Climate strategy

BayWa has reached a milestone in its climate strategy: since 2020, 100% of the Group’s own electricity needs have been covered with renewable energies. To achieve that goal, BayWa expanded its own generation with renewable energies and switched to green electricity tariffs. For locations that still use non-green electricity, BayWa has acquired guarantees of origin (GOs) that meet the RE100 initiative’s criteria where feasible in technical terms.

The Scope 3 emissions calculations were expanded to five categories in 2020 in order to create a data basis for future actions in this area. Since Scope 3 emissions along the supply chain have a significant impact on the climate, BayWa will continue to work on expanding its Scope 3 measures in the future. In 2020, the following indicators were reported: Indirect emissions from purchased goods and services (3.1), fuel and energy-related emissions (3.3), upstream transport and distribution (3.4), business travel (3.6) and employee commuting (3.7).

In 2020, BayWa AG achieved a climate rating of B in the ranking of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) - and was thus able to improve by one score compared to the previous year (2019: C). BayWa achieved again a B in the CDP (climate) rating for 2021. With the CDP rating B, BayWa AG is above both the European and the industry average. This success can be attributed, among other things, to the more substantiated disclosure of climate-related risks and opportunities, a closer link between climate and corporate strategy, and additional information on greenhouse gas emissions that arise along the value chain (Scope 3).

“BayWa r.e has always actively contributed to climate protection with its renewable energies business. We are proud to say that, in the reporting year 2018, our business operations are also 100 per cent carbon-neutral for the first time,” says Matthias Taft, CEO of BayWa r.e. .

BayWa r.e. and HeidelbergCement, one of the world's leading building materials companies, have signed a power purchase agreement with a term of 10 years for the "Witnica" solar park in Poland. This is the largest and also the first subsidy-free solar park in Poland whose electricity is marketed through a long-term power purchase agreement. BayWa r.e. has set itself the goal of realizing solar and wind projects with an installed capacity of more than 1 gigawatt in Poland in the next 5 years.

Operations at the German locations of BayWa AG’s Global Produce business unit have been carbon-neutral since 2018. The consumption of electricity, gas and heating oil was systematically reduced, while at the same time investments were made in energy production from renewable sources. Global Produce offsets the remaining emissions by the purchase of high-quality carbon credits.
Christiane Bell, head of the Global Produce business unit at BayWa, has played a seminal role in advancing the cause of carbon neutrality.

BayWa subsidiary Cefetra B.V. switches to fossil-free diesel within the Netherlands and its carbon footprint is reduced by up to 90 percent