Environment & Climate
By way of its actions, BayWa has an influence on nature and the environment through its Energy, Agriculture and Building Materials Segments in its role as a globally operating group.
The Group wants to reduce negative impacts as far as possible and help to protect the basis for life, including with its climate strategy and forward-looking management of the environment. One place where BayWa has significant leverage for reducing emissions is in transport and logistics. In addition to climate and energy, it has also defined water, ecosystems and biodiversity as key topics in its new sustainability strategy.
Climate strategy
BayWa AG has launched a Group-wide climate strategy and has set itself ambitious goals.
Further activities
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Organic waste for climate-friendly tomato production
In cooperation with Ecogas, a local energy company, a bioenergy plant is being built on the site of subsidiary T&G Fresh in New Zealand to convert food waste into energy. Earthworks are well underway to commission the first commercial-scale plant of its kind in New Zealand in 2022. It will then produce the equivalent of energy for 2,500 households in the region, produce biofertilizer for nearly 2,000 hectares of farmland, provide CO2 for crops and heat for T&G Fresh's tomato greenhouses.
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CO2 certificates and climate neutrality
BayWa aims to be climate neutral in its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030. BayWa has set itself this goal as part of its climate strategy and is thus making its contribution in the fight against climate change. Our motto for this is "avoid, reduce, then compensate". This means that we first try to completely avoid or at least reduce operational emissions by implementing new technologies for example, before offsetting the remaining proportion of residual emissions with high-quality climate protection certificates. The climate protection certificates originate from climate protection projects that have been evaluated and selected on the basis of a group-wide guideline. Criteria such as project type, project standard, host country and number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) supported are weighted to select only those projects that make an effective contribution to climate protection.
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BayWa as research partner: protection for apples, pears & co.
The challenges for fruit growers have increased dramatically: Weather extremes and longer growing seasons make more protection of plants necessary, while at the same time changing conditions in pest control require new methods. In response, the Kompetenzzentrum Obstbau Bodensee has been testing various mechanical crop protection measures since April 2018 in a research project supported by BayWa. The main aim is to find out how to further reduce the use of crop protection products while at the same time producing good yields and high-quality fruit.
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The Pöchlarn eco-solar biotope project combines technology and nature conservation.
It allows energy generation and biodiversity in a single space.The Pöchlarn eco-solar biotope is divided into two areas: The majority of the area contains solar panels oriented southwards and with a fixed tilt angle. The soil below these has been planted with a biodiverse seed mixture and the entire facility is bordered with a biodiversity hedge to create habitat for insects, birds and butterflies. Rainwater can run between the PV modules and soil sealing is avoided. This bio diversity area will be evaluated by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna over the course of the next few years.
Three different models of agri-photovoltaics are being tested on the rest of the area: the “Travelling Fruit” with pivotable panels for optimum cultivation with tractors, “Southern Harvest” for use with combine harvesters and “Power Culture” for fruit trees and bushes. The panels protect the cultures from weather influences such as sunlight or heavy rain.