CropEnergies is committed to using energy efficiently, continuously improving the energy efficiency of its production processes and reducing the climate impact of its business activities. For us, this means complying with all legal and self-imposed requirements, continuously reviewing and optimizing production processes with regard to their energy efficiency, and taking energy efficiency potential into account when designing plants.
CropEnergies' production is characterized by efficient production processes and modern energy supply systems. The requirements of the Energy Efficiency Directive have been implemented at all production sites and in CropEnergies' administration.
| CropEnergies Bioethanol GmbH | ISO 50001 |
| ENSUS Uk Ltd. | Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) |
| BioWanze SA | Accords de branche de deuxième génération |
| Ryssen Alcools SAS | Energy audit EN 16247 |
| CropEnergies AG | Energy audit EN 16247 |
In 2023, 10.7 PJ of energy was used for the processes, with renewable energy accounting for 27%. CropEnergies will continue to gradually reduce the consumption of fossil fuels at all sites over the next few years.
The process energy required at Ensus in Wilton is sourced externally. Around half of the steam comes from a plant for the energy recovery of household waste. The remainder of the thermal and electrical energy requirement is covered by natural gas. CropEnergies is investing around EUR 25 million in improving reliability and energy efficiency. The planned installation of a mechanical vapor recompression plant will reduce both steam requirements and CO2 emissions.
Ryssen Alcools in Loon-Plage obtains energy from waste heat from a neighboring industrial plant. The rest of the thermal and electrical energy requirements are covered by natural gas.
At BioWanze, a large proportion of the thermal and electrical process energy required is obtained from wheat bran. At the beginning of 2023, the completion of the second biomass boiler in Wanze marked another milestone in the move away from fossil fuels. The plant was fully commissioned at the beginning of November 2023.
At the Zeitz site, CropEnergies has initiated the phase-out of coal and by 2023 already covered around 21% of the required process heat with natural gas. By 2030, coal is to be completely phased out at the site.
Südzucker AG (Group) commits to reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 50.4% by 2030 compared to the base year 2018; and also to reduce absolute Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services, fuel and energy-related activities as well as upstream transportation and distribution activities by 30% within the same period.
As a division of Südzucker Group, CropEnergies participates in the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and is committed to reducing absolute direct and indirect fossil CO2 emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) by 50.4% by the 2030/31 financial year compared to the base year 2018 in line with the 1.5° target.
Direct emissions from own sources.
Examples: own CHP plant, production process
Indirect emissions from purchased energy
Examples: purchased thermal and electrical energy
All other indirect emissions in the value chain
Examples upstream: provision of raw materials, transportation, auxiliary materials
Examples downstream: use of products sold, transportation
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions include all direct emissions as well as indirect emissions from energy use. Over the past three years, CropEnergies has been able to continuously reduce fossilCO2-emissions and has already achieved a reduction of 20% compared to the base year 2018/19.
The measures intended to achieve the 2030 target are essentially divided into three categories:
By 2030: Reduce fossil CO2 emissions
CropEnergies halves direct and indirect fossil CO2 emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) from production by 2030 compared to 2018.
Climate neutrality by 2045
CropEnergies is aiming for climate-neutral production by 2045.
In the 2022/23 financial year, a climate change scenario analysis was carried out for the four production sites of the CropEnergies Group. The aim was to determine the physical climate risk for each location. The scenarios SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were used.
The current conditions and an optimistic and a pessimistic scenario up to 2040 and 2060 were considered. The analysis corresponds to the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in the relevant areas.
The following climate-related risks were classified as relevant for the Group:
The exposure and potential impact of the production sites were assessed using standardized questionnaires in order to evaluate the potential physical climate risk of the sites. The next steps will be derived on the basis of this initial analysis.