Bosch says it will be carbon-neutral in 2020
German group will use renewable sources of energy and compensate for ‘unavoidable CO2’ emissions
German technology group Bosch said it plans to be “fully carbon-neutral” by next year — a decade or more earlier than most of its rivals — thanks to big investments in clean electricity and an ambitious carbon offset programme.
The private company is among Germany’s largest, with €78bn in revenue and 410,000 employees spanning 400 engineering, manufacturing, and administrative sites globally.
The group said from next year “it will no longer leave a carbon footprint”. It will use renewable sources of energy where possible and compensate for “unavoidable CO2” emissions where necessary. It is investing €1bn in energy efficiency over the next 10 years and another €1bn on offset programmes.
“We see climate action as our responsibility, and believe we have to act now,” said Volkmar Denner, chief executive, at the group’s annual press conference in Renningen.
Bosch cited International Energy Agency data showing that manufacturing accounted for 32 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Bosch alone emits 3.3m tonnes of carbon per year, a 35 per cent reduction from 2007.
The company said its hope is that by 2030 it can scale back its carbon offset schemes by using more and more green energy, for instance by enlarging its photovoltaic systems in India where it can achieve a “tenfold increase in installed energy capacity”.
The calculations do not, however, include emissions from the products it sells, which include diesel engines. Bosch settled with US regulators in 2017 to resolve allegations that it played a significant role in Volkswagen’s diesel scandal. The group paid $328m, but admitted no guilt.
Bosch said: “We will break down and analyse in detail any other emissions associated with our activities.”
Other German companies have made similar pledges, though their carbon-neutral targets are more distant.
DHL plans to “reduce all logistics-related emissions to zero by the year 2050.” Siemens said in 2015 it will cut its carbon footprint in half by 2020 and be climate neutral by 2030. Volkswagen plans to make its operations, including its supply chain, CO2-neutral by 2050.
At a political level, Berlin has been advocating an Energiewende, an “energy turnround,” to make its whole economy climate neutral by 2050, since the late 1990s.
Last year renewable energy from wind and solar overtook coal as Germany’s most important power source, according to industry group BDEW. But the share was just 36 per cent of the energy mix, which is still reliant on natural gas, coal, and lignite — one of the dirtiest sources of energy.
Mr Denner said: “Carbon neutrality is do-able and, if pursued with the necessary determination, can be achieved quickly.”