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Action believes that sustainability should be accessible for all. Its comprehensive Action Sustainability Programme is structured around four pillars: people, planet, product and partnerships. It sets out Action’s ambitions on climate, the development of its people, on community partnerships and ensuring minimum social and environmental standards in its supply chain.
Since we became a long-term shareholder in Action in 2011, we have supported it as it has developed its sustainability strategy. Action renewed its materiality assessment in 2023, which identified eight material sustainability topics. We will cover progress on two of these in this section. Please refer to the Action Update 2023 for more detail on these and other material topics.
Action has a target to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by at least 60% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline. By the end of 2023, it had achieved a 46% reduction against the baseline while delivering strong growth in its network of stores and distribution centres. To achieve this, 90% of electricity is now procured from renewable sources, most stores have been disconnected from the gas supply and solar panels have been installed at seven out of its 13 distribution centres. Action aims to have disconnected gas, and fitted LED lighting, at all stores by the end of 2024. In addition, the company is now using HVO fuel for all of its 150 owned trucks and is piloting four new zero-emission1 e-trucks at distribution centres in the Netherlands and Germany.
Action calculated its Scope 3 emissions for the first time in 2023, using a 2021 baseline. The exercise showed that Scope 3 emissions account for 99% of Action’s total carbon footprint, with product raw materials, manufacturing and transportation representing 75% of the total. The company will use the insights from this exercise to develop its climate strategy, engaging with suppliers and supply chain partners to reduce Scope 3 and product-related emissions in the future. As a first step to addressing its Scope 3 emissions, Action has agreed with its most significant ocean freight carriers to use eco-fuels for shipments from Asia to Europe. The company has committed to set near-term emissions reduction science-based targets covering Scopes 1, 2 and 3 and aims to submit these for validation by the SBTi during 2024.
Action requires its suppliers to sign up to an ethical sourcing policy, which sets out minimum standards in areas such as forced labour, health and safety, pay and working rights. In addition, it requires all factories in high-risk countries to have an annual social compliance audit. Regular spot checks are performed to ensure factories remain compliant. The company looks to expand this programme every year, and conducted 2,104 assessments at suppliers and factories in 2023, compared to 1,682 in 2022. Action works with external partners to ensure expected standards are upheld, including amfori and supply chain expert ImpactBuying.
Action has a long-term commitment to supply chain transparency and aims to deliver transparency to all tiers of production by 2030. The current priority is final manufacturing factories (tier 1), where the company has an ambition to achieve 100% transparency by 2024 (from 88% in 2023). This is an important step to ensure that suppliers respect human rights and safety. The business thinks strategically about where it sources its products from and is actively diversifying its product sourcing to more geographies. Last year, despite significant sales growth, total European sourcing was maintained at 45%.
During 2023, Action achieved its goals to source 100% sustainable cotton (private and white label products) and cocoa (private label products) and made significant progress towards its goal of achieving 100% sustainably sourced timber by 2024, with 95% of timber products certified as sustainable in 2023.
1 The trucks will have zero direct emissions if they are charged using renewable electricity.
ten23 is a leading development, manufacturing and testing provider of sterile products for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Since its establishment in 2021, ten23 has been strongly purpose-driven, with commitments to placing patients, people and planet at the centre of its decisions, and operating with a core principle of “fairstainability” (fairness and sustainability).
This ethos is a key differentiator in a market primarily focused on patient health and safety, and where the environment is frequently a secondary consideration.
ten23 has a number of initiatives ongoing across its patients and people pillars. As part of its planet strategy, ten23 identified plastic waste and GHG emissions reduction as material focus areas.
ten23 set an objective to reduce, substitute or recycle plastics wherever possible, with a goal of removing twice as much plastic from the environment than is sent to final disposal, by 2025.
To achieve this, ten23 reduced the use of plastic disposables in labs, switched to biodegradable or reusable materials where possible, and improved sorting and recycling rates through the use of plastic waste collection bins. During 2023, plastic waste sent to incineration reduced from 5.0 tonnes (in 2022) to 2.7 tonnes, thanks to an increase in the recycling rate from 34.4% to 43.3%, despite the company’s year-on-year growth.
Any plastic waste which cannot be separated for recycling is offset through a partnership with Seven Clean Seas, an organisation which removes plastic waste from marine environments. Through this partnership, ten23 has removed 19 tonnes of waste from oceans and rivers to date, representing more than 150% of the plastic waste generated by the company since its inception.
ten23 aims to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2025 on an intensity basis to reflect the growth and maturity of the business since its establishment. In the first two years of operations, the company established a baseline for 2021 and delivered a 44% reduction against this, through a combination of procuring 100% renewable electricity and implementing several energy efficiency measures throughout its two facilities, including a cooling system upgrade, a new HVAC system installation, office shut-downs implemented to reduce heating requirements between Christmas and New Year, retrofitting of motion sensors into lighting and the purchase of an electric minivan and electric bikes to enable commuting between company locations.
ten23 expects to meet its initial emissions reduction target one year ahead of plan and has an ambition to set further emissions reduction targets in line with the SBTi criteria during 2024.
