BayWa publishes 6th Sustainability Report
22.04.2020
BayWa AG’s climate strategy is making a difference. As the Group explains in its sustainability report for 2019, which was published today, it succeeded in reducing relative energy consumption by roughly 22% last year, thereby largely making its company growth emissions-neutral. In 2019, the Group also moved one step closer to its goal of climate-neutral operations by 2030 by covering almost three-quarters of its electricity needs with renewable energies. That figure is set to rise to 100% by the end of 2020.
“Investors believe that BayWa’s business model is very promising, especially in the field of renewable energies, as the successful placement of our first green bond clearly demonstrates,” says Klaus Josef Lutz, Chief Executive Officer of BayWa AG. The issue proceeds of €500 million are being used to finance the construction and expansion of wind and solar power plants worldwide. Through its core business, its subsidiary BayWa r.e. therefore contributes not only to achieving climate targets within the Group, but also to the success of the energy transition in Germany and other countries, he adds. “At the same time, we are also noticing an increase in sustainability-related demands, even in other business divisions. That’s why our commitment towards ourselves and our customers is crystal clear: sustainability is evolving into the driving force behind business at the BayWa Group,” Klaus Josef Lutz explains.
“As a partner to farmers, one of the focal points of our work is finding ways to make agriculture more resilient to climate change,” says Jessica Paffen, Head of Corporate Sustainability at BayWa. “To this end, we have worked across divisions to come up with a variety of approaches that we now plan to define in greater detail. We will also be looking at the extent to which they can be rolled out internationally.” Furthermore, sustainable procurement will play an even stronger role in 2020. Jessica Paffen: “BayWa works with over 77,000 suppliers and procured commodities, goods and services worth €13 billion from them last year. Our partners’ environmental and social standards therefore have a material influence on our purchasing behaviour – and on our sustainability efforts.”
BayWa has published a sustainability report annually since 2014. The report documents the impact BayWa’s business has on economic, environmental and social sustainability aspects. It also defines targets and measures that BayWa uses to manage its activities in this area. The Group’s commitment provides specific examples. For instance, the BayWa subsidiary Cefetra has been dedicated to promoting sustainable soya cultivation in South America for many years now, thereby actively helping to protect the rainforest. agromed Austria GmbH, an affiliated company of the BayWa subsidiary RWA, is dedicated to sustainable animal feed based on wood. The natural ingredient contained in the animal feed, lignocellulose, is primarily harvested in Germany from sustainably managed forests. And in New Zealand, the country’s first biogas plant that produces green electricity from organic waste is currently under construction. To support the project, the BayWa subsidiary T&G Global is providing its organic production waste and plans to use the energy generated to operate its greenhouses.
BayWa’s sustainability report was prepared in accordance with the Core option of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) international reporting standards and meets the requirements of the German CSR-Richtlinie-Umsetzungsgesetz (CSR Directive Implementation Act – CSR-RUG).