B R I TA G R O U P // M AY 2 016

Cor
porateCarbonFootprint
Report2015

The BRITA Approach:
Balance the Impact
As a traditional and regionally rooted family-run company BRITA is awareof its responsibility for people, the environment and the region.
This responsibility is reflected in our self-understanding and is part of the BRITA brand promise (“Leadershipin Sustainability”). Yet it is also customers, business partners and other stakeholders who expect us to takea responsible approach to natural resources and keep our environmental impact as low as possible.
In 2013 we initiated our most ambitious corporate responsibility project in the BRITA group1 to date. We wantto measure the harmful CO2e emissions from our business activities, reduce them by means of a systematic
carbon management and “balance them out” to an extent by making meaningful environmental investments –all with the goal of keeping our ecological impact as low as possible and in line with our corporate responsibility.
We at BRITA are proud of the fact that our economic success rests on our own strength. The same approach
forms the basis of “Balance the Impact”, which is why we consciously decided against purchasing compensation
certificates. Instead, we are looking to counter the emissions we cause with our own reduction measures andinvest in projects that promote the avoidance of emissions outside our company as well.
This report presents the results of the first BRITA corporate carbon footprint and forms the basis for further
approaches and strategies to lower our harmful CO2e emissions. The idea is not to engage in a rigid
mathematical offsetting of emissions caused and those avoided by measures and investments. Rather,
we consider it a voluntary commitment to lower our ecological impact while we continuously seek to growand develop as a company.

“ Wat e r i s t h e ba s i s o f o u r b u s i n e ss.
F ro m t h i s a r i s e s o u r co r p o r at e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to p u t
a s p ec i a l e m p h a s i s o n s u sta i n a b i l i t y a n d e t h i c a l sta n da r d s
i n o u r b u s i n e ss ac t i v i t i e s.”
Markus Hankammer

BRITA Corporate
Carbon Footprint 2015 Results
The corporate carbon footprint of the BRITA group recorded for direct and indirect energy consumption in Scope 1
and Scope 2 in 2015 was in total 3,390 t CO2e. Scope 1 emissions constitute 2,920 t CO2e of this figure; for Scope
2 the figure is 470 t CO2e. Scope 3 emissions are 42,480 t CO2e.

1

The term BRITA group does not refer to a legal corporate entity, but is used to indicate all BRITA companies as a whole.
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Scope 1
A key source for our Scope 1 emissions is the use of stationary energy for the heating and cooling of our
production and office buildings and for our production processes. Natural gas (88 percent) and heating oil(4 percent) thus make up the majority of our Scope 1 emissions. The share of fuel used for the BRITA vehicle
fleet constitutes around 8 percent of Scope 1 emissions.

Natural Gas

88%
2.570 t Co2e

Heating Oil

Fuel

4%
130 t Co2e8%
220 t Co2eScope 2
Scope 2 encompasses emissions from the production of electricity that we use. In 2015 BRITA used
a total of 9,500 MWh of electricity.
In 2015 the production sites of BRITA GmbH in Taunusstein (Germany), BRITA AG in Neudorf (Switzerland) and
BRITA Water Filter Systems Ltd. in Bicester (UK) used certified green energy. As a matter of principle, all BRITA
subsidiaries are instructed to review and pursue the switch to electricity generated from renewable sources. Local
conditions and availability still pose a challenge at some sites.
BRITA reports Scope 2 emissions according to the provisions of the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance. For thelocation-based method2 the respective country electricity mix as stated in publicly accessible databases was used.
According to this calculation method we caused 3,740 t CO2e, 360 t by using conventional electricity, and 3,380 t
when the country electricity mix is also applied to green energy.
Relevant for BRITA in terms of emissions controlling is the market-based method3 for indirect emissions, where
the available residual mixes of the RE-DISS Project4 were applied. Where unavailable, the relevant country mixes
were used as a basis.5 In Scope 2, owing to the use of green energy at the energy-intensive production sites, themarket-based method gives a figure of only 470 t CO2e. Emissions here are primarily caused by operating officeand storage spaces at the international sites. Green energy makes up over 90 percent of BRITA’s entire electricity
consumption.

