WHITE PAPER I No. 091 I Page 1

WHITE PAPER No. 091

Our Way to Zero CO2
Jan Bebermeier, Annabell Methler, Florian Meusel
Eppendorf SE, Germany

Executive summary
The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, a treaty on climate change
agreed by over 190 countries, limits the global temperature
increase to well below 2 °C and calls for continuing efforts
to limit this to 1.5 °C. Industry is one of the largest emissionproducing sectors, making it essential for industry to contribute to achieving the Paris accord’s reduction targets.
Eppendorf has set its goal: We intend to cut our carbon
emissions in our own operations down to zero by 2028.
Time for an interim report.

CO2 Emission
Target

2028
0

100

Introduction
The Eppendorf corporate purpose is to improve humanliving conditions. This has never been more relevant than
today. Eppendorf targets to contribute to the battle against
the climate change. We support scientific work on how tocure serious diseases and to secure food for eight billion
people and more in the future. The solutions we need forthe future of humanity come from scientists in the laboratory, whom we support with our products and solutions.
Climate change is already affecting and threatening the livesof many people around the world. In order to contribute to
mitigating climate change, we set ourselves a list of climate
targets.
Eppendorf faces up to its responsibility and has clearlyanchored the core issue of sustainability within the company’s corporate strategy. Corporate responsibility does
not just begin and end with producing and selling a product.
Instead, the focus is on each step of the entire value chain.

For this reason, our strategic framework includes many
topics in the areas of climate change, natural resources,
social compliance, human well-being, digitalization, andsociety – from the raw materials supplier to the customer.
To achieve our carbon emission reduction goal, theEppendorf Sustainability & HSE team has developed aclimate strategy that specifies concrete measures that
we can implement to significantly reduce our carbon
emissions of Eppendorf as a company (Scope 1 + 2 and,in part 3; see also page 3).
Eppendorf’s management board declared in summer 2022
a goal: Based on the results of our climate strategy, we wantto cut down our carbon emissions in our own operationsof Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Our goal is to reach this “zero”
by 2028, based on the reference year 2019.
What has happened since then?
Where do we stand today as a company?

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Facing reality
Plans are the baseline for any action. But plans are a theoretical approach which then needs to be assigned to reality.
As probably everyone realizes who dips into the details ofcarbon reduction, the more time you spent on the topic,
the more aspects, sub-aspects, and sub-sub-aspects appear.
Whereas challenges of classic problems quite often get morefeasible the nearer you come, climate change aspects are
hyper-connected, especially in a globally acting industry
with different production sites, numerous suppliers, andstrict regulatory aspects of the laboratories.
To cut it short, the closer you come to reality regarding
carbon savings, the more challenging the topic becomes.

Baseline of all calculation is 2019 as 2020 and 2021 arebiased by the high global requests for laboratory material
to fight the pandemic. Especially tubes and pipettes tips
were produced 24/7 and shipped in extremely high numbers
by air-cargo to keep the global laboratory community inworking mode.
“We have already successfully moved some levers,” explains
Enrico Jakobi, Head of Sustainability & HSE. “For example,
we have been able to reduce CO2 emissions at our own sites
from 29,000 tons to 17,000 tons since 2019.” The 12,000
tons of CO2 saved are roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of around 1,000 average households.

We stick to our goal to drastically reduce our emissions.
The Eppendorf climate strategy developed by our sustainability team is the baseline. The plan bundles measures that
reduce CO2 emissions at Eppendorf production sites and in
administration. The implementation has already been underway for several years.
Table 1: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in tCO2e 1)
2022

2021

2020

2019

Total emissions Scope 1 and 2 market-based

8,814

9,099

20,935

20,846

Scope 1 2)

7,009

7,193

6,955

7,644

Scope 2 market-based 3)

1,805

2,023

14,097

13,202

Scope 2 location-based

8,875

10,1499,498

13,525

Category 4 + 9: Up- and downstream transportation

5,757

7,588

6,618

4,290

Category 6: Business travel (flights)

