Climate-neutral Companies

The term ‘climate neutrality’ has become an important guiding concept for companies that want to make a contribution to climate protection. There are many different interpretations, definitions, initiatives and standards regarding the term on the market. These have their own labels and logos, which are intended to prove their ‘climate neutrality’. Legislators are called upon to develop standardised terminology in order to counteract misuse and create better incentives for companies undergoing transformation. An authorisation to issue an ordinance to establish a legal definition for a ‘climate-neutral company’ was accordingly included in Section 18 of the German Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG).

The project developed proposals for a legal definition of the term ‘climate-neutral company’ and for an accompanying tier system for companies that are working towards climate neutrality. Critically, the purpose of the legal definition and the tier system is to be able to link privileges and incentives to the achievement of the tiers and the target state of climate neutrality. Three stakeholder workshops and expert interviews were conducted as accompanying work processes. These were intended to ensure that the available findings and experiences of (research) institutions and (civil society) organisations, companies, industry experts and associations are incorporated into the project results.

The results of the project will be recorded in a report. The report is intended to support the further interdepartmental coordination process in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. In the future, a legal definition and a tier system are to be transferred into a valid legal document. The aim is to create a standardised, transparent and connectable basis that creates incentives for ambitious climate protection activities by companies.

• The concluding report can be found on the website of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).