Despite having more than 400 locations worldwide, global supplier of technology and services, Bosch, is to be fully climate-neutral as early as next year. The company’s engineering, manufacturing and administrative facilities will no longer leave a carbon footprint – making Bosch the first major industrial enterprise to achieve this ambitious goal in a little over a year.

“We see climate action as our responsibility, and believe we have to act now,” says Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “Everyone has to contribute to climate action,“ he adds.

In a bid to swiftly achieve carbon neutrality, Bosch will buy more green electricity in the near term and compensate for unavoidable CO2 emissions with carbon offsets. As it stands, Bosch emits around 3,3-million metric tonnes of carbon per year. The company has already reduced carbon emissions relative to its value creation by nearly 35 percent since 2007.

“We are not starting from scratch. We have consistently exceeded our targets for the relative reduction of carbon emissions. Now the time has come for absolute targets,” Denner says.

Starting in 2020, Bosch will compensate for any residual and unavoidable carbon emissions primarily by buying green power from legacy plants and taking part in carbon-offset programmes.

The company is investing in environmental projects certified to rigorous standards, which are aimed at supporting social and ecological development. Carbon offsets are to be gradually scaled back by 2030, and Bosch will step up investments in renewable energies to this end.

It also intends to enlarge company-owned photovoltaic systems, which it expects will achieve a tenfold increase in installed energy capacity. Bosch will also sign long-term, exclusive supplier contracts with new wind and solar farms around the world.

In the years to 2030, the company will gradually increase the share of renewable energy in the power that it generates and buys, and will invest a billion euro to boost the energy efficiency of its operations. The company plans to save additional energy amounting to some 1,7 terawatt hours per year. This is more than one-fifth of its current annual consumption.

“Carbon neutrality is doable and, if pursued with the necessary determination, can be achieved quickly. Our investments benefit not only Bosch, but humankind in general,” Denner says.

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