60 million tons of CO₂ per year if they migrated to the public cloud. ⁴

4. check software

How sustainable are the programs and software that my company uses? On the websites of some providers, you will find publicly available information on their commitment to sustainability, while others must be contacted personally. Examples of software solutions that are committed include big players such as Google and Meta, which rely on renewable energy, highly efficient data centers and CO₂ neutrality. The design platform Canva is also CO₂-neutral certified and the payment service provider Stripe invests in projects that save CO₂.

5. shift to greener financial service providers

Choosing a bank with green investments and ethical investment criteria can contribute to CO₂ reduction. By choosing a bank that takes environmental and social standards into account, the company automatically invests in projects for ecological sustainability, renewable energies and environmentally friendly technologies - which promotes the transition to a low-carbon economy. Examples include GLS and Triodos Bank.

‍Benefits of CO₂ reduction for companies

Reducing CO₂ emissions not only benefits the environment, but also the companies themselves. According to a study, consumers would pay more for products whose companies reduce internal emissions instead of offsetting them.⁵ At the same time, costs are saved internally, for example through lower energy consumption and optimized processes. 

But the focus is not just on CO₂ reduction. In general, 89% of consumers want companies to operate in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way in the future.⁶ This also applies to employees, who want their employer to be sustainable.⁷ The same applies to job applicants, 83% of whom consider an employer's environmental awareness to be just as important or even more important than the company's success.⁸ The fact that 98% of companies with sustainability standards benefit from sales and marketing-related advantages⁹ and thus set themselves apart from the competition shows that it has a real impact on the company's success.

Establish sustainability strategy and reap benefits

With the Planted software solution, we provide your company with holistic support in the implementation of a comprehensive sustainability strategy and are on hand to advise you every step of the way:

• Double materiality analysis
• TÜV-certified CO₂ balancing
• Efficient measures for CO₂ reduction
• Set up an automated CSRD report
• Compensation for unavoidable emissions
• Planting trees in Germany

The entire commitment is mapped on our ESG platform, which allows you to easily manage your CO₂ emissions and individually map your reduction path. Would you like to get to know our platform without obligation? Book a free demo.

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Sources:

¹ The greenhouse gases | Federal Environment Agency‍

² Energy-efficient products | Federal Environment Agency‍

³ Committed to sustainability (kleinanzeigen.de)‍

⁴ Accenture study shows: Cloud migrations can reduce almost 60 million tons of CO₂ emissions per year | Accenture GmbH, 12.10.2020 (ots.at)‍

⁵ Consumers against climate change: Avoid CO₂ emissions instead of offsetting them | MDR.DE‍

⁶ Trend study: 89 percent of Germans want companies to be more sustainable - business-on.de‍

⁷ This is how important sustainability is for employers - Stepstone - Fill vacancies with Stepstone‍

⁸ Whitepaper-Jobfactor-Climate.pdf (koenigsteiner.com)‍

⁹ Summary - Business Benefits of Standards Report.pdf (isealalliance.org)

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