Climate change is one of the most urgent challenges facing our planet. Decarbonization is the guiding principle behind a comprehensive structural transformation that will impact all industrial sectors, the whole of society and almost all areas of life. It will also have a significant influence on the business activities of EnBW.
Decarbonization is at the heart of our corporate strategy
We actively support the Paris Agreement and the resulting decarbonization targets set by the EU and Germany. Achieving Germany’s climate protection targets will impact all stages of the value added chain for electricity and gas in which EnBW is active: from switching over generation from fossil fuels to renewable energies such as the wind and sun and expanding the grid infrastructure, through to areas such as energy efficiency, e-mobility and energy services for our customers.
Full phase-out of coal planned by 2028
We started rigorously transforming and realigning our portfolio in 2013 with a corporate strategy that has increasingly focused on sustainability. Since then, we have not only increased the share of our generation plants accounted for by renewable energies from almost 19 percent to over 40 percent – with an installed output currently of around 5,400 megawatts – but have also divested ourselves of 2,700 megawatts of carbon-intensive generation. We are now taking the next step in 2023 and accelerating the restructuring of the generation portfolio. An important intermediate target: the planned phase-out of coal by 2028. This will require the swift implementation of the energy transition targets set by the German government. These cover the expansion of renewable energies, the transmission and distribution grids and the gas infrastructure in Germany. Pursuing clear milestones and in line with the 1,5°C pathway, the company wants to fully divest itself of the remaining coal-based generation plants on the market. By doing so, EnBW is significantly bringing forward the phase-out of coal, halving its carbon emissions by 2027 and cutting them by around 70% by 2030 (based on the reference year of 2018).
The consequences of the climate crisis continue to grow dramatically around the world. At the same time, the developments over the past year have emphatically underscored the vulnerability of the energy supply. The top priority must now be to speed up the energy transition towards emission-free renewable energies.
Scientifically validated reduction paths
Our climate protection targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi):
EnBW’s climate protection targets are in line with the Paris Agreement. The reduction path for our own direct and indirect emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) is compatible with the • 1,5°C pathway.
Our targets are as follows:
We will reduce our Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 83 percent by 2035 (based on the reference year of 2018). We will offset any remaining residual emissions with the support of recognized climate change mitigation projects (excluding the supply chain). Our Scope 3 emissions will be reduced during the same period by 43 percent in comparison to the reference year of 2018.
Our subsidiaries Energiedienst and Netze BW have already been climate neutral since 2020 and 2021, respectively.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is an independent initiative set up by the environmental and climate protection organizations WWF, CDP, the United Nations Global Compact and World Resources Institute (WRI). The SBTi validates the science-based climate protection targets defined by companies using a standardized and internationally recognized process. Following the conclusion of the SBTi process, we now have reduction targets that are in line with the Paris Agreement.
The last step to reaching climate neutrality
We already set ourselves the target in 2020 of becoming climate neutral with respect to Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035. We will offset any non-reducible, residual greenhouse gas emissions by supporting climate change mitigation projects that are carried out according to the highest standards. Our subsidiaries Energiedienst and Netze BW have already been climate neutral since 2020 and 2021, respectively.
Thanks to our plans to phase out coal by 2028, we anticipate that we will achieve important milestones in our climate protection targets significantly earlier than previously planned: For example, we will already have reduced our carbon emissions by around 50 percent in 2027 and by around 70 percent in 2030 (based on the reference year of 2018).
Our measures to achieve the climate protection goals
We are implementing a clearly defined package of measures for the achievement of our goals.
Scope 1
- Phasing out the remaining coal-fired power generation by the end of 2028
- Switching the Heilbronn, Altbach-Deizisau and Stuttgart-Münster power plants to run on more climate-friendly natural gas and making the gas power plants H2-ready
- Developing the hydrogen infrastructure
Scope 2
- Using green electricity
Scope 3
- Increasing the proportion of green gases in the sales portfolio and developing the hydrogen infrastructure
Scope 1
- Switching the Heilbronn, Altbach-Deizisau and Stuttgart-Münster gas power plants to run on climate-neutral gases, particularly hydrogen
- Developing the hydrogen infrastructure
Scope 2
- Continuing with the measures
Scope 3
- Supporting climate neutrality in the heating sector to reduce emissions from the gas business
- Increasing the proportion of green gases in the sales portfolio and developing the hydrogen infrastructure
Scope 3
- Supporting climate neutrality in the heating sector to reduce emissions from the gas business
Across the board
- Carbon offsetting for unavoidable emissions