Emissions from Used Electricity
Location-based

3.740 t Co2e

Market-based		

470 t Co2e2

Location-based method: calculation defined by the GHG Protocol of Scope 2 emissions on the basis of average emission factors of a certain geographical region.
Market-based method: calculation defined by the GHG Protocol of Scope 2 emissions on the basis of actual emissions from generating electricity purchased (basedon data from electricity producers or residual mixes determined). 4 RE-DISS Project: EU-financed project with the goal of informing consumers about where theirelectricity comes from in a transparent manner, incl. through the annual calculation of so-called residual mixes; http://www.reliable-disclosure.org 5 Applies to Australia,
Japan, Canada and the USA.
3

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Within the framework of the energy management system ISO 50001, which was certified in 2015 for the
production sites Taunusstein (Germany) and Bicester (UK), BRITA continually works to reduce the consumptionof fossil fuels such as natural gas and heating oil, as well as electricity. We aim to reduce our total energy
consumption by 20 percent by 2020. We have already started implementing initial measures, such as switching
to LED illumination and energy-saving printers. The next phase envisages construction measures to increase
the energy efficiency of our buildings and the use of more efficient heating and production facilities.

Scope 3
BRITA calculates selected Scope 3 emissions in order to get a clear picture of our ecological footprint and aims
to use it to identify possible approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We determine emissions from theuse of leased staff vehicles in the company car fleet, from flights, rail and hire-car journeys6 during business trips
and emissions arising from the upstream chains of materials used in production. Specifically, emissions are
documented for purchased quantities of activated carbon, ion exchanger, plastics and other raw materials which
BRITA processes further at its production facilities and which constitute the main components of BRITA filter
cartridges.
In Scope 3 the BRITA group emissions total 42,480 t CO2e. Purchased materials are responsible for the largest
share (approx. 90 percent). Activated carbon and ion exchanger, the most important components of our filter
cartridges, are purchased in correspondingly large quantities. For this reason these two materials together cause
almost 94 percent of emissions from purchased materials. An important lever for the future reduction of ourcorporate carbon footprint is the in-house recycling of BRITA filter cartridges. Today, well over 1,800 m³ of ion
exchanger and activated carbon is recovered per year and reused in this way already.

MATERIALS	

37.630 t Co2e		LEAsed Vehicles

3.000 t Co2e		

Business Travel

1.850 t Co2e

At 1,850 t CO2e, emissions from business trips make up a relatively small proportion (4 percent) of Scope 3
emissions and are primarily caused by flights. Hire cars and rail travel have little significance. The use of leased
company cars translates to emissions totalling 3,000 t CO2e. In the autumn of 2015 BRITA GmbH introduced
a new company car policy at its German sites. In addition to particularly fuel-efficient vehicles, the catalogue of
measures promotes electric cars and plug-in hybrids. Staff members can also use the free charging stations at
the BRITA campus in Taunusstein, which provide electricity from renewable resources, and in so doing renderan active contribution to reducing our CO2e emissions.

6

No data on rail travel is currently available for the Taunusstein site.
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The Corporate Carbon
Footprint Method
The corporate carbon footprint shows which greenhouse gas emissions (expressed in CO 2
equivalents = CO 2 e) were caused by the business activities of the BRITA group in 2015.
The calculation is based on the provisions of the GHG (Greenhouse Gas) Protocol and isdetermined with the help of a professional software program.

Boundaries of the report
The report is limited to BRITA GmbH and selected subsidiaries of the BRITA group.7 In terms of the corporatecarbon footprint, the production sites of Taunusstein (Germany), Bicester (UK) and Neudorf (Switzerland) areof special importance. The other subsidiaries are mostly sales offices or distribution sites with no production
facilities of their own. The footprint does not include newly founded subsidiaries or acquisitions, which have
not yet been integrated into BRITA’s carbon reporting structures. We intend to include them in future reports,
however. The BRITA companies included in the corporate carbon footprint calculations are responsible forabout 75 percent of overall sales volume. The information in the report relates to the year 2015.

Emissions documented
The GHG Protocol defines three different scopes into which a company’s emissions are subdivided. Scope 1
encompasses emissions from direct stationary or mobile energy consumption, such as the burning of fossil fuels(heating oil, natural gas, fuel for fleet vehicles). Scope 2 contains emissions from the generation of electricity that
BRITA buys from energy suppliers. We have fully documented our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in line withthe provisions of the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
Scope 3 includes further indirect emissions that arise from our business activities and along the value chain.
The BRITA corporate carbon footprint encompasses in Scope 3 emissions from business trips, the company
vehicle fleet of leased staff vehicles and the manufacturing of materials purchased for production (activatedcarbon, ion exchanger, plastics and other raw materials that BRITA directly processes). Finished productcomponents that BRITA purchases are not currently included in the carbon footprint. We will review theinclusion of further Scope 3 categories in the future.

