Klasmann-Deilmann is on the right track

The Klasmann-Deilmann Group has published its fourth annual Sustainability Report. Due to higher production volumes, total emissions have increased slightly. At the same time there was a decrease in emissions per cubic metre of substrate produced.

With their 2014 Sustainability Report and climate footprint at both corporate and product level, Klasmann-Deilmann is continuing on its path towards transparency and dialogue. Managing Director Norbert Siebels said, “We are reinforcing our claim to be the most sustainable company in the substrate sector.”

In the 2014 financial year total emissions were 0.69 percent higher compared with the previous year. This increase can be attributed to higher production volumes. On the other hand, emissions per product unit decreased in the same period. For each cubic metre of substrate produced in 2014, there was a good two percent less CO2 than in 2013. Thanks to the alternative energy sources generated in the Renewable Energy and Resources business unit, 11,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents were avoided that would have been accrued if fossil fuels had been used. That is an improvement of over seven percent in comparison with the previous year. The climate footprint was verified by independent experts in accordance with ISO 14064.

“By calculating and publishing our carbon footprint, we create a high level of transparency. The measures we derive from this to reduce our emissions reflect the responsibility we feel for climate protection – now and in the future,” commented Norbert Siebels. In 2015, Klasmann-Deilmann was the first company in the international substrate industry to start measuring CO2 emissions in German and Lithuanian extraction areas in order to obtain even more reliable data for future carbon footprints. “The bases for calculating emissions from peat extraction in scientific literature are far from being sufficient,” explained Managing Director Moritz Böcking. “Emission factors were mostly derived from other values, never measured on the areas themselves. That isn’t reliable enough for our climate footprint.” Which is why Klasmann-Deilmann has commissioned experienced experts to perform CO₂ measurements based on scientifically tenable criteria. The first results are due to be announced to the public in spring 2016.

Parallel to this, Klasmann-Deilmann has initiated further measures to reduce and compensate for CO₂ emissions. During the reporting period, for example, land was purchased for short-rotation forestry plantations where the company can generate its own biomass for use in cogeneration plants. In addition, by the year 2020, the share of alternative substrate constituents is to be increased to 15 volume percent of total annual production volume. In order to reduce emissions from their own energy consumption in the short term, Klasmann-Deilmann companies based in Germany already use sustainable electricity generated at hydro power plants with proof of origin.