In addition to making meaningful changes within its own operations, ten23 aims to address systemic industry issues by working in collaboration with its suppliers, other pharmaceutical companies and various other healthcare stakeholders.
One example of this includes a partnership between ten23 and Elio, an eco-design software provider, to co-design and develop a tool which will enable technical experts to integrate sustainability considerations into product and process design. The purpose of this collaboration is to enable change across the healthcare industry, by prioritising sustainable practices without compromising the innovation, efficacy, safety and quality of sterile medicine formulations and manufacturing practices.
WilsonHCG is a provider of talent solutions offering recruitment process outsourcing, executive search, contingent workforce solutions, labour market intelligence and talent consulting services.
As a professional services business, employee development and recognition, and diversity are material topics for WilsonHCG. The company is focused on attracting, developing and retaining a diverse, global pool of over 1,500 talented employees, and supporting their clients to do the same.
WilsonHCG is committed to fostering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (“DEIB”) through its culture and values, and by hiring top talent from across a diverse society.
One way the company achieves this is through its BRITE programme (Belonging, Respect, Inclusion, Togetherness and Equity) to promote inclusiveness across the organisation by highlighting employees’ upbringing and background to break down social barriers and enable greater understanding of others. To support DEIB, collaboration and networking across the workplace, nine Employee Belonging Groups have been established as safe places for individuals to discuss traits and experiences which make people diverse. These voluntary groups, which include the Black community, veterans and military spouses, and neurodivergent employees, have over 500 members.
Understanding that achieving diversity requires an ongoing commitment, a DEIB committee is tasked with implementing initiatives across the organisation. During 2023, the committee hosted its first company-wide Diversity Summit, attended by more than 1,200 employees. Highlights included a workshop on inclusive hiring practices, a leadership panel, and a discussion on DEIB hosted by an external speaker.
WilsonHCG extends its experience and expertise in DEIB to support clients to attract diverse and qualified candidates. For example, the company supported a global IT consulting company to achieve a specific objective of increasing diversity hires across North America and EMEA. WilsonHCG provided an inclusive and targeted approach to candidate sourcing, and networking strategies to encourage applications from underrepresented groups. This resulted in a 32% increase in the female diversity slate and a 98% offer-to-hire rate.
Employee development at WilsonHCG begins in the first 90 days of an employee’s career, when a personalised onboarding plan ensures they are set up for success. Following this, multiple internal certification programmes provide dedicated training into specialist areas of recruitment. Once employees reach leadership positions, a dedicated programme provides them with foundational skills and helps to build a peer support network. An ongoing development programme with monthly content is attended by 87% of leaders across the business.
WilsonHCG’s commitment to fostering an innovative working environment has enabled the company to become an employer of choice. Employees are supported to work how and where they are most effective, including through a flexible daily schedule and the opportunity to work from anywhere. As a result, the organisation has a blended workforce of office-based and virtual employees spanning 65 countries and 78% of employees state they have a healthy balance between work and personal life. The prioritisation of workplace culture led to the company earning Great Place To Work Certification™ for the third consecutive year in 2023, being named a Fortune Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services™ for two years in a row and named as a Best Workplace for Millennials™.
Joulz owns and provides essential energy infrastructure equipment and complementary services to industrial and commercial customers in the Netherlands, assisting them in their energy transition journey.
Joulz’s service offering includes medium-voltage infrastructure (transformers and their related infrastructure), storage (mainly battery energy storage systems), solar (large-scale installations under operational lease or with government subsidies), metering (electricity and gas meters) and EV charging (AC and DC charge points). Its expertise is in the provision of integrated solutions which combine multiple service offerings to create a “virtual grid”, addressing challenges such as grid congestion.
Given Joulz’s key role in supporting customers with electrification, the business identified the development of its own credible decarbonisation plan as a key pillar of its sustainability strategy. Joulz’s assessment of its Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2022 indicated that they were limited and largely driven by its vehicle fleet, stationary combustion used in their operations and gas heating in offices, which accounted for c.83% of the combined Scope 1 and 2. The remaining 17% was due to purchased electricity, mainly for office use.
Following this assessment, Joulz set near-term emissions reduction science-based targets, receiving SBTi validation in January 2024. These targets include a commitment to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2021 baseline and a commitment to measure and reduce Scope 3 emissions in due course. Due to its size, Joulz was able to follow the SME route developed by SBTi and did not have to include a specific Scope 3 reduction target.
Joulz plans to achieve its targets through: a detailed reduction plan aligned with its sustainability strategy, including the use of biofuels; a transition to a full electric car fleet; procuring renewable electricity in its offices; potential rooftop solar solutions; and the reduction of natural gas use in offices and operations.
