We are helping to mitigate climate change and contributing to compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement. Our current climate targets were adopted by the Board of Management in 2019 and have applied since 2020. The ambition level was increased again in March 2021. In March 2023, we replaced our interim goal with a more ambitious target based on the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Net-Zero Standard. In addition, since 2021, the Board of Management’s remuneration has been linked to various factors, including the meeting of climate targets and the performance indicators “energy consumption” and “CO2 emissions” (Scope 1 and 2) (excluding T-Mobile US).
Our targets are:
We have already achieved our goal of using 100 percent electricity from renewable sources (Scope 2) throughout the Group by the end of 2021.
Now, we aim to reach climate neutrality for our own direct and indirect emissions throughout the company by the end of 2025 (Scope 1 and 2). To that end, we plan to reduce carbon emissions by up to 95 percent, with respect to their 2017 levels, and offset any remaining emissions via suitable measures. In the process, we are concentrating on offsetting measures aimed at long-term removal of carbon from the atmosphere, such as afforestation. We also conclude power purchase agreements (PPAs) for green electricity with operators of wind power or photovoltaic parks. In this way, we offer operators investment security and promote the expansion and use of renewable energies. In addition, we are reducing our energy consumption, e.g. through energy efficiency measures and space reduction in buildings, as well as through electrification, especially in our vehicle fleet.
As an interim target on the way to becoming climate neutral, we have set ourselves the task of reducing carbon emissions in Scopes 1–3 by 55 percent with respect to 2020 levels. As a result of our systematic efforts to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, the majority (over 98 percent) of our carbon footprint now occurs through the production and use of our products. We consult closely with our suppliers in order to reduce the emissions generated during production, and to have products manufactured that are energy efficient in their utilization phases. The new interim target is more ambitious than our previous target, which was to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 25 percent per customer (compared to 2017) by 2030.
We want to be completely climate neutral (“net zero”), with no carbon footprint left in any of the three scopes, by the end of 2040 at the latest. We will offset any emissions we are still creating at that point using suitable instruments, as set out in our planning for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. We intend to cut emissions by at least 90 percent, so that we only need to offset up to 10 percent.
Our climate targets from 2019 were developed using the method proposed by the SBTi. The SBTi officially confirmed in May 2019 that we are the third DAX-listed company to contribute toward implementing the Paris Climate Agreement through our climate protection targets. We have thus followed our national companies in the United States and Hungary, whose targets were already endorsed by the SBTi in 2018 and at the start of 2019, respectively. The targets that were adjusted in 2021 and the interim target on the way to climate neutrality approved in March 2023 are currently being validated by the SBTi. At the end of January, the reduction target for T-Mobile US of reducing Scope 1–3 emissions by 55 percent with respect to 2020 by the year 2030 was validated by the SBTi.
Impact assessment for our materiality analysis Greenhouse gas emissions are associated with a detrimental impact on humans and the environment. For this reason, we have identified climate protection as a key topic throughout the value chain in the impact assessment conducted as part of our materiality analysis. Analysis of the criteria “probability of occurrence” and “severity” has revealed that significant greenhouse gas emissions could be generated in the upstream value chain in particular (during raw material extraction and supplier activities), as well as in the downstream value chain, which comprises the utilization, disposal and recycling of products.
Our contribution to the SDGs
We are helping to mitigate climate change and contributing to compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement. Our current climate targets were adopted by the Board of Management in 2019 and have applied since 2020. The ambition level was increased again in March 2021. In March 2023, we replaced our interim goal with a more ambitious target based on the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Net-Zero Standard. In addition, since 2021, the Board of Management’s remuneration has been linked to various factors, including the meeting of climate targets and the performance indicators “energy consumption” and “CO2 emissions” (Scope 1 and 2) (excluding T-Mobile US).
Our targets are:
Our climate targets from 2019 were developed using the method proposed by the SBTi. The SBTi officially confirmed in May 2019 that we are the third DAX-listed company to contribute toward implementing the Paris Climate Agreement through our climate protection targets. We have thus followed our national companies in the United States and Hungary, whose targets were already endorsed by the SBTi in 2018 and at the start of 2019, respectively. The targets that were adjusted in 2021 and the interim target on the way to climate neutrality approved in March 2023 are currently being validated by the SBTi. At the end of January, the reduction target for T-Mobile US of reducing Scope 1–3 emissions by 55 percent with respect to 2020 by the year 2030 was validated by the SBTi.
Impact assessment for our materiality analysis
Greenhouse gas emissions are associated with a detrimental impact on humans and the environment. For this reason, we have identified climate protection as a key topic throughout the value chain in the impact assessment conducted as part of our materiality analysis. Analysis of the criteria “probability of occurrence” and “severity” has revealed that significant greenhouse gas emissions could be generated in the upstream value chain in particular (during raw material extraction and supplier activities), as well as in the downstream value chain, which comprises the utilization, disposal and recycling of products.