BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG - DFGE - Institute for Energy, Ecology and Economy

BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co. KG: Support in the development of SBTi climate protection goals

BLG Case Study Small The BLG LOGISTICS GROUP AG & Co.  KG is a seaport and logistics service provider with an international network. The company group offers logistics system services in the three business areas of automotive, contract and container logistics. Its customers include the leading automobile manufacturers as well as strong brands from the retail sector. Approximately 11,700 employees – many of them in Bremen (headquarters) and Bremerhaven – assume responsibility for the smooth logistics of high-quality products on a daily basis.

BLG LOGISTICS began publishing an annual sustainability report in 2012 and set itself the first company-wide climate protection goal in the same year. Sustainable action is anchored in company practice through active energy management and projects such as the comprehensive conversion from lighting to LED illuminants as well as social commitment in numerous social projects. Having reached the 2020 climate protection target ahead of schedule, the company is now continuing its efforts and setting itself new, far-reaching CO2 reduction targets with its Climate Mission.

“Within the framework of the project support provided by DFGE, their experts were able to strengthen us in our project, the submission of our climate protection goals to SBTi. In particular, the challenging Scope 3 screening was addressed and key problems were eliminated. Hopefully, nothing will prevent the recognition of our goals”.

Julian Fischer, Project Manager Climate Protection and Energy ManagementBLG LOGISTICS

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Removal of ambiguities in the calculation of the Scope 3 inventory

Challenges

The elaboration of a new, ambitious climate protection target should meet the requirements of the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). Science Based Targets (SBT) are scientifically based CO2 reduction targets that are intended to help reducing global warming. This approach, however, also brought along some difficulties and uncertainties.

Questions arose for BLG LOGISTICS especially within the context of calculating and structuring the Scope 3 inventory. This refers to indirect company emissions that arise through procurement, travel, employee commuting and logistical services. Further challenges were posed by the complex criteria and the validation process of SBTi.

Analysis of customer data under consideration of relevant requirements

Solutions

In order to create more clarity and transparency for BLG LOGISTICS with regard to the requirements of SBTi and to ensure the smoothest possible submission of objectives, the Scope 3 documents were checked in detail by DFGE for the requirements of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Standard and SBTi.

In a first step, the DFGE experts reviewed and evaluated the Scope 3 inventory of BLG LOGISTICS in terms of completeness and relevance. In order to meet the high requirements of SBTi both in terms of content and organization, DFGE actively supported BLG LOGISTICS with its expertise.

In a second step, the calculation bases, parameters and calculation processes were checked for accuracy and suitability. Finally, suitable suggestions for improvement were developed to increase the chances of success for a positive test report from SBTi.

After the analysis phase, an on-site workshop was held at BLG LOGISTICS in Bremen. During this workshop, the results were presented and open questions were discussed, e.g. regarding the further procedure on the way to SBT submission, the regular cycle of recalculation of SBT goals and possible triggers for unscheduled recalculation. Further questions revolved around the preliminary targets for Scopes 1 and 2, the definition of a suitable base year and the requirements arising from the SBTi criteria.

Assistance with the submission of Science-Based Targets

Results

The main output of the project was to review and improve the Scope 3 carbon footprint so that it can be used as the basis for a Science-based Targets (SBT) outcome calculation. In addition, the workshop consolidated the base year, the approach to target setting and the target level on which the SBT strategy of BLG LOGISTICS will be applied. Other open questions were also clarified, eliminating obstacles on the way to SBT submission.

With the results of the project strengthened, BLG LOGISTICS will complete the Scope 3 Carbon Footprint survey in the coming months and plans to submit the climate protection target to SBTi in autumn 2020.