KLIMAfit certification
KLIMAfit certification: We, BVS Blechtechnik, are one of the six award-winning companies in the Böblingen district that have been KLIMAfit certified since October 2024. What does that mean in detail?
KLIMAfit is a funding program of the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy Baden-Württemberg. It is designed to help companies get started with climate protection management.
On September 26, 2024, the first intermediate step on the long road to becoming a climate-friendly and sustainable company was completed. After several months of preparation, we welcomed an external commission to the KLIMAfit audit at BVS Blechtechnik in Böblingen. Prior to this, there were various workshops which, together with the other selected companies, prepared us thematically for the following goals:
- Greenhouse gas balance (GHG balance)
- Measures Program for lower emissions
- Supporting regional & global climate protection goals
- Climate protection guidelines
- Organizational structures for climate protection
- Workshops & exchange
A climate-friendly sheet metal processing company… This is no easy task…
We are facing challenging tasks, the first steps have been taken with the creation of a greenhouse gas balance and measures based on this. The topic of sustainability and climate protection is worthwhile for each and every one of us.
The topic remains an ongoing corporate process and will only be successful in the long term if all employees play an active role. Then our ecological footprint can be reduced step by step.
Establishing a climate-friendly sheet metal processing company is a challenging task that we are tackling with great commitment. Our first steps include drawing up a comprehensive greenhouse gas balance sheet and deriving targeted measures to continuously reduce emissions. Sustainability and climate protection are important issues that are not only worthwhile in ecological terms, but also for all of us personally.
As a company, we will be obliged to disclose information about our environmental, social and corporate governance practices under the ESG reporting obligation from January 1, 2026. In turn, we will encounter this reporting again when granting loans in the future, as banks will only finance sustainable business models in the future. In concrete terms, this means that we will be confronted with our current actions in relation to our CO2 emissions when investing in machinery in the future.
These challenges require a long-term, company-wide effort: Sustainability can only be successfully implemented if all employees play an active role. Together, we can reduce our ecological footprint step by step.
It is particularly exciting to gain an insight into the numerous factors that contribute to the greenhouse gas balance: from technical devices and systems to lighting, heating, the vehicle fleet and our employees’ means of transportation, right through to packaging, waste separation, home office regulations, flexible working hours, online meetings, local suppliers and business trips.
Figures/data/facts:
The calculation of GHG emissions for BVS Blechtechnik and the breakdown into the various Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emission sources was of central importance. What does this mean?
Scope 1: direct emissions
Scope 1 emissions include all emissions that originate from sources that are directly under the responsibility or control of a company. This includes emissions from the use of energy sources at the company site, such as natural gas, fuels and refrigerants, as well as emissions caused by the operation of boilers and furnaces. Scope 1 also includes emissions from the company’s own vehicle fleet, including cars, vans and trucks.
Scope 2 – indirect emissions from purchased energy
Scope 2 emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions caused by purchased energy such as electricity, district heating or cooling. This energy is generated outside the company’s system boundaries but consumed within the company.
For example, emissions resulting from the external generation process of purchased electricity are considered indirect emissions and therefore fall under Scope 2.
Scope 3 – indirect emissions within the value chain
Scope 3 emissions are all greenhouse gas emissions that are not directly generated by the company itself (as in Scope 1) and also do not originate from purchased energy (as in Scope 2). Instead, they include all other emissions along the company’s entire value chain.
These include, for example, emissions from the production and transportation of purchased materials, employees’ business trips, employees’ travel to and from work and the use and disposal of products sold.
The difference between Scope 2 and Scope 3 is therefore that Scope 2 only takes into account indirect emissions from purchased energy (e.g. electricity, heat), while Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions along the supply chain and the product life cycle.
With the help of these categories, BVS Blechtechnik examined where we currently consume how much GHG emissions and what opportunities we have to make savings in these “scopes”.
We used the year 2022 to prepare our first greenhouse gas balance sheet, as we already had all the figures from that year at the start of the KlimaFit program and therefore did not have to wait for an evaluation of individual sub-items. Below you will find a few figures from the balance sheet for 2022 and the savings measures we have already implemented.
The unit CO₂e (CO₂ equivalents) is a measure used to compare and standardize the climate impact of different greenhouse gases. As different greenhouse gases – such as methane (CH₄) or nitrous oxide (N₂O) – contribute to the greenhouse effect to varying degrees, their effect on the climate is measured in relation to carbon dioxide (CO₂).
This means that CO₂e indicates how much CO₂ would have to be emitted to achieve the same climate impact as the gas in question. For example, methane has a much stronger effect than CO₂, which is why one tonne of methane is valued at around 28 to 36 tons of CO₂e.
GHG balance/ figures:
Greenhouse gas emissions 2022: –> 4,433 t CO₂e
CO2 savings through our PV system:
155.2 t. CO₂e
(approx. 400,000 kWh savings / year – corresponds to approx. 25-33% of BVS annual consumption)
CO2 savings through the purchase of green electricity:
474.3 t. CO₂e
CO2 savings by switching to LED lighting in all areas:
68.17 to CO₂e
Our purchased goods account for the largest share of our GHG balance. Purchased material, primarily sheet metal, accounts for 3,699 tons of CO₂e, or 83.4%. This is followed by our heating and process energy, which we need to heat all of our premises and operate the powder plant, at 344 t CO₂e. The commuter emissions total 128 t CO₂e.
We are delighted that our work has led to an initial success on this long journey.
We would also like to thank the district of Böblingen, Arqum GmbH, Energieagentur Kreis Böblingen GmbH and the city of Böblingen #klimaschutzbb for their excellent cooperation and feedback.
