Even though the issue of climate change is currently overshadowed by the prevailing economic and geopolitical situation, it remains ever-present as a physical phenomenon. The savings banks are thus maintaining their commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5°C if possible. They implement important tools and processes to further optimise their sustainability management.
The latest figures from the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) show just how crucial it is not to let up when it comes to climate protection: Germany is on the right track in the medium term: The interim target of reducing greenhouse gases nationwide by 65 per cent by 2030 is still considered achievable by the Federal Agency. However, the long-term perspective is more critical: according to the latest projections based on previous emissions and the measures planned at the time of publication, the targeted reduction of 88 per cent by 2040 appears questionable, as does the achievement of net greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045.
The financial sector is in high demand here, as it finances other, emissions-intensive sectors and activities with comparatively low emissions of its own. These so-called Scope 3 emissions make up by far the largest share of a financial institution’s carbon footprint or greenhouse gas balance. However, their precise calculation poses enormous challenges for most institutions. Sparkassen Rating und Risikosysteme GmbH, a company of the Savings Bank Finance Group, therefore paved the way last year for a new instrument that makes both direct and indirect issues more measurable and therefore more controllable. The GHG emissions calculator is based on the established standard of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and can be seamlessly implemented in OSPlus, the central IT banking system of the Savings Bank Finance Group. The calculator records an institution’s activities, calculates the resulting emissions and integrates them into the savings banks’ internal and central reporting tools.
This integration of the data in the OSPlus architecture thus creates several advantages: it is immediately available for further processing, for example in sustainability reports or for strategic decarbonisation measures. Merging and providing the data also creates the conditions for greater transparency and comparability – also vis-à-vis auditors or in an institution’s public communication.