Health and safety is another important topic for Joulz. In 2023, the business expanded its health and safety team to increase safety efforts and deliver on safety initiatives. For example, emergency response procedures were refreshed and evacuation training provided to employees, and a number of safety campaigns were held.
An awareness campaign was executed during 2023, consisting of live sessions with employees, narrowcasting and intranet messaging. Special attention was given to asbestos, which is a risk in the environment in which Joulz operates. This is in addition to the regular workplace inspections, employee certifications and incident/near miss reporting which are part of Joulz’s safety and quality certifications.
As a result, the business demonstrated improved performance in 2023 with the ratio of Lost Time Incident Frequency Rate decreasing to 0 (from 7.9 in the prior year).
Both emissions and health and safety incidents are on the Joulz top level scorecard, to which senior executive remuneration is linked.
Future Biogas is one of the largest anaerobic digestion (“AD”) plant developers and producers of biomethane in the UK.
Established in 2010, it owns two AD plants with one further AD plant in construction, and operates 10 AD plants mainly on behalf of institutional investors under medium- to long-term contracts, converting energy crop feedstocks into biogas.
Biogas can be used to generate renewable electricity or be upgraded into biomethane and injected into the UK’s national gas network. There is growing demand for domestically produced biomethane which, as a direct substitute for fossil natural gas, plays an essential role in decarbonising some of the UK’s gas dependent sectors such as heat, transport and manufacturing.
Future Biogas is developing a new generation of unsubsidised AD plants and plans to sell the resulting biomethane under long-term offtake agreements to its offtake partners. In September 2023, Future Biogas entered into a 15-year partnership with AstraZeneca to establish the UK’s first unsubsidised industrialscale supply of biomethane gas. Future Biogas will supply several of AstraZeneca’s sites with up to 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year. Such a partnership provides a blueprint for wider commercial adoption of renewable gas in the UK. The collaboration with AstraZeneca, set to begin in early 2025, is expected to result in a significant reduction of GHG emissions of approximately 20,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Future Biogas is optimising the carbon intensity of its biomethane production. This pioneering effort includes reducing methane slip and facilitating the accumulation of soil organic carbon in soils, alongside a range of other measures targeting emissions from both crop production and on-site activities at the AD facility.
Future Biogas is actively engaging with the farmers it purchases feedstock from to support them in the transition to more regenerative land management practices. The co-production of food and energy can offer multiple environmental benefits – increasing crop yields, reducing the demand for plant protection products (pesticides), enriching biodiversity, and improving soil health, while decarbonising food and energy systems. In addition, the anaerobic digestion of the crops for the production of biogas has a by-product, known as digestate, which is used as a carbon and nutrient-rich bio-fertiliser displacing the need for artificial fertilisers, and replenishing soils with organic matter which is essential for healthy soil and its ability to act as a carbon sink.
ten23 expects to meet its initial emissions reduction target one year ahead of plan and has an ambition to set further emissions reduction targets in line with the SBTi criteria during 2024.
In October 2023, Future Biogas established an agricultural advisory board made up of leading academics and industry experts to provide the business with independent farming, scientific and market expertise focusing on a broad range of subjects including sustainable farming, scientific research and policy. This will ensure a wide spectrum of perspectives and specialisms are considered in the scrutiny applied to Future Biogas’ subsidy-free projects.
Action, our largest portfolio company, is a pan-European non-food discount retailer with over 2,250 stores in 11 countries. Sustainability is an integral aspect of Action’s strategy. It is committed to making sustainability accessible for everyone by continually investing to improve the quality and sustainability of its products and stores.
Action’s Sustainability Programme is structured around the four pillars of people, planet, product and partnership, each with clear and measurable KPIs and targets. We highlight below the progress Action has made on some of its priorities.
Progress on material topic: GHG emissions reduction
| Key commitments | Progress to 2022 |
| 60% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 (2021 baseline) |
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Action is committed to reducing the absolute emissions from its own operations and to decreasing the impact the company has on the environment. In support of this, it has set an ambitious reduction target with several initiatives underway, including disconnecting its store base from the gas grid, installing solar panels on some distribution centres and stores, procuring electricity from renewable sources, as well as various other energy efficiency measures, such as the installation of LED lights in stores.
Action is also working to reduce the emissions associated with its logistics and delivered a 13% reduction in transportation emissions from its own trucks in 2022, driven primarily by piloting the use of biofuels. In 2023, Action will take this further by piloting the use of electric trucks. The company has entered into a collaboration with key logistics partner Maersk to lower the emissions of its sea freight operations through Maersk’s ECO Delivery programme, which involves the replacement of fossil fuels with ISCC certified green fuels. This will result in the reduction of Action’s Scope 3 emissions by an estimated 29,000 tonnes of CO2 in the current calendar year.
