South Pole develops comprehensive strategies that turn climate action into long-term business opportunities for companies, governments and organizations around the world, and has been at the forefront of decarbonization since 2006. South Pole is also a leading project developer, and has provided nearly 1,000 projects in renewables, forestry, agriculture, industry, households and public institutions in over 50 countries. Through climate finance, South Pole has saved over a gigaton of CO2 emissions, provided social benefits to less privileged communities who are particularly vulnerable to climate change and helped create nearly 100,000 jobs in developing countries.
Our greenhouse gas reduction strategy
Title:To date, and from the 2019 baseline, we have already reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 12% and Scope 3 emissions by 26%. We continue to invest substantially in our manufacturing, distribution, processes and policies to accelerate our greenhouse reductions and operate in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement.
A complete climate strategy presents all methodologies, including reduction, removal and offsetting.
In fact, in addition to our ambitious reduction plans and the climate projects with South Pole, we also recently signed a 5-year agreement with Climeworks, to actively remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere (find out more here).
The truth is that every climate solution out there (when certified and additional) is valid. It is important to take all the measures and solutions available, and not just one. This is why, with South Pole, we chose 3 key projects to diversify our impacts into the areas of biodiversity protection, biogas capture and hydropower.
Huóshuĭ Small Hydropower
Title:Clean energy for China’s remote mountain communities
Subtitle:Similarly, the powerful rivers of China's mountainous areas can be harnessed to generate electricity for its remote communities and the wider region, but hydroelectric power plants require substantial investment to set up. Prior to the project, local communities experienced poor living conditions. At a time when 80 percent of China’s energy demands were met by coal-fired power stations, these communities had unreliable access to electricity and there was little regional investment.
Huóshuĭ Small Hydropower consists of 95 small hydropower plants. The small-scale plants range in capacity from 0.1 to 14 MW, and together supply enough renewable energy to power over half a million average Chinese homes each year. Their run-of-river design allows them to do so with minimal environmental impact.
- Project standards: SocialCarbon, VCS Verified Carbon Standard
Impacts:
- 369,000 tonnes of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents) mitigated each year (SDG13)
- 740,000MWh of renewable energy generated annually (SDG7)
- Contributions to United Nations SDGs 4, 8 and 5.
Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve
Title:Preserving Borneo's tropical peat swamp forests and improving local lives
Subtitle:The Rimba Raya peat swamp forests are located in Central Kalimantan province on the island of Borneo in Indonesia. Before the project was established, these immensely biodiverse tropical peatlands were scheduled for conversion into four palm oil estates by the provincial government.
The Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve protects 91,215 hectares of rich, tropical peat swamp forests which are monitored by local rangers as well as by satellite and aerial imagery. As well as preserving ecosystem diversity and the habitat of endangered species like the Bornean orangutan, the project reduces emissions by avoiding the planned deforestation of over 47,000 hectares of forests for palm oil production.
The Rimba Raya project not only sequesters carbon and protects habitat for local wildlife; it also promotes local sustainable development, particularly regarding environmental education and economic capacity building.
Project standards:
- Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards (Verra)
- VCS Verified Carbon Standard (Verra)
Impacts:
- 2,162 water filters distributed
- 47,237 hectares protected
- 3,500,000 tonnes of CO2e mitigated
Lan Dokmai Waste-to-energy
Title:Reducing climate impacts and helping with sustainable biogas
Subtitle:Thailand is one of the largest producers of Tapioca starch, which forms an important part of the economy. Unfortunately, starch production is a carbon-intensive process that not only damages the environment but also produces strong-smelling methane emissions from the wastewater that affect the quality of life in surrounding areas.
Rather than allowing the methane to escape freely into the atmosphere, the project captures the gas in order to produce clean electricity. This electricity powers production at the local starch factory; as a result, the air is cleaner and less fossil fuel needs to be purchased. This means that revenue can be generated to support social and educational activities in the community.
