Climate Protection

We aim to protect resources and use them optimally around the world. As part of our business activities, we consume electricity and different types of fuel, while simultaneously producing various air emissions. We take our climate protection responsibilities seriously.

Brenntag calculates the consumption of resources on the basis of the data which we collect through our HSE programmes. Brenntag implemented Groupwide energy reporting in order to make its own energy consumption and associated CO₂ emissions more transparent. Sites’ energy consumption data are collected quarterly and are compiled and evaluated centrally by Brenntag’s sustainability manager. This data enables us to identify energy-saving potential.

Our target is to reduce the Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions (per warehouse tonne of goods sold) by 6% by 2020 compared to base year 2016. To complement this reporting, employees from the Brenntag regions share their experiences with best practices and successful energy-saving measures.

During 2019, the global activities of the Brenntag Group resulted in a total of 244,414.91 tonnes of CO₂ emissions (Scope 1 and 2). Energy consumption at our sites (offices and warehouses) accounted for around 44% of these, while the vehicle fleet (trucks, company cars and other vehicles) accounted for around 56%.

This means we were able to record a year-on-year decrease in total Scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions for the first time despite the inclusion of data from various company acquisitions. CO₂ emissions per warehouse tonne of goods sold decreased by 9.95% compared to the previous year. Compared to the base year 2016, we also recorded a decline in CO₂ emissions, namely of 0.58%. The reason for this was a drop in electricity consumption in Europe and North America. Most of the reduction is attributable to our site in Thetford in the UK, which ceased production of sodium hypochlorite due to the modernization of the facilities, and to numerous energy efficiency measures in North America.

* The data of the reporting year do not include the following operating units: Brenntag International Chemicals, Raj Petro Specialities Pvt. Ltd., Alphamin Group, Canada Colors and Chemicals (included since Q2/2019), Pachem Distributing Inc., Conquimica S.A., Quimisa S.A. and Tee Hai Chem Pte Ltd. (included since Q4/2019) and all companies in Africa and the Middle East.
** As part of our ongoing improvement process, the energy consumption reported for 2018 and the CO2 emissions reported for 2016 to 2018 were again reviewed and adjusted.
*** Gas oil, kerosene, propane gas
**** As and from the 2019 reporting year, CO₂ emissions have been calculated for electricity using the respective country-specific factors as per IEA (2019), for district heating using the factor as per UBA (2018) and for all other energy types using the energy-specific factors defined in the UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting (2019). For the preceding reporting years, CO₂ emissions were calculated for electricity using the respective country-specific factors as per the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Factors (2012) and for all other energy types using the energy-specific factors defined in the UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting (2016).