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Dusseldorf. The Kreissparkasse Düsseldorf has been climate neutral since the beginning of March – and thus, according to its own statements, one of the first savings banks in Germany.
Thanks to the cooperation with the climate protection expert “ClimatePartner”, the Kreissparkasse Düsseldorf can offset its CO2 emissions by supporting certified climate protection projects. In addition to offsetting, the Kreissparkasse has set itself the goal of steadily reducing the still unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions and also making a direct contribution to climate protection through sustainable management.
To date, 184 institutes have joined the voluntary commitment of German savings banks for climate-friendly and sustainable business. The aim of the agreement, of which Kreissparkasse Düsseldorf is one of the first signatories, is to achieve climate neutrality by 2035.
“That was a first, important and right step, but it did not go far enough for us,” says Christoph Wintgen, CEO of the Kreissparkasse, because: “Protecting our climate is perhaps the most important issue of our time.”
Kreissparkasse “did the homework first”
So they pragmatically “did their homework first of all, where what emissions are produced by us,” says Wintgen: Together with an external partner, we first analyzed the consumption of electricity, gas, oil, water and paper and recorded how much waste was produced and how many kilometers are covered for business trips per year. “From these key figures we were able to determine how high our greenhouse gas emissions are,” reports Wintgen’s colleague on the board, Prof. Dr. Svend Reuse: “For 2019 this is around 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide.”
In the Munich climate protection expert, the Kreissparkasse has found a competent partner to transparently and comprehensibly offset the greenhouse emissions caused, according to the financial institution.
“This is done through the support of a climate protection project certified according to the highest standards – specifically, we are participating in the protection of the forest in the Brazilian Portel, since the Brazilian rainforest has a direct influence on our climate.” “In the long term, we want to reduce our emissions even further so that we can also achieve noticeable relief on site,” reports Reuse.
What remains is to avoid and further reduce emissions where possible. “This task will continue to accompany us over the next few years,” says Christoph Wintgen. “There are still improvements or new levers that help us save resources and thus avoid greenhouse gases. Our emissions, which are still unavoidable today, are decreasing from year to year. “
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