Sustainability at Griesson - de Beukelaer: Science Based Targets Initiative validates climate targets on a scientific basis

Commitment to climate protection: Griesson - de Beukelaer (GdB) has committed to significantly reducing company-wide greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi): by 2030, GdB aims to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations, which are included in Scope 1 and 2, by 42 percent. For indirect greenhouse gas emissions in the value chain, Scope 3, GdB's reduction target is 25 percent. These near-term emission reduction targets were validated today following a comprehensive review by the Science Based Targets Initiative and are thus in line with the Paris Climate Agreement as science-based climate targets.
“As a family business with a history of over 100 years, we are committed to sustainability by tradition and by generations. In line with the Science Based Targets Initiative, we have therefore set ourselves ambitious goals to make our contribution to climate and environmental protection at our sites and along the value chain”, explains Dany Schmidt, CEO of GdB. “As one of the leading manufacturers of sweet and savory baked goods with production sites in Polch, Kahla and Wurzen as well as our subsidiary, we work as a team every day to achieve these climate targets."
Climate targets according to the SBTi require a consideration of the entire emissions of a company. Direct emissions in Scope 1 and 2 include the consumption of gas, electricity and fuel at the production sites. GdB has already set the course for reducing these CO₂ emissions with initial measures: Photovoltaics, LED lighting, heat recovery at the ovens and the optimization of individual machines and processes stand for efficiency increases and CO₂ savings. Since 2022, the family-owned company has been using electricity from renewable sources for its production sites in Polch, Kahla and Wurzen. To achieve the target of 42 percent CO₂ reduction by 2030 compared to the base year 2020, further efficiency improvements are planned, which contribute to limiting the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Scope 3 combines indirect emissions in the upstream and downstream supply chain, including raw materials and packaging, transportation and business travel. Compared to the base year 2020, GdB aims to reduce emissions by 25 percent by 2030 and actively support the goal of limiting the temperature increase to "well below 2°C". Raw materials have the greatest potential for reduction. Together with its suppliers, GdB is striving to reduce the CO₂ emissions generated during the cultivation of raw materials by actively promoting regenerative agriculture and the protection of rainforests. In addition, the family-owned company is increasingly working in the development of enjoyable recipes on a purely plant based basis. For example, crispbreads have already been successfully converted to vegan recipes and further vegan product innovations have been introduced.
The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) is a joint initiative of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, the World Re-sources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that establishes methods and criteria for science-based CO₂ reduction targets and validates corporate targets.