2,256

885

828

3,476

Category 11: Use of sold products 4)

246,561

232,434

242,42278,3080.00710.00830.0216

0,02593)

Scope 3CO2 intensity
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions per Mio € in sales5)

1) Eppendorf calculates greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol, operational control approach. All relevant greenhouse gases are included and converted into tCO2
equivalents. Carbon accounting includes all Eppendorf locations, with the exception of Eppendorf Himac as this site was not taken over by Eppendorf until 2021. Emissions were modeled
and extrapolated for units with fewer than 20 FTEs.
2) BAFA emission factors from the Informationsblatt CO2-Faktoren (CO2 factors fact sheet) and the German Federal Environment Agency’s Kohlendioxid-Emissionsfaktoren für die deutsche
Berichterstattung atmosphärischer Emissionen (carbon dioxide emission factors for German reporting of atmospheric emissions) were used to calculate the sites’ Scope 1 emissions. Emission
factors from the GHG Protocol (Emission Factors from Cross Sector Tools) were applied for the vehicle fleet. CO2 emissions for Eppendorf vehicles were corrected retroactively for 2021 and 2020.
3) The various methods used to account for Scope 2 emissions applied different emission factors: market-based emissions relate to the emission factors of the individual electricity supplier. If suchfactors were not available, the AIB’s European Residual Mixes 2020 were applied for locations in Europe, with the EPA eGRID being used for locations in the U.S. The remaining sites were
evaluated using the carbon footprint country specific electricity grid greenhouse gas emission factor. Location-based emissions relate to the average emission factors of the power grid in whichelectricity is consumed. CO2 emissions for location-based Scope 2 emissions were corrected retroactively for 2021 and 2020.
4) Typical utilization and a life cycle of 10 years per product have been assumed for Eppendorf electronic products. For our bioprocess units, no useful information is available; therefore, they havebeen omitted from the analysis. The data for 2020 and 2021 were corrected retroactively.
5) CO2 intensity describes the Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions divided by net sales in thousands of euros (€).
> https://sustainability-report.eppendorf.com/2022/data-facts/key-sustainability-indicators/

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Scope 1+2 emissions (t)Figure 1A: Scope 1+2 emissions in [t] of Eppendorf since 2019

Scope 1+2 emissions (t)/ Mio € revenue

Figure 1B: Scope 1+2 emissions in [t] of Eppendorf since2019 in relationship to revenue [Mio €]Reporting

What is included in our goal?

Public reporting of progress is key for a reliable and trustfulcommunication. Therefore, Eppendorf decided to start publishing a sustainability report already in 2022 (about 2021)
although the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive(CSRD) requires the reporting from 2026 (reporting year2025) ongoing. Companies subject to the CSRD will reportaccording to European Sustainability Reporting Standards(ESRS).
For our current reports, we stick to the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) guidelines.
By participating in the UN Global Compact, Eppendorf
commits to the pact’s 10 principles on human rights, labor,
environment, and anticorruption. Before a company may
join the UN Global Compact, its management must commit
to the ten principles in a Letter of Commitment.
The Eppendorf board signed the company’s Letter of Commitment in January 2022. Every year, Eppendorf will document and publish the progress it makes on all its activities.

In contrast to several other companies which promise complete cut-downs of all emissions to zero combined with very
long timelines, we decided for a different approach:We have focused on aspects which are under our own control,that means emissions based on our own operations, combinedwith a mid-term target timeline.

Scope 1:
Direct GHG emissions refer to emissions from sourcesthat are owned or controlled by the company, like thegeneration of electricity, heat or steam, transportationof materials, products, employees by company owned
vehicles and to fugitive emissions.

Scope 2:
Indirect emissions refer to purchased electricity.
Scope 3:All other indirect GHG emissions which occur in acompany’s value chain, like extraction and productionof purchased materials, product use, disposal of waste,or employee business travel.

