09/27/2017

Bertelsmann Publishes Carbon Footprint 2016

Bertelsmann's new environmental report documents improvement in key environmental indicators

In its Carbon Carbon Footprint 2016  , published today, Bertelsmann provides a transparent account of the environmental impact of its business activities for the sixth time since 2008. The Carbon Footprint is part of Bertelsmann's corporate responsibility reporting, and provides information on the development of relevant environmental indicators and climate emissions at Bertelsmann and its divisions.

This year, a total of 380 companies at almost 400 locations across all divisions participated in the annual collection of environmental data at Bertelsmann. Numerous committed colleagues supported the recording of key figures on energy and paper consumption, water and waste. The worldwide environmental data collection is coordinated by the "be green" experts at the divisions. At Group level, the environmental data from the companies and sites are subsequently combined and the sum of all greenhouse gas emissions is determined. "I would like to thank all our colleagues who were involved in compiling the environmental data. The key indicators are not only incorporated into our latest carbon footprint, but beyond this are also used as a basis for improvement measures and to respond to customer inquiries and surveys for sustainability ratings," says Mark Fabisch, Senior Director in the Corporate Responsibility & Diversity Management department, and be green Coordinator at Bertelsmann.

Slight decline in CO₂eq

According to the latest figures for 2016, Bertelsmann’s Carbon Footprint was approximately 572,300 tons of CO2 equivalents (CO2eq) – CO2eq is a measure of the emission of different greenhouse gases, weighted according to their impact on the climate. This corresponds to a slight decline of 5,300 tons, or one percent, compared to the previous year. The Bertelsmann Printing Group and Arvato have by far the largest shares of the Bertelsmann Carbon Footprint with just under 60 and 20 percent, respectively.

About half of the emissions are produced directly at Bertelsmann companies through the generation of heat and electricity and through the fuel consumed by company cars. The other half of the emissions are produced indirectly by utility companies or landlords, for the generation of electricity and district heating. While Group-wide power consumption fell slightly by one percent year-on-year to 827,600 megawatt hours (MWh) in 2016, heating consumption in the same period rose by one percent to 711,300 MWh. Energy consumption from fuels also increased slightly to 69,800 MWh. Compared with the previous year, total energy consumption remained virtually unchanged at 1.61 million MWh. The Group’s total energy consumption is approximately equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 1.6 million people.

Increase in share of paper from sustainable forestry and recycling

At 1.58 million tons of CO2 equivalents, the other indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the upstream stages in the value chain recorded in the Carbon Footprint significantly exceed the emissions from electricity, heat and fuels. Apart from the Bertelsmann Printing Group with 60 percent, the biggest contributor to "other indirect emissions" are Penguin Random House's publishing businesses (20%) and Gruner + Jahr (12%). At these three divisions, emissions from the production of purchased paper are especially heavy contributors.

In Bertelsmann's traditional printing and publishing businesses, paper will remain the most important natural resource for the foreseeable future. So in the spirit of protecting the environment and climate, it is all the more important that the paper used comes from sustainable forestry or recycling. In 2016, the proportion of paper Bertelsmann companies purchased from sustainable sources rose significantly from 74 percent to 86 percent. Increased transparency about existing certifications in paper sourcing, and a change in customers’ ordering habits and the responsible buyers contributed to this. Meanwhile, overall paper consumption was down slightly year-on-year by 10,000 tons (minus one percent), to 1.85 million tons. So Bertelsmann’s annual paper consumption corresponds to a column of trucks loaded with rolls of paper that stretches more than 760 kilometers – roughly the distance from Hamburg to Munich.

Here is an overview of facts about the environmental indicators 2016:

• The share of certified sustainable paper significantly increased by twelve percentage points year-on-year
• In 2016, Bertelsmann consumed an average of 108.6 MWh of energy per one million euros of revenues generate, which is roughly the same amount as in the previous year
• Water extraction increased by 2 percent year-on-year
• The Bertelsmann Carbon Footprint was slightly reduced by one percent in 2016
• 95 percent of the recorded waste is recyclable

The Group-wide environmental targets agreed in July 2017 by the Bertelsmann Corporate Responsibility Council, chaired by Group CHRO Immanuel Hermreck, will be published for the first time in the 2016 Carbon Footprint.

The Bertelsmann Carbon Footprint 2017 is available for download here  .

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