On behalf of PD – Berater der öffentlichen Hand GmbH – Arqum supports the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) in developing a valid and comprehensive greenhouse gas balance as well as in the conception and implementation of measures with which the highest federal authorities can make their own ministerial operations climate neutral. Both federal authorities are building on the long-standing EMAS environmental management system.
The approach of the BMZ and the BMU is based on the internationally recognised standard of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. In developing objectives and measures, the federal authorities are guided by the principle of “avoid before reduce before compensate”. Against this background, both ministries, with the support of the PD and Arqum, have developed an ambitious target path to achieve climate neutrality by 2040, even without compensatory measures.
At the BMZ, Arqum was involved in the preparation of the special report including the greenhouse gas balance sheet for achieving climate neutrality, which follows the requirements of ISO 14064-1 and was accordingly audited by an external environmental auditor. As early as 11 February 2020, Federal Minister Dr Gerd Müller officially announced that the BMZ was the first federal ministry to become climate neutral. Since then, reporting and verification of the balance has been carried out via the annual environmental statement in the EMAS process.
This year, the BMU is publishing a greenhouse gas balance in the EMAS environmental statement, which for the first time includes significant upstream and downstream stages of the value chain (so-called Scope 3). At the same time, the BMU is presenting a roadmap for achieving climate neutrality (net zero emissions) by 2040, which covers all of the administration’s key fields of action: Real estate, business travel incl. vehicle fleet, commuting, home office, procurement, events and canteen operations.
We are proud and pleased to be able to accompany the BMZ and the BMU on the path to continued climate neutrality.
Contact persons at Arqum:
Ellen Leibing and Theresa Steyrer