With less methane emissions, the quality of the air surrounding the plant has improved dramatically. In addition to this, new jobs and training opportunities for modern technologies are provided by the project. The treated wastewater is much cleaner and can be used for fish farming and irrigation of nearby fields, even the wastewater sludge is given to farmers and recycled for fertilizer.
Just like the renowned carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) is also a greenhouse gas (GHG), so its presence in the atmosphere affects the earth’s temperature and climate system. Methane is emitted from a variety of anthropogenic (human-influenced) and natural sources. Methane is the second most abundant anthropogenic GHG after carbon dioxide, accounting for about 20% of global emissions, and is also more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. Therefore, reducing methane emissions has a significant effect on limiting global warming.
Project standards:
• Gold Standard (WWF)
• CDM Clean Development Mechanism (UN FCCC)
Impacts:
- 20,000 tonnes of CO2e
- 2,100 m2 of cleaned wastewater
- 2,200 litres of fossil fuels saved
Frequently Asked Questions
What are carbon credits and how do they work?
Die Projekte müssen eine Reihe strenger Kriterien erfüllen, um den Verifizierungsprozess durch unabhängige Agenturen zu bestehen. Sie müssen außerdem die Überprüfung durch ein Expertengremium eines führenden Standards für Emissionsausgleiche bestehen, beispielsweise von Verra oder Gold Standard. Nachdem ein Unternehmen oder eine Einzelperson einen Emissionsgutschein kauft, wird dieser permanent stillgelegt, damit er nicht wiederverwendet werden kann.
Wie zeichnet sich ein gutes Klimaprojekt aus?
Wie kann ich mir sicher sein, dass die Emissionsreduzierungen auch tatsächlich stattfinden? Was bedeutet Zusätzlichkeit?
Für mehr Transparenz werden die Emissionsgutschriften mit Seriennummern versehen. Sie werden anschließend in öffentlich zugänglichen Emissionsregistern ausgestellt, übertragen und dauerhaft stillgelegt.
Zusätzlichkeit bedeutet, dass die durch das Projekt erzielten Emissionsminderungen nicht Teil der geschäftlichen Tagesordnung sind. Anders ausgedrückt wären sie nicht zustande gekommen, wenn das Projekt nicht umgesetzt worden wäre. Durch den Kauf von hochwertigen und verifizierten Emissionsgutschriften können Sie Klimaschutzmaßnahmen und nachhaltige Entwicklungen direkt finanzieren.
Welche unterschiedlichen Arten von Klimaschutzprojekten gibt es?
- Der erste Weg, um Treibhausgasemissionen zu vermeiden, besteht zum Beispiel darin, die Energie aus fossilen Brennstoffen mit Energie aus erneuerbaren Quellen zu ersetzen.
- Zum anderen können Emissionen aus der Atmosphäre entfernt werden, zum Beispiel indem man mehr Bäume pflanzt. Diese binden oder fangen Kohlenstoff aus der Atmosphäre ein und speichern ihn in flüssiger oder fester Form.
- Die dritte Option besteht darin, Emissionen zu zerstören. Dazu zählt beispielsweise die Beseitigung von Methan aus dem Abwasser. Bei Methan handelt es sich um ein Treibhausgas, das um ein Vielfaches potenter ist als Kohlendioxid.
Unser globaler Partner South Pole führt Hunderte von verschiedenen Klimaschutzprojekten durch, die die folgenden Bereiche umfassen:
- Naturbasierte Lösungen (Wiederaufforstung, Landrestaurierung, Waldschutz, nachhaltige Bodenbewirtschaftung und Landwirtschaft)
- Erneuerbare Energie (Wasserkraftwerke, Windkraftwerke, Solarenergie und Erdwärme)
- Gemeindeprojekte (verbesserte Kochherdtechnologie, Versorgung mit sauberem Wasser)
- Thermische Verwertung (Biogas aus Deponien oder der Industrie, Biomasse)
