Climate Report THE CLIMATE CHOICE - Our Climate Performance 2021

In 2021, many companies seized the opportunity of climate transformation, set climate goals and tackled them with concrete decarbonization measures. THE CLIMATE CHOICE supports companies in becoming a CLIMATE Champion, reducing emissions along the entire supply chain and thus improving their climate performance.

Transparent reporting plays a major role in this and is a crucial part of corporate responsibility. It is important to us, even as a startup, to reflect critically our own climate performance and to continuously throve to improve it.

SUSTAINABILITY GOALS AND MISSION 

The mission of THE CLIMATE CHOICE is to make climate transformation accessible to every company in a simple and straightforward way. Through our platform, we aim to enable companies to reduce around 50% of supply chain emissions by 2030. Additionally, we also focus on contributing to the 1.5 °C target through our own corporate activities. All our corporate  and business actions underline this goal in order to transform the economy and create a regenerative future.

OUR CLIMATE PERFORMANCE ALONG 5 DIMENSIONS - A STATUS QUO ANALYSIS

Along the 5 dimensions of our CLIMATE Performance Assessment – our industry-independent climate rating, we have analyzed our climate performance for 2021. A comprehensive analysis goes beyond simply measuring the carbon footprint and includes the intensity and speed with which climate targets are implemented through concrete measures and effective climate management. This enables us to track our corporate action and identify tangible strengths and potentials, which we can use in the future as a basis for climate-relevant decisions.

1. Climate Impact Model

With our CLIMATE Performance Assessment along with the CLIMATE Data Platform, we support companies in analyzing their own climate performance as well as the climate impact of their suppliers. Up to 90% of a company's emissions occur within the supply chain through purchased products or services. Hence, we help strengthen collaboration between companies and suppliers and make procurement practices climate-compatible. To promote cross-disciplinary exchange, we organize regular online CHOICE events in which experts speak on relevant topics related to supply chain decarbonization and use our CLIMATE magazine as a medium for knowledge transfer. The annual CLIMATE Transformation Summit, which has already been organized  twice since 2020, provides a stage for a wide range of debates and knowledge exchanges. We organize the Summit to strengthen cross-industry collaboration and enable knowledge sharing. In this way, our business model contributes directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 13 "Climate Action" and 17 "Partnerships to achieve the Goals". Moreover, as a company we are part of B.A.U.M. e.V., a network for sustainable business, and the "Leaders for Climate Action" initiative. This helps us to keep on critically examining our own business model and to multiply the impact of our own measures through cooperative exchange.  

2. Climate Leadership

A company's climate management is relevant in order to achieve climate targets and to act in accordance with the requirements set by government bodies and meet customer expectations . We benefit from clear responsibilities- Lara Obst as Chief Climate Officer and Theresa Wenning as Climate Performance Analyst. They are specifically responsible for identifying and managing climate-related issues. This enables us to analyze and transparently disclose climate-related opportunities and risks, particularly with regards to financial and strategic impacts.

3. Climate Performance

The Climate Impact dimension focuses on key indicators and targets for corporate climate transformation in order to analyze the impact of business activities on the environment and society. The most important key figure here is the company's carbon footprint, i.e. the calculated CO2 emissions balance. 

Our CO2 emissions for 2021 total 4.05 metric tons. Last year, our emissions were 7.7 tons. The difference is explained partly by the use of a different software tool and partly by the use of average values last year. Our Corporate Carbon Footprint is currently still being validated by our external partner myclimate. This includes emissions from Scope 1-3, i.e. not only the emissions from our own corporate activities, but also those generated along the entire supply chain. 

4. Climate Transparency

Through regular exchange with our Advisory Board and networks (B.A.U.M. e.v. and BNW), we involve external stakeholders in setting climate-related strategies, policies and performance improvements, thus creating effective stakeholder management. In weekly demo meetings, we also ensure internal communication of climate-related topics within the team. We are currently working with the entire team to develop a Code of Conduct that covers responsible behavior with regards to human and labor rights, as well as guidelines for adherence to sustainable actions within the company.

5. Climate Actions

We use 100% carbon neutral web hosting and cloud services for our platform. In addition, our software is hosted according to the highest security standards on a 100% wind-powered data center in Germany and is DSGVO and BDSG compliant, and ISO/IEC 27001 certified. We also use GLS, a sustainable banking provider that finances sustainable businesses and supports projects such as setting up of wind turbines and organic farming, among others. By using refurbished hardware, all employees contribute to lower emissions in their daily work. In addition, together with MOBIKO, the company supports low-carbon mobility through flexible mobility budgets for employees.

Even during the fully online CLIMATE Transformation Summit in June 2021, which connected around 600 participants with climate experts and solution providers, emissions were significantly lesser as compared to an offline event. Together with our partner Fokus Zukunft GmbH & Co. KG, we calculated 4t of CO2 emissions, which included the use of  Zoom, YouTube broadcast, Slack and Gather-Town as well as the travel of two team members by train. Through a gold standard wind power project in Turkey, we offset twice the emissions created.

THE CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION IN 2022

Implementing climate goals together - that's the motto for the coming year 2022. Our learnings from the CLIMATE Performance Assessment will help us to drive forward the climate transformation within our own company and to focus in the coming year on measures that have not been taken care of so far. We have recognized that it is not sufficient to simply offer a climate-friendly product or service. Every company must start internally, make the entire corporate DNA climate-friendly and prioritize sustainability as a core area of corporate management. The most important trend for this in the coming year will be supply chain decarbonization - climate relevant procurement decisions are what matter! Let's make this happen in 2022 and seize the opportunities of climate transformation by working together through cross-industry cooperation to develop concrete measures and implement climate targets along the entire supply chain.

Do you also want to get a better overview of your company's climate-related opportunities and risks? Then contact us and request information on the CLIMATE Performance Assessment.