Corporate Carbon Footprint and TÜV Süd Verification
Customer: IU Group
Category: Education
Date: December 2021
The IU International University of Applied Sciences is a private, state approved university of applied sciences with numerous locations in Germany. Holding company behind the IU is IU Group, Germany’s largest private university group. It offers national and international distance studies, campus studies as well as dual studies. To date, over 75.000 students are enrolled in the IU International University of Applied Sciences study courses.
In order to further extend the Corporate Sustainability Strategy, the IU Group assigned the DFGE to calculate a complete Carbon Footprint Scope 1 to 3 and support for the third party TÜV Süd validation of the Corporate Climate Neutrality.
“It was very important for us to have our emission study carried out and evaluated by a renowned institute with scientific experience and distinctive expertise. The DFGE was the partner of choice who supported us along the entire journey, from the methodology to the visualization of the results.”
Challenge
Extension of Corporate Sustainability Strategy
The IU Group is planning to continue and extend its activities towards increased Corporate Sustainability and further commits to Carbon Neutrality. It is planned to compensate non-avoidable emissions through verified emission reduction certificates. A voluntary, direct engagement in favour of climate protection and environmental projects is also planned as well as getting third party certified for Carbon Neutrality achievement in 2021.
The main driver of carbon emissions for the organization are the Scope 3 emissions from their students. The emissions occur mainly in relation to the IU Internationale Hochschule and with regard to the time spent online for studying, the student commuting and the energy consumption for charging the IT equipment.
Solution
Validated Carbon Footprint as a prerequisite for TÜV certification
DFGE supported the first Carbon Footprint for the IU Group in 2020 considering the 2019 base year which was the first step in achieving the goal of Climate Neutrality in all Scopes. Establishing the company’s Carbon Footprint as a management tool in order to find and monitor further options for improving process efficiency and lowering carbon emissions is another part of the long-term goal of Carbon Neutrality. Therefore, IU Group Climate Neutrality was realized following the PAS 2060 Specification.
The DFGE supported the organization throughout the third-party verification process with the TÜV Süd. Besides preparing and providing the Carbon Footprint Calculation, DFGE accompanied the IU Group in the audit and certification procedure. This included the completed documentation according to the PAS 2060 standard, critical review of activity data and support for the audit questions.
Result
Achievement of Climate Neutrality
A full Scope 1 to 3 Corporate Carbon Footprint was evaluated. For the second year running, the IU Group has achieved Climate Neutrality verified by the TÜV Süd. The Climate Neutrality was achieved by a combination of emission reduction following the IU Groups reduction plan and compensation in carbon offset projects. The projects were chosen based on internationally recognized standards to assure their quality and reliability.
About IU Group
With over 75,000 students enrolled, IU Group (holding company behind IU – International University of Applied Sciences) is Germany’s largest private university group, providing a well-diversified mix of online degree courses, part-time studies, and flexible combination models. The company delivers high-quality education, leveraging technology and innovation to meet the changing needs of students. The company’s vertically integrated education platform offers more than 200 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs and over 350 upskilling courses in German and English. IU cooperates with over 10,000 corporate partners and actively supports them in their people development including in high-demand areas such as business administration, artificial intelligence, and technology. In addition, the company fosters strategic initiatives with global partners to provide students with future-job oriented skills. The company was founded in 2000 and now has over 2,500 employees from more than 60 nationalities. More at www.iu-group.com.
