Q: What does the Net-Zero Standard involve?

The <a href="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/resources/files/Net-Zero-Standard.pdf" title="https://sciencebasedtargets.org/resources/files/Net-Zero-Standard.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">SBTi's new Net-Zero-Standard</a> is the world’s first framework for corporate net-zero CO2 target setting in line with climate science. It includes the guidance, criteria and recommendations companies need to set science-based net-zero CO2 targets consistent with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. According to the SBTi, MVV is net zero compatible, meaning that the company will be able to reduce its CO2 emissions along the whole of the value chain to net zero by 2040 at the latest. What counts here is the actual reduction in CO2 emissions, also at customers and suppliers, without any use of offsetting certificates or projects.

Question 1

What is the SBTi and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

The Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi ) is an association of international non-government organisations (NGOs) that includes the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The criteria referred to by the SBTi when validating corporate climate targets are regularly adjusted in line with the latest findings of climate research. Participating companies and organisations are only certified after a science-based review process lasting several months. The most ambitious possible target is net zero.

Question 2

What role does MVV play at the SBTi?

Accepted Answer

As pioneers, we have been involved from the very outset and had our targets scientifically reviewed and certified. Our decarbonisation targets were verified by the SBTi as being compatible with the 1.5-degree trajectory in 2021 and as net zero compatible in 2022. Both in 2021 and in 2022, MVV was the first German energy company to receive certification for its climate protection strategy based on the SBTi’s strict criteria for each respectively higher standard.

The net zero certification newly awarded by the SBTi is not only a confirmation of our climate targets. Above all, it is a confirmation of our strategy that sets out our path to becoming a #climatepositive company. With our ambitious targets, we are therefore a global leader when it comes to climate protection.

That said, net zero, i.e. climate neutrality, is only an interim step for us. That is because we will have become #climatepositive by 2035.

Our SBTi history:

2022: First German energy company with confirmed net zero targets

2021: First German energy company with confirmed 1.5-degree targets

2020: First German energy company with confirmed 2-degree targets

2015: MVV was the first European company to commit to the SBTi’s science-based climate targets – even before the Paris Climate Agreement.

Question 3

Which CO2 targets were certified?

Accepted Answer

The net zero targets that have been certified are the same as those underpinning our Mannheim Model. They are merely defined by reference to more technical aspects and based on the SBTi’s strict logic.

The certification refers to net zero, i.e. climate neutrality, by the target year 2040. The “climate positive” statement currently cannot be certified by the SBTi, as this is not possible based on its existing assessment criteria.

The SBTi stipulates highly precise targets for participating companies, which are in turn subdivided into various subtopics. Here is an overview of the targets and their allocation to our own climate protection targets.

Public MVV target based on SBTi standards	Refers to	Associated MVV target
Multinational German energy company MVV Energie AG commits to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 83% per kWh by 2030 from a 2018 base year.*	Scope 1	“Reduction of more than 80% by 2030 compared with 2018”
MVV Energie AG commits to reduce scope 1 and 3 GHG emissions from all sold electricity by 83% per kWh by 2030 from a 2018 base year.*	Electricity generation and sales Scopes 1 and 3	“Reduction of more than 80% by 2035 compared with 2018”
MVV Energie AG commits to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain by 2040 from a 2018 base year.*	Scopes 1, 2, 3	“Climate neutral at the latest by 2040”
MVV Energie AG commits to reduce scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 99.8% per kWh by 2040 from a 2018 base year.*	Scopes 1, 2
MVV Energie AG commits to reduce scope 1 and 3 GHG emissions from all sold electricity by 99% per kWh by 2040 from a 2018 base year.*	Electricity generation and sales Scopes 1 and 3
MVV Energie AG commits to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from use of sold products by 99% by 2040 from a 2018 base year.	Subset Scope 3, especially gas sales
MVV Energie AG commits to reduce all other absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 95% by 2040 from a 2018 base year.	Subset Scope 3
*The target boundary includes biogenic emissions and removals from bioenergy feedstocks	Inclusion of biogenic emissions

You can find the SBTi certification here

Question 4

What does the Net-Zero Standard involve?

Accepted Answer

The SBTi's new Net-Zero-Standard is the world’s first framework for corporate net-zero CO₂ target setting in line with climate science. It includes the guidance, criteria and recommendations companies need to set science-based net-zero CO₂ targets consistent with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

According to the SBTi, MVV is net zero compatible, meaning that the company will be able to reduce its CO₂ emissions along the whole of the value chain to net zero by 2040 at the latest. What counts here is the actual reduction in CO₂ emissions, also at customers and suppliers, without any use of offsetting certificates or projects.

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