Baumit Wopfing: 100% green electricity and 25,000 tons of CO2 saved!

Baumit Wopfing: 100% green electricity and 25,000 tons of CO2 saved!

Wopfing, Österreich - Baumit GmbH has taken a significant step towards sustainability by switching completely to 100 % green current in 2024 at the Woffing location. The entire electricity requirement is covered with "EAA Aqua", the certified green electricity of Energieallianz Austria GmbH. This measure has made Baumit save around 25,000 tons of CO2, in particular by reducing SCOPE-2 emissions caused by the purchase of energy. Managing Director Manfred Tisch emphasizes that this change is below the industry average in Austria, which underlines the demanding implementation in the cement processing industry.

The production of cement and lime is extremely energy -intensive and ensures high emissions. In Austria, the clinker share in the cement is low, which leads to direct CO2 emissions (SCOPE 1) of 530 kg CO2 per tonne cement, compared to this, the values in the EU27 are 583 kg and in the USA at 711 kg CO2 per ton of cement. Gerhard Philipp from Baumit Environmental and Process Technology emphasizes the continuous improvement of environmental key figures and emphasizes the company's long-term strategy for CO2 reduction and energy-efficient design of production processes.

The role of green electricity certificates

While Baumit has a remarkable progress, there are also concerns about the effectiveness of green current certificates in the industry. Experts doubt that trading in these certificates actually contributes to a reduction in emissions. A study by the research team around Anders Bjørn from Concordia University in Montreal has shown that many companies that commit themselves to comply with the goals of the Paris climate agreement often continue to refer gray current, even though they buy evidence of origin for green electricity to reduce their CO2 footprint. This proof of origin only guarantee that renewable energy will be produced somewhere, but do not promote the expansion of new, sustainable energy generation.

The "Science Based Target's Initiative" aims to create science -based goals for companies, but the effectiveness of these approaches is critically questioned. Between 2015 and 2019, companies that had committed themselves to science-based targets stated a CO2 reduction of 31 % in SCOPE-2 emissions, but after taking the evidence of origin, there was only a real reduction of 10 %. The use of new, directly related renewable energies could be the key to real emission reduction, since simple tariff changes in many countries, such as Turkey and China, are often not possible.

global initiatives for green electricity use

Companies like Arvato also focus on a complete switch to green electricity. Since 2018, Arvato has already saved 20,000 tons of CO2 through the use of renewable energies. The group has started to expand photovoltaic systems worldwide at 18 locations, with new installations in Düren and Dorsten and an expansion in Poland. Here, too, the focus is placed on a local reference to Renewable Energy Certificates (RECS) in order to prove the purchase of renewable electricity and to promote the expansion of corresponding projects.

The ARVATO's approach also includes extensive plans for halving the location emissions by 2030 compared to 2018 as well as initiatives to promote climate-neutral thermal energy and the expansion of charging infrastructure for electromobile. These measures are in line with the aim of increasing the demand for renewable energies and promoting sustainable standards at the various locations.