Good for the climate - project in Africa supported

Since 2018, we have been intensively concerned with the effects of our actions on the environment and the climate - the basic framework for this is the EMAS environmental management system. In 2022, we have set ourselves the goal of going one step further. Therefore, we have assessed our carbon footprint according to the internationally recognized standard Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) calculated. This forms the basis for deriving specific measures to reduce our CO2 emissions and compensate for CO2 emissions already emitted in order to achieve climate neutrality. We have gone through the following steps for this:

Step 1: Determination of the CO2 footprint

The so-called CO2 footprint shows how many emissions (CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, etc.) a company causes and in which areas they occur. A comprehensive data collection (01-12/2021) is necessary for this:

• Heat and power consumption
• Water consumption
• Refrigerant consumption
• Waste management
• Fuel consumption through employee mobility, company vehicle fleet and business travel (flights, rail, cars)
• Procurement of office supplies (paper, printed matter, electronic equipment)

The calculation of CO2 emissions subsequently takes into account not only the directly caused emissions (Scope 1), but also the emissions in the upstream and downstream value chain (Scope 2 and 3).

In total, G&H Rothschenk generated 297 tons of CO2eq at company level in 2021. This corresponds to approx. 922,366 km by car or 2,281 economy flights from Munich to Berlin.

Step 2: Avoid and reduce CO2 emissions

In recent years, we have already implemented measures to reduce our CO2 footprint:

• Purchase of 100% green electricity from hydropower
• Purchase of 100 % district heating from renewable raw materials
• Conversion of forklift fleets to 100 % e-forklifts
• Leasing offer of electric and hybrid cars as well as job bikes for our employees
• Use of 100% recycled paper

Other measures that we will implement at our site by 2026 include:

• Construction of a logistics hall according to the energy efficiency standard 40 (KfW
• Conversion of the lighting in all production halls and warehouses to 100 % LED
• Expansion of charging infrastructure for e-cars and pedelecs on the company premises
• Installation of an in-house photovoltaic system

Step 3: Compensation of CO2 emissions caused via climate protection project

It is impossible to operate completely climate-neutral. In order to compensate for the CO2 emissions that we have not yet been able to avoid or sufficiently reduce, we have purchased so-called climate protection certificates, which support climate protection projects according to internationally recognized standards. We have chosen a project in Mozambique for the generation of clean drinking water. This project is certified according to the Gold Standard (GS VER), currently the strictest standard. You can find more information about the project here: www.climatepartner.com/ tracking/project/20055-2209-1001