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CO2

CH4

N2O

Scope 2
INDIRECT

HFCs

SF4

Scope 1
DIRECT

Scope 3
INDIRECT

Scope 3
INDIRECT

purchased
goods andservicestransportationand distribution

leased assets

capitalgoods

purchased electricity,
steam, heating & coolingfor own use

fuel andenergy related
activities
transportationand distribution

Upstream activities

investments

company
facilities
employeecommutingprocessing ofsold products

franchises

businesstravelwaste
generated inoperations

leased assets

use of soldproducts

company
vehiclesend-of-life
treatment ofsold products

Reporting company

Downstream activities

Figure 3: Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3[32] Adapted based on:
https://ghgprotocol.org/sites/default/files/standards/Corporate-Value-Chain-Accounting-Reporing-Standard_041613_2.pdf

For the time being, the so-called Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are considered. These include emissions from fuels incompany-owned vehicles, from heating and cooling systems,
and from electricity, heat, and steam that Eppendorf purchases from utilities (see also box). The Scope 3 emissions
considered are parts of 3.6 (Business travel) and 3.9(Transport and distribution (downstream)).
For sure, there are requests in the global community toinclude the complete set of Scope 3 emissions in the industry
scoring sheet. This is a fair approach as especially the emissions caused by pre-production steps at suppliers as well as

by our products in the laboratories are (estimated) by far thebiggest majority of our total emissions. But so far, we can notmeasure, document, and influence the emissions of our suppliers as well as to control how often our customers use theirequipment and which type of power contract they have. In
addition, these Scope 3 emissions of Eppendorf are Scope 2
emissions of the user and will appear on their scoring.
So far, we capture the emissions of scope 1 and 2 and publish
these data. Within the next years we will also capture more
and more emissions of scope 3 to reduce the amount of estimated data within the carbon balance sheet.

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Science based approach
As a company, we want to be transparent about whichassumptions and methodologies we use to calculate
our greenhouse gas inventory.
As a science-driven and science-serving company,
science-based targets (in line with the goals of theParis Agreement) and documentation of emissions
are set for us (“science based approach”).
It is furthermore important to know that neutralizationof scope 3 emissions is optional according to the GHG
Protocol Corporate Standard, whereas other standards
like the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) make it
mandatory.
In October 2023, we signed the SBTi.

Energy and climate
One major lever to reduce carbon emissions is the rightselection of power. Electric power from renewable sources
is becoming more and more common. Even the price delta
between green power and classic power is getting smaller
compared to some years ago. Still, there is quite often
a price difference and a pro-active switch is also somefinancial commitment of a company to more sustainability.
Although the general/ classic power mix is based on an
increasing percentage of renewable power, we decided toswitch our power contracts to 100% green power. Startingin 2018, the first Eppendorf factory was able to perform
product assembly based on 100% renewable power.
In the following years, nearly all our factories as well as
the Hamburg-based headquarters followed this path.

There are two small factories which still use classic power mix:
A new factory in Shanghai where the switch to renewable
power is planned and our Japan-based factory for highspeed
and ultra highspeed centrifuges. The centrifuge factory is
integrated in a bigger industrial complex where a change ofpower supply is currently not possible.
In the next steps, the global warehouse but also the local
sub-hubs will be adapted to green power.
The switch to renewable energy at the described Eppendorfsites has resulted in a reduction of our Scope 1+2 emissions
by 58% (2022 compared to 2019). We see further reduction
potential by switching further locations to renewable energy.

Table 2: Eppendorf total energy consumption in MWh GRI 302-1, -3
2022

2021

2020

2019

Total energy consumption

66,791

66,451

61,781

62,158

Electrical power

33,74632,301

28,747

26,624

Sourced form renewables energies

30,59929,15500Fossil fuels

31,47432,43031,38833,998District heating and cooling

1,571

1,720

1,646

1,536

0.05410.06040.06390.0773

Energy intensity
Energy consumption per € thousand in sales1)

1) Energy intensity describes the sum of electricity consumption, fossil fuels and district heating divided by net sales in thousands of euros (€).

