Working Together for Climate Protection

We can — and must — protect the climate in order to counteract climate change and its devastating consequences for people and the environment. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The energy sector accounts for the highest share of global emissions, making the reduction of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming an urgent priority.

At EWE, we are fully aware of this special responsibility. A secure, affordable, and sustainable energy supply forms the backbone of our society and is essential for a competitive economy — today, tomorrow, and for generations to come.

The regions where EWE operates — northwestern Germany, Brandenburg, and the island of Rügen — and the people who live there are already experiencing the effects of climate change, such as flooding and prolonged droughts.

At the same time, northwestern Germany in particular plays a key role in advancing the energy transition. The region is already well advanced in building a future-ready energy system based on renewable energy. Perhaps this is why climate protection is especially close to the hearts of EWE and our employees.

EWE supports the climate goals defined in the Paris Agreement and aims to make a substantial contribution to achieving them.

Based on the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, EWE prepared a Group-wide carbon footprint for the base year 2018. This assessment quantifies our greenhouse gas emissions and identifies where we must take action to reduce them. Since then, we have updated this carbon footprint annually to measure our progress toward decarbonization.At EWE, climate protection isn’t just a strategy - it’s a core element of our overall corporate direction and defines how we act. But what exactly are we doing to protect the climate? What can each of us contribute? And what does climate protection really mean? Find all the answers here.

We have set ourselves an ambitious target: by 2035, EWE aims to be climate neutral in its own business operations, i.e., in Scope 1 and 2. With this, we plan to reach climate neutrality ten years ahead of the German Federal Government’s legally mandated target year of 2045.

We are also taking responsibility for the indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in our upstream and downstream value chain (Scope 3). By supporting private households, businesses, and municipalities with sustainable, future-proof, and climate-friendly solutions, we help reduce the emissions generated through the use of our products. Our goal here is to reduce emissions resulting from our products and services by 65 percent compared to 2018.

At the same time, we intend to work closely with our suppliers to reduce the emissions associated with purchased goods and services and to procure 50 percent of our purchasing volume climate neutrally by 2035.

Our CO₂ reduction targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which defines best practices for science-based target setting in companies and evaluates them independently. According to SBTi, our Scope 1 and 2 targets are aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Our Scope 3 targets contribute to limiting global warming to well below 2 °C.

Scope 1
= Direct emissions from facilities owned or controlled by the company. For example, from generation plants, company-owned buildings, or vehicles.

Scope 2
= Indirect emissions from the generation of energy purchased and consumed by the company.

Scope 3
= All other indirect emissions that occur in the company’s upstream and downstream value chain. These include, for example, emissions from business travel, rented facilities, and purchased goods and services. For EWE, Scope 3 includes those categories in which we can make the greatest contribution to climate protection.

The path to climate neutrality involves a series of milestones. The first step was achieving full transparency regarding all emissions resulting from our business activities. Building on this foundation, we have defined numerous short-term measures to reduce our carbon footprint and assessed medium- and long-term solutions for achieving climate neutrality.

Our guiding principle is clear: avoid and reduce before offsetting. All business units are equally responsible for developing and advancing measures to reach our goal. Key levers for reducing emissions include:

• Phasing Out Coal: At the end of April 2024, the last coal-fired generating unit operated by our subsidiary swb was shut down. This marked our complete coal phase-out — 14 years ahead of the legal requirement.
• Expanding Renewable Energy: The expansion of renewable energy — particularly onshore wind — is an integral part of our long-term growth strategy and key to achieving our climate targets. It reduces dependence on fossil fuels while ensuring security of supply.
• Replacing Fossil Fuels: We are gradually substituting fossil fuels, for example by electrifying our vehicle fleet and using biomethane as a substitute for natural gas.
• Using Renewable Electricity: EWE consistently relies on electricity from renewable sources to meet its own energy needs.
• Increasing Energy Efficiency: By optimizing electricity and heat consumption, we are systematically reducing our energy use. We have introduced ISO 50001-certified energy management systems across many of our companies.
• Reducing Emissions from Purchased Goods: We aim to work closely with suppliers to reduce emissions associated with purchased goods and services.
• Supporting Customers in Decarbonization: We support our customers on their decarbonization journey by offering innovative products and services that enable efficient use and self-generation of renewable energy.
• Carbon Capture for Unavoidable Emissions: For unavoidable emissions — for example from our thermal waste treatment facilities — we are currently reviewing the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies.

At the same time, we continue to integrate climate protection more closely into our corporate strategy and management systems. Comprehensive training, development, and change initiatives form the foundation for promoting sustainable action across EWE.

In addition to actively shaping the energy transition, we have also adapted our communication and working methods to contribute to climate protection.

Our buildings are used and refurbished with maximum energy efficiency in mind. In recent years, we have significantly reduced electricity and heating consumption through a range of measures. By introducing flexible workspaces, we have been able to reduce office space while using existing areas more efficiently. We are currently assessing the energy standards of our buildings and developing refurbishment plans based on these findings.

A successful example: The Warsingsfehn district operations center is undergoing comprehensive energy refurbishment. Through improved insulation, the use of heat pumps combined with photovoltaic systems, modern LED lighting, and other measures, more than 10 metric tons of CO₂ can be saved annually.

We invest significant effort in climate protection — but we can only succeed if our employees are fully committed, actively engaged, and willing to contribute ideas.

That is why we have organized numerous inspiration and dialogue events on climate-related topics. As a result, a large internal Climate Community has formed at EWE, dedicated to driving measures toward climate neutrality.

The community organizes climate action days and other initiatives to promote climate-conscious thinking and behavior. At several EWE locations, it has also set up “climate corners” where employees can exchange books and games and recycle old mobile phones.

In a carbon-based economy, living and operating climate-neutrally is not simple. Here is how we approach it: