Press Releases - 25.04.2024
Eschborn, 25. April 2024. For Techem, the service provider for smart and sustainable buildings, sustainability and climate protection begin within the company itself, as the fourth Techem Sustainability Report published today shows: The internationally active Techem Group continues to work consistently towards achieving its sustainability goals and thus climate neutrality by 2045. Techem managed to reduce its CO2e emissions by nearly 20 percent in fiscal year 2023. The Group’s global CO2 footprint thus amounted to 244,134 tons[1] (FY 2022: 306,800 tons). In addition, Techem conducted its first Gender Pay Equality audit, which shows the percentage salary difference between men and women, in Germany during the reporting period and established a procedure for determining and reporting this. In addition, all relevant employees[2] received training on compliance issues. These efforts were rewarded not least by an ESG risk rating of 8.7 and thus a “Negligible Risk” from the rating agency Morningstar Sustainalytics.
Key principles of action are energy efficiency and decarbonization
“Global efforts to tackle the challenges of climate change have never been as acute, but also never as intense as they are today,” says Techem CEO Matthias Hartmann. “We want to live up to our responsibility to society and the environment. For us, this means promoting climate neutrality in buildings by systematically driving forward energy efficiency and decarbonization. Step by step, we are implementing low-investment projects to reduce energy consumption. This helps both landlords and tenants,” Matthias Hartmann emphasizes. This includes Techem’s Digital Heating Room. The AI-supported technology platform for energy monitoring of heating systems with the help of sensors records the temperature levels as well as the energy quantities and flows generated. Efficiency and usage curves can thus be calculated and monitored and heating systems can be operated more efficiently on the basis of this information. The implementation of the respective measures leads to an average reduction in energy consumption of 15 percent.
Implementing a roadmap to climate neutrality
At Techem Solutions, an ambitious decarbonization plan points the way to the planned climate neutrality. With a share of 49.6 percent (FY 2022: 51.6 percent), the majority of emissions are attributable to the natural gas consumption included in Scope 1 in Techem Solutions’ heat contracting business. The amount of greenhouse gases emitted is linked to the properties supplied by Techem Solutions, in particular the heating systems used there, the heating behavior of the occupants and the outside temperature. A mild winter and more economical consumption behavior due to high energy prices have contributed significantly to the reduction of CO2e emissions in this area. In fiscal year 2023, the updated “Devices Action Plan” placed an even greater focus on the impact of the company’s own devices on the environment and the climate. Emissions in the company’s own value chain (Scope 3) have already fallen by 18 percent compared to 2022. Techem also wants to convert its car fleet to 100 percent CO2-neutral drives by the end of 2028. In line with this, the Eschborn-based energy service provider is already sourcing 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources at all German sites and all electricity supplied to its customers is also exclusively green electricity.
Initiatives for greater diversity, equality and inclusion
“Techem is committed to an inclusive and diverse working environment. This includes the comprehensive roadmap for greater diversity, inclusion and against discrimination,” Hartmann adds. In the current reporting period, the share of women in management positions was 30.2 percent (FY 2022: 27.7 percent). This brings Techem ever closer to its goal of having 35% women in management positions by 2025. Techem also received the certificate for the “berufundfamilie” audit in Germany at the end of September 2023. The compatibility of work and private life under the premise of a future-oriented working environment was decisive here. Katharina Bathe-Metzler, Head of Sustainability, Communications & Public Affairs, was honored as part of the “Top 100 Women for Diversity” campaign initiated by the Beyond Gender Agenda.
Resilient business model
Annual sustainability reporting, which is voluntary, documents the international effectiveness of sustainability management in detail. It creates transparency for stakeholders with regard to the company’s development and contains audited key figures. The Sustainability Report is based on the current standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) – an internationally recognized framework for sustainability reporting. Techem has also dealt in detail with risks and opportunities in the area of climate change as part of reporting in accordance with the requirements of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Techem’s company strategy proves to be extremely resilient both under a 2° and a “worst-case scenario” – i.e. very sharp rises in temperature.
[1]CO2e (=CO2-equivalent; consideration of all greenhouse gases)
[2]Excluded are employees who no longer work for Techem or persons who only perform auxiliary activities without having any influence on our business activities and who have been classified as not relevant for the basic compliance training.
You can find more information on sustainability at Techem and download the Techem Sustainability Report 2023 here.
Image information: Isabella Zobel is part of the Sustainability team at Techem. (Credit: Techem).
Please click on the image to download.
About Techem
Techem is a leading service provider for smart and sustainable buildings. The company's services cover energy management and resource conservation, residential health and process efficiency in real estate. Founded in 1952, the company is now active in 18 countries with around 4,300 employees and services more than 13 million homes. Techem offers efficiency improvements along the entire value chain of heat and water in real estate. As the market leader in remote radio detection of energy consumption in homes, Techem continues to drive networking and digital processes in real estate. Modern radio smoke detectors with remote inspection and services related to improving drinking water quality in properties complement the solution portfolio for the housing industry. For more information, visit https://www.techem.com.