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The climate standards for new buildings are uncompromising.
Eppendorf is pursuing ambitious goals in Juelich/Germany,
where our bioprocess center is expanded. The new building
meets the highest quality requirements in accordance with
the Platinum Standard of the German Sustainable Building
Council. This is currently the best possible domestic seal of
approval for sustainable, climate-conscious construction.
This is for example based on usage of recycled building materials and the installation of a photovoltaic system that will
fully cover the building’s energy needs. The new factory in
China is to be awarded the internationally recognized LEEDGold certificate for sustainable construction.
Optimizing the energy efficiency of existing buildings is
proceeding step by step. Due to the pure number of buildings but also due to the limited availability of material andspecialized workers as well as in-time permissions, not allexisting buildings will be energy-efficient by 2028. The rightframework conditions to implement the missing measures
bit by bit is in preparation.
Energy efficiency also includes improvements in capital
equipment. For example in the headquarters in Hamburg,the very energy-intensive generation of compressed air
was significantly optimized by replacing compressors andimproving compressor control in 2022.

Figure 4: Car charging stations at Eppendorf headquarters, Hamburg,
Germany

Vehicle fleet and travel
Further emission reductions will come from the complete
electrification of the Eppendorf vehicle fleet. Due to the different situations in the dedicated Eppendorf locations globally,
this change will happen in every country individually. In
global terms, electrification strongly depends on the local
charging infrastructure. As being the head office country,
all Eppendorf vehicles in Germany will be fully electric byend of 2027. This will include the vehicles of sales & service
as well as the vehicle fleet of the management. As of 2023,
the ratio of electric cars is already above 20 percent, beinga significant impact for the reduction of CO2 emissions by
43 percent from 2020 to 2022 in our German traffic sector.
Progress in more environmentally friendly business travel isbeing made by a new travel directive for Germany. For the
first time, it takes environmental and climate aspects into
account. For example, air travel is only possible from a distance of more than 500 kilometers. Travels by train are to
be preferred wherever possible.
In addition, a global travel policy is currently being drawn
up that includes the issue of sustainability.
Logistics
Logistic of parts and products have a big impact on emissions. In general, Eppendorf products are shipped bycontainer ships from our central first hub in Germany toour regional distribution sub hubs. By maintaining several
global distribution sub hubs, we reduce global drop shipments to a minimum.
Long distance transportation is done by ship and by plane.
In 2019, 16% of our products (in terms of weight) weretransported by plane. Due to the urgent global request forlaboratory equipment during the pandemic, we saw asignificant increase in emission levels for airfreight in 2020.
We are aiming at significantly reducing the amount of
airfreight to below 2019 levels.
In 2022, 24% of pollutants were saved by switching from air
to sea freight (compared to 2021). The purchase of a growing
amount of more sustainable marine fuels for our containers
also reduce the emissions of CO2 as well as of harmful substances compared to classic heavy oil in marine transportation. A pilot cooperation with DHL GoGreenPlus on the
US/Europe transportation track saved more than 40% ofCO2e in Q4/2022 compared to Q3/2022.
Transportation by train is still on a very low level due to timeconsuming processing and limited flexibility. We hope that
more powerful cargo train systems will be established in the
major economical regions in the near future.

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Mid- to short-distance transportation is based on trucks. Depending on the region, this can be limited to a single country
or cover an economic region like the European Union. Many
logistics companies have started to use electric vehicles fortransporting lightweight goods in the consumer business.
The use of heavy electric trucks and/ or electric long-distance trucks is, however, still in a very early stage. Due toweight and size of many Eppendorf products, special trucks
equipped with a lifting ramp are mandatory.
In 2023, we support a pilot of one of our suppliers to use
a fuel cell truck to transport parts from a supplier to the
Hamburg-based production facilities.