Data quality and calculation factors
For the most part, data based on consumption and billing were used to calculate the corporate carbon footprint.
Where specific consumption data were not available (e.g. for rented office spaces, for which electricity and water
are billed at a fixed price within the ancillary costs), plausible assumptions were made and consumption was
calculated or estimated using the arising costs.
The CO2e conversion factors used stem from reputable databases (incl. GHG Protocol, Defra). When establishing
Scope 3 emissions for purchased materials we were able to use conversion factors established in certified productcarbon footprints of individual BRITA products, which we had calculated in the past.

7

In 2015 the following companies were taken into consideration: BRITA GmbH (Germany) incl. the Netherlands site, BRITA Water Filter Systems Distributors Pty Ltd.
(Australia), BRITA Water Filter Systems Ltd. (UK), BRITA S.A.R.L. (France), BRITA Italia, BRITA Japan, BRITA Polska, BRITA AG Schweiz (Switzerland), BRITA Iberia(Spain), MAVEA LLC (USA), MAVEA Canada Inc., BRITA Ionox Deutschland GmbH (Germany).
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Evaluation and assurance
The evaluation and tracking of climate-harmful emissions takes place at the BRITA group level. BRITA uses
the data from the Corporate Carbon Footprint Report to make its own processes more efficient and to identify
approaches to improve carbon management in the value chain. We are still in the process of setting up ourcarbon accounting system, which is why 2015 is the first year for which we have complete data available.
In the future, the report will include comparisons with data from previous years.
The Corporate Carbon Footprint Report 2015 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers AG.
The auditor’s report is attached to this document.

Reduction and Compensationof Emissions
BRITA has set itself the goal of systematically reducing its emissions levels, which have a harmful effect on the
climate, and “balancing them out” to an extent by investing in meaningful environmental projects. In the context
of this approach we are initially concentrating our efforts on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, as these are theones we are best able to influence and control. We seek to reduce emissions through projects we identify in theframework of our certified energy and environmental management systems and through which we can lower
our energy and resource consumption.
At the same time, we aim to invest in selected external projects whose objective is to avoid emissions and in
so doing partially offset, at least on paper, the actual emissions we cause. Among the investments we are
currently pursuing is an in-house photovoltaic plant to generate our own electricity, which would be constructedon the roof of our production building in Taunusstein. We are currently reviewing further green energy projects,
which must satisfy our ecological and economic criteria and should also promote sustainable, responsible
development outside our company. With our two-pronged approach of reduction and investments, we areworking to continually lower our corporate carbon footprint and in so doing live up to our corporate responsibility
in the sense of the “Balance the Impact” approach.

“ M a n c a n n ot d i s cov e r n e w o c e a n s u n l e ss h e h a s t h e co u r ag e
to lo s e s i g h t o f t h e s h o r e .”André Gide

OutlookAs part of the “Balance the Impact” approach we will identify further internal projects that we can initiate
to lower our emissions. At the same time we will work on improving our carbon management by means of acontinual standardization of data collection and even higher data quality. By including further BRITA sites,
we will increasingly complete and regularly document our corporate carbon footprint.
As a growing, globally expanding company these goals pose a particular challenge. We seek to achieve all thiswhile simultaneously increasing production and sales activities and pursuing ambitious strategy goals. Yet in thischallenge we perceive an opportunity for BRITA to make our lived corporate responsibility tangible for outsiders
and to increase what we know about our own activities.

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Assurance PWC
Independent Practitioner’s Limited Assurance Reporton Greenhouse Gas Emission Data
To BRITA GmbH, Taunusstein
We have been engaged to perform a limited assurance engagement of theaccompanying information presented in the report “BRITA Corporate Carbon
Footprint 2015” of BRITA GmbH, Taunusstein, (hereafter the “Company”) forthe period 1 January to 31 December 2015 (hereafter the “Corporate Carbon
Footprint 2015”). The information are Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas
emission data as well as Scope 3 greenhouse gas emission data 2015
(the „Greenhouse Gas Emission Data“)*.

Management’s Responsibility for the
Corporate Carbon Footprint 2015
Company’s Management is responsible for the preparation of the Corporate
Carbon Footprint 2015 in accordance with the criteria as set out in the
publication "A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard – Revised Edition
2004" of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative (World Business Council for
Sustainable Development / World Resources Institute): Relevance, Completeness, Consistency, Transparency and Accuracy (pages 8-9, hereafter"GHG Protocol Criteria").
This responsibility includes the selection and application of appropriate
methods to prepare the Corporate Carbon Footprint 2015 as well as the useof assumptions and estimates for individual Greenhouse Gas Emission Data
disclosures, which are reasonable in the circumstances. Furthermore, this
responsibility includes the design, implementation and maintenance of internal
control relevant to the preparation of the Corporate Carbon Footprint 2015that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

Audit Firm’s Independence and Quality Control
We have complied with the German professional provisions regarding
independence as well as other ethical requirements.

