Gütersloh, 05/27/2025

Progress On Climate Protection At Bertelsmann

An overview of key facts and figures on climate and the environment from the Sustainability Report 2024.

The Group Sustainability Statement was published on March 31 as part of Bertelsmann’s Annual Report. On about 25 pages of the 88-page sustainability report, various climate- and environment-related topics are reported on for the first time in accordance with the new European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The report shows how far Bertelsmann has come towards achieving its climate target, which milestones were reached in 2024, and what challenges still lie ahead. We present key facts and figures on climate and the environment as compiled by experts from Bertelsmann’s Corporate Responsibility department. Tomorrow, we invite you to read about Bertelsmann’s progress in occupational health and safety management – information that can likewise be found in the new Group Sustainability Statement.

Application of new accounting methods

For the year 2024, Bertelsmann reports greenhouse gas emissions of 2.34 million tons of CO2 equivalents (CO2e). CO2e is a measure used to weight the emissions of different greenhouse gases according to their impact on the climate. This total is almost 580,000 tons higher than the figure reported in the previous year. The increase results in particular from the inclusion of new, “Scope 3” emission categories, which include emissions from investment activities, from external IT services, and from purchased consulting, legal, and auditing services.

Excluding the new emission categories recorded for the first time, Bertelsmann’s emissions dipped slightly by just under one percent compared to 2023. The decline is due to business disposals, such as the sale of Majorel, declining revenues in the printing sector and measures to reduce CO2 emissions, including expanded solar installations, optimized office space, and an increase in the number of certified sustainable TV productions. In contrast, at Penguin Random House business growth and an improvement in the quality of the data collected in the area of paper purchasing and transportation led to higher reported emissions.

Decline in CO2 emissions

In 2024, Bertelsmann came another step closer to its goal of reducing the CO2e emissions reported in 2018 by 50 percent. The reduction so far amounts to 30 percent, with 1.76 million tons of CO2e being emitted compared to the emissions categories of 2.5 million tons of CO2e reported in the base year 2018.

For the first time, Penguin Random House’s businesses are the largest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions within the Group, followed by Bertelsmann Marketing Services and RTL Group. Arvato and Bertelsmann Investments follow at a slight distance, while the other divisions play a subordinate role in terms of greenhouse gas emissions from a Group perspective.

Product-related emissions, i.e. emissions associated with the production and transportation of books at Penguin Random House or the production of video content, accounted for by far the largest share of Bertelsmann’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2024: 62 percent. Indirect emissions in the upstream and downstream value chain (Scope 3), such as purchased printing paper, purchased printing services, or transportation, are the largest influencing factors.

Site-related emissions, on the other hand, account for just nine percent of Bertelsmann’s total emissions. This low figure is partly due to the fact that 97 percent of the electricity used by the Group is “green”. In addition, the Group was able to increase its own generation of renewable electricity through new photovoltaic systems at other Bertelsmann locations.

Employee-related emissions such as business travel, commuting, and fuel consumption by company cars account for seven percent of emissions. While emissions from business travel have increased, emissions from employee commuting have almost halved compared to the previous year. This latter development is mainly due to the sale of Majorel.

“Other” emissions include various indirect emissions from administrative expenses as well as issues from minority interests and investment funds recognized for the first time.

Data from more than 400 Bertelsmann locations and 246 fully consolidated companies worldwide, collected via Bertelsmann’s environmental platform “green.screen,” was used to calculate the carbon footprint. In addition to reporting on greenhouse gas emissions, the Sustainability Report covers other environment-related topics such as climate risks, energy consumption and resources used.

Combined Group Sustainability Statement 2024