“This success shows that economic growth and sustainability are not a contradiction,” says BayWa Chief Executive Officer Klaus Josef Lutz. “On the contrary, BayWa achieved its best result in 2020 and has also come one giant step closer to its long-term climate target of being climate neutral by 2030.”
With green energy already accounting for just under 75% of the electricity consumed Group-wide in 2019, the further expansion of own solar energy systems and the transition to tariffs for green electricity played a key role in achieving the envisaged increase to 100%. At locations where neither in-house generation nor the sourcing of green electricity is possible, BayWa has obtained guarantees of origin, which ensure that the electricity from conventional energy carriers that is used by BayWa is offset by renewable energies. In some cases, it was possible to use guarantees of origin from plants and systems operated by the BayWa subsidiary BayWa r.e. renewable energy GmbH (BayWa r.e.).
See also: BayWa r.e. expands in Poland
“In the years ahead, we intend to continue constantly reducing our energy consumption and the need for guarantees of origin,” says Hendrik Marx, BayWa Corporate Sustainability. “Our long-term goal is to continuously expand our sourcing of electricity from our own renewable energy systems.”
The achieved target is part of a Group-wide, integrated climate strategy with five climate objectives that have been defined for the period between 2017 and 2030. In 2019, the company joined the international RE100 initiative. As one of 290 companies currently part of the initiative, BayWa has therefore officially committed itself to covering 100% of its electricity needs from renewable energies. In its climate rating, the international non-profit organisation Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) gave BayWa a score of B for 2020, placing the company above the average for Europe and the industry in terms of its commitment to climate protection. (mfo)