including an understanding of internal control, and the procedures performedin response to the assessed risks. The procedures we performed were basedon our professional judgment and included inquiries, observation of processes
performed, inspection of documents, analytical procedures, evaluating theappropriateness of quantification methods and reporting policies, and agreeingor reconciling with underlying records. Within the scope of our work we
performed amongst others the following procedures:• Inquiries of personnel of the Company’s central department Health,
Safety & Environment involved in the preparation of the Corporate Carbon
Footprint 2015.
• Site visits and inquiries of personnel of BRITA Group in Germany,
Switzerland and UK involved in the primary data collection and local
control procedures.
• Inspection of the internal documentation of the applied methodology
and processes.
• Inspection of working documents, internal documentation (especiallyregarding internal controls applied at central and national level).
• Analytical procedures on the Greenhouse Gas Emission Dataat site level and BRITA Group level.
• Assessment of the presentation of Greenhouse Gas Emission Datain the Corporate Carbon Footprint 2015. .

Limited Assurance Conclusion
Based on the procedures we have performed and the evidence we haveobtained, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that theGreenhouse Gas Emission Data presented in the Corporate Carbon Footprint2015 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the GHG
Protocol criteria (Relevance, Completeness, Consistency, Transparency
and Accuracy).

Emphasis of Matter - Use of estimates and assumptions
Without qualifying our conclusion we refer to the fact that the calculation ofGreenhouse Gas Emission Data is by nature partly based on estimates andassumptions.

Emphasis of Matter – Recommendations

The audit firm applies the national legal requirements and professional
standards – in particular the Professional Code for German Public Auditors andGerman Chartered Auditors (“Berufssatzung für Wirtschaftsprüfer und vereidigte
Buchprüfer“: “BS WP/vBP”) as well as the joint opinion of the Wirtschaftsprüferkammer (Chamber of German Public Auditors; WPK) and the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (Institute of Public Auditors in Germany; IDW): Requirements toquality control for audit firms (“Gemeinsamen Stellungnahme der WPK und des
IDW: Anforderungen an die Qualitätssicherung in der Wirtschaftsprüferpraxis”:“VO 1/2006”) – and accordingly maintains a comprehensive system of quality
control including documented policies and procedures regarding compliancewith ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable legal andregulatory requirements.

Without qualifying our conclusion above, we make the following recommendations for the further development of the Company's Greenhouse Gas Emission
reporting:

Practitioner’s Responsibility

Restriction on Use and Distribution

Our responsibility is to express a limited assurance conclusion on theGreenhouse Gas Emission Data presented in the Corporate Carbon Footprint2015 based on the procedures we have performed and the evidence wehave obtained.

We issue this report on the basis of the engagement agreed with the Company.
The audit has been performed for purposes of the Company and is solely
intended to inform the Company about the results of the audit. The report is notintended for any third parties to base any (financial) decision thereon. We do notassume any responsibility towards third parties.

We conducted our limited assurance engagement in accordance with International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3410, Assurance Engagementson Greenhouse Gas Statements (“ISAE 3410”), issued by the International
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. That standard requires that we planand perform this engagement to obtain limited assurance about whether theGreenhouse Gas Emission Data is free from material misstatement.

Munich, 24 May, 2016

A limited assurance engagement undertaken in accordance with ISAE 3410
involves assessing the suitability in the circumstances of the Company’s use of
the GHG Protocol criteria as the basis for the preparation of the Greenhouse
Gas Emission Data, assessing the risks of material misstatement of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Data whether due to fraud or error, responding to theassessed risks as necessary in the circumstances, and evaluating the overall
presentation of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Data.

• Systematic expansion of the greenhouse gas emission reporting to BRITA
entities, which are not yet covered by the Corporate Carbon Footprint andwith the objective to capture and report the greenhouse gas emissions of
the entire BRITA Group.
• Further formalization of the existing reporting processes and the internal
control system for the material variables of the Corporate Carbon
Footprint.

PricewaterhouseCoopers
Aktiengesellschaft
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
Hendrik Fink
German Public Auditor

ppa. Axel Faupel

A limited assurance engagement is substantially less in scope than a reasonable assurance engagement in relation to both the risk assessment procedures,*
Our engagement applied to the German version of the Corporate Carbon Footprint 2015. This text is a translation of the Independent Practitioner’s
Limited Assurance Report issued in German - the German text is authoritative.

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Contact BRITA
BRITA GmbH
Corporate Responsibility
Meike Rapp
Heinrich-Hertz-Straße 465232 Taunusstein
Germany
Tel.: +49 6128-746-5295
Email: mrapp@brita.net
www.brita.de

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