Together with right°, Block Group is analysing their own climate impact and checking their climate strategy for 1.5°C-alignment.

How can a company that produces and sells meat operate in compliance with the Paris Climate Agreement? Following a discerning strategy, Block Group has set out to limit the company’s climate impact to maximum 1.5°C. The most effective lever for increasing the sustainability of meat production and consumption lies within the livestock rearing practices themselves. Therefore, Block Group works continuously with its agricultural council, long-term purchasers, and scientific partners to adjust their cattle feeding strategies to reduce the CO2e emissions of meat effectively, holistically, and in conjunction with natural processes.

From Status Quo to Planning the 1.5°C Future

As a first step, right° analysed where Block Group currently stands in terms of climate, using the X-Degree Compatibility (XDC) Model to calculate the entire company’s climate impact in degrees Celsius. This science-based metric compared the company’s greenhouse gas emissions (in tons of CO2e) from the entire up- and downstream supply chains (Scope 1, 2, and 3) to their gross value added (the sum of EBITDA and personnel costs). In addition to the °C assessment, the team at Block Group were received clarity on their remaining emissions budget until 2050. These pieces of data provided a reliable basis for Simon Krämer, Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, and his team to examine the company’s climate strategy for Paris conformity and plan precise reduction pathways.

Block Group’s next step was to use right°’s web-based XDC Scenario Explorer to independently investigate and evaluate the impact of their planned emissions reductions measures. The scenario analysis focused on the feeding strategies of animals from the region whose meat is processed by Block Group. The results clearly showed that the CO2e emissions from feed production can be reduced by increasing the proportion of grass feeding through pasture resource use optimisation. In fact, grass feeding even acts as a CO2e sink because the soil of grass-covered grazelands is capable of storing harmful greenhouse gases over the long term. Working with their farmers to boost the proportion of their cattle’s grass grazing was thus an important step in Block Group’s emissions reductions. To improve the sustainability of their feed itself, Block Group has increased the proportion of locally grown legumes it contains. Legumes in particular have a regenerative effect on soils that can reduce the need for nitrogen fertilisers. Decreasing the use of nitrogen fertilisers enables Block Group to cut their emissions of nitrous oxide, an especially damaging greenhouse gas. The scenario analysis provided Block Group scientifically sound confirmation that their planned animal feed adjustments would indeed efficaciously contribute to the company’s goal of getting on track to 1.5°C.

Simon Krämer, Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, Block Group

Tools used: 

• X-Degree Compatibility Model (XDC)
• XDC Climate Impact Report
• XDC Scenario Explorer

Calculations performed: 

• Baseline XDC

• Scenario XDC

Salm-Salm & Partner use tools from right° to gauge the impact of their investments on global warming and are continuously re-evaluating their portfolio with a view to Paris-alignment.

Family-run asset management Salm-Salm & Partner has its own unique approach: Ever since the company was founded in 1989, it has been a committed advocate of sustainability, living up to environmental convictions shaped by personal experience. Because for 32 generations now, the Salm-Salm family has worked the land – cultivating fields, forests, and vineyards – and in the last three decades, they have witnessed dramatic changes: Grapes are now ready for harvest one month earlier, while forest stands have been blighted by pests and heat waves. Determined to counteract the man-made climate change that has so clearly impacted the River Nahe (a tributary of the Rhine), and his team resolved to make companies’ climate impact a key criterion when choosing where to invest. And feeling that carbon footprint alone was an inadequate investment yardstick, Salm-Salm & Partner set out in search of a more forward-looking approach to climate profiling.

Tools used:

• X-Degree Compatibility (XDC) Model
• XDC Portfolio Explorer

Calculations performed:

• Baseline XDC
• Portfolio XDC

On track to 1.5°C

Salm-Salm & Partner see their 1.5°C pathway as a gradual journey. As of yet, very few companies have achieved Paris-alignment. In the long term, in many cases it would be a mistake to exclude companies from consideration purely on the basis of their current carbon footprint. That is why the XDC Model’s robust climate impact calculation already includes a clear decoupling of emissions from value creation and future developments. The XDC Scenario Explorer from right° is another invaluable tool for assessing individual companies by checking the effectiveness of their strategies and specific climate goals for achieving Paris-alignment. Salm-Salm & Partner see huge potential for the future in this climate scenario analysis approach.

In a collaborative partnership, right° and E.ON are investigating innovative heating solutions within existing buildings.

E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) has planned a new heat supply system for a typical 1980s model apartment block of 300 units. Together with right°, Patrick Schneckenburger’s team analysed how the science-based 1.5°C figure can be used as the basis for evaluating various technical solutions concepts.

From Status Quo to 1.5°C Real Estate

The conditions of one building are different from the next. So as a first step, E.ON assembled an overview of the status quo to answer the question: Where does the apartment block currently stand in terms of its climate impact in °C? right°’s XDC Real Estate Explorer was used to compare the properties’ total area against their CO2 emissions and to project these results into the future. The analysis showed: With its current heat supply, the apartment block is not Paris-compatible and is well above 1.5°C.

Tools used:

• X-Degree Compatibility (XDC) Model
• XDC Real Estate Explorer

Calculations performed: 

• Baseline XDC
• Scenario XDCs for four technology options as well as different implementation dates

In the subsequent scenario analysis, the question was investigated: To what extent do E.ON’s solutions contribute to bringing the apartment block into 1.5°C compatibility? Based on the block’s operational emissions, the software calculated results for a total of four modernization options employing different technologies. These calculations were based on both the internationally recognized decarbonization pathways of the CRREM project (Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor) and a forecast by the Fraunhofer Institute. The Fraunhofer Institute assumes that the share of renewable energies in the electricity mix will grow significantly faster. The flexibility to consider different scenarios is a specific strength of the XDC Model.