Companies in Germany are driving forward their efforts to protect the climate and conserve resources. 42% are already offsetting CO2 emissions, compared to 35% a year ago and just 28% in 2020.
This is the result of a representative survey of more than 500 companies in Germany with 20 or more employees, which was conducted on behalf of Bitkom. A further 29 percent plan to offset CO2 emissions in the future. 20 percent can at least imagine doing so in the future. Only 6 percent of companies currently rule out CO2 offsetting. CO2 offsetting usually takes place via the online purchase of offset certificates, which confirm that a corresponding amount of CO2 is bound elsewhere through climate protection projects.
Digital measurement of the ecological footprint
However, only one in four companies (26%) currently measure their own ecological footprint digitally. However, 41% are planning to do so in the future. "The better companies know their own CO2 emissions, the better they can reduce them and offset the remaining emissions. There are now many digital solutions on the market that companies can use to determine their emissions," says Bitkom CEO Dr. Bernhard Rohleder. "Germany must drastically reduce its CO2 emissions in order to achieve its climate targets by 2045. Wherever avoidance is not possible, voluntary CO2 offsetting via trustworthy providers can help."
A wide range of measures to avoid CO2
In order to avoid CO2 emissions and conserve resources, companies in Germany are implementing a variety of measures: 62% have replaced business trips completely or partially with video conferences, 56% have largely dispensed with paper printouts. 51 percent have purchased energy-efficient office hardware. Almost half (45%) take sustainability criteria into account when purchasing digital products, applications and services. A third (35%) of companies allow employees to use company devices such as laptops or smartphones for private purposes in the interests of sustainability. 16 percent state that they use 100 percent certified green electricity.