Climate projects external
Besides the direct reductions of our own emissions, we also
want to support exceptional climate projects at our customers. One very significant activity is the sponsoring of theInternational Freezer Challenge, organized by My Green Lab®
and I2SL.

Over the last years, a growing number of lab teams competes to improve cold storage conditions (fridges, freezers,
ULT freezers) in the lab and to save energy. In 2023, nearly
2,000 lab teams worldwide finalized the challenge, 14,500 t
CO2 savings. The International Freezer Challenge is supported
by Eppendorf since 2017.

Figure 5: Logistic hub at Eppendorf

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Eppendorf supports the recultivation of the river Alster.
The Alster is a small river which finally ends up in the two
big famous lakes in Hamburg downtown. To improve thecondition of nature within the city, we –together with other
Hamburg-based companies- take action. The concept of„Lebendige Alster“ is to enrich the river with natural conditions for animals and plants and to support the biodiversity
in this habitat. For some years now, volunteers spend their
free time to recultivate these rivers, bringing back life to
the cities and improving the water ecosystem. „Lebendige
Alster“ enforces these volunteers by joining companies andtheir employees to help. Step by step, rivers like the Alster
get back their original look-a-like, supervised and monitoredby the German Nature preserve committee.
Figure 6: Eppendorf BikeStop, Hamburg, Germany

Climate projects internal
To support the usage of bikes for commuting, Eppendorf set
up a large bike garage directly at the main entrance of theheadquarters already more than 15 years ago: Weatherproof,
well-illuminated, VC-monitored and comfortable parking
spaces for bikes, supported by dressing rooms and showers
for those colleagues driving longer distances. The garage
was completely renewed in 2021: The BikeStop has now
space for up to 300 bikes. Secured access, sensor-controlled
light system, charging boxes for more than 60 e-bikes aswell as a compact self-service repair station provide optimal
conditions to switch from the car to the bike for commuting.
Employees in German Eppendorf facilities and offices canbenefit from JobRad®, an attractive leasing system for abroad range of different bikes.
Hamburg is our home town. The initiative „Wi mook dat“("we make it happen") brings together local companies
and local social and/ or environmental projects. The aimof the annual action day is to mobilize and sensitize as
many Hamburg companies as possible for social and environmental commitment.
With their efforts, the companies support charitable institutions by combining economy with environment.

OutlookDespite all the measures taken, the given reality somehow
limits the company‘s own CO2 emission savings. As of today,
not all emissions can be completely avoided, e.g. for heating
systems. We are examining numerous options for dealing
with the remaining emissions.
The current concept includes a remaining amount of CO2
which can not be eliminated by improvements, new design,
more efficient systems or any other currently available
technology.
Being aware of the grey area of emission off-sets, we willprobably not be able to completely avoid off-setting.
Starting in 2024, we will compensate for the existing gas
consumption in our German heating systems. This interim
solution will offset more than 1,000 t of CO2/ year which wecurrently can not eliminate as the heating of factories andoffices is a given due to the climate zones of the building
location.
Thanks to our climate strategy and related targeted measures, Eppendorf is prepared for its way to achieving its
climate goals. Significant progress has already been madein reducing CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, in the coming
years, we must continue to fight to reduce every ton of CO2,
because the last kilograms are known to be the hardest.

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About Eppendorf
Since 1945, the Eppendorf brand has been synonymous with customer-oriented processes and innovative products,
such as laboratory devices and consumables for liquid handling, cell handling and sample handling. Today, Eppendorf
and its approximately 5,000 employees serve as experts and advisors, using their unique knowledge and experience
to support laboratories and research institutions around the world. The foundation of the company’s expertise is its
focus on its customers. Eppendorf’s exchange of ideas with its customers results in comprehensive solutions that inturn become industry standards. Eppendorf will continue on this path in the future, true to the standard set by thecompany’s founders: that of sustainably improving people’s living conditions.

Your local distributor: www.eppendorf.com/contact
Eppendorf SE · 22331 Hamburg · Germany
eppendorf@eppendorf.com · www.eppendorf.com

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