Importantly, Action is in the process of calculating its Scope 3 emissions to determine future targets and reduction strategies throughout the value chain.
Progress on material topic: responsible sourcing
|
Key commitments |
Progress to 2022 |
| 100% sustainably sourced cotton by 2023 |
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| 100% sustainably sourced cocoa for private label products by 2023 |
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| 100% sustainably sourced timber by 2024 |
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| 100% private label and white label Tier 1 supply chain transparency by 2025 |
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Action has a global supply chain and is committed to sourcing its products responsibly with consideration for the environment, human and labour rights. The company uses a number of tools to achieve this ambition, including:
Progress on material topic: product circularity and sustainable packaging
| Key commitments | Progress to 2022 |
| 100% recyclable packaging by 2025 (excluding A-brands) 25% weight reduction target for the primary packaging of its fixed assortment (private and white label products) by 2025 (from 2019 baseline) |
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Action strives to improve product circularity, which is managed per product category. It has completed circular baseline assessments for each of its 14 product categories and set targets to improve
the circularity scoring of each of these.
Its Buying and Quality teams have been supported by Circle Economy, a circularity specialist, to improve their awareness and implementation of circularity through product sourcing. Action has also implemented policies for unsold and damaged goods which are separated into resaleable products or waste, which is separated and re-used where possible.
The company also aims to mitigate the negative impact caused by pollution from packaging by increasing the use of renewable materials, reducing the weight and improving the recyclability
of packaging. Action’s commitments on these topics are set out in the table above.
TCR is an independent lessor of airport ground support equipment (‘GSE’) and operates at over 180 airports across the world. It aims to ensure that the equipment rented to its customers at airports is available and in good working condition to fulfil its mission: securing swift, on-time, safe and efficient ground handling operations whilst reducing costs for its customers and its environmental impact.
TCR identified GHG emissions and health and safety as the two most relevant ESG issues in a materiality assessment carried out in 2019. The outcome of this survey shaped TCR’s sustainability strategy which was developed in 2021 and is now fully embedded within the organisation.
Progress on material topic: GHG emissions reduction
TCR determined that nearly two thirds of its carbon footprint in 2021 was linked to the utilisation of GSE by its customers, or the fuel combustion of GSE it rents out. TCR focused its efforts on supporting its customers in reducing GHG emissions from the utilisation of its fleet by:
To encourage its customers to adopt green GSE, TCR proposes and procures alternative low-carbon equipment wherever possible, particularly on GSE categories identified as high emitting (such as buses, ground power units and pushback tractors).
It is helping customers in implementing electric GSE replacement plans where airport charging infrastructure allows, and working on a diesel-to-electric GSE conversion strategy where replacement is not feasible. TCR’s objective is for 60% of new GSE capex investments to be green by 2030 (vs 22% today).
Progress on material topic: health and safety
TCR monitors health and safety performance on a monthly basis and has seen a decreasing incident trend since 3i Infrastructure plc’s initial investment in 2016. In the early years of its ownership, 3i ensured TCR’s management made safety a priority for the business, requesting increased resources, improved reporting and safety to be discussed first at each board meeting. Safety gradually became part of the company’s culture and embedded into the organisation. The health and safety management at TCR became more proactive, with the introduction of additional training, inspections and monitoring of leading indicators at regional and country level.
Safety remains an important topic of attention. In 2021 the business launched quarterly group safety newsletters, participated in international safety campaigns, ran a group-wide campaign with regards to tyre handling, organised internal awareness initiatives and implemented a new occupational health and safety management platform with additional functionality to further reduce incidents in the workplace.
This was supplemented in 2022 with the launch of the ‘TCR Academy’, an online tool which includes resources on safety standards, as well as with a campaign to promote increased safety awareness among employees.
TCR has also established a set of standards and processes to ensure the safety of its customers’ employees, from GSE procurement, where the highest specification standards are chosen, through to operations, where training programmes are provided to end users, and maintenance, where assets are being maintained properly, in time and to the highest standards. TCR is also ensuring its customers have the tools to report any defect or safety issue in the most efficient way possible.
Evernex is the European leader in third-party IT infrastructure maintenance, providing services to over 10,000 customers globally by supporting critical IT systems used in data centres such as servers, storage and network hardware. The service model offers a circular IT solution incorporating the principles of repair, reuse and recycling by extending equipment life by up to 15 years, refurbishing spare parts for reuse and offering a WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment) compliant recycling service to prevent end-of-life equipment from becoming landfill waste.
Eighty percent of equipment’s lifetime emissions come from the manufacturing process. Evernex supports its customers to reduce waste and their carbon footprint while reducing opex and capex, by managing the lifecycle of their existing equipment. In 2021, the company provided service to nearly 360,000 assets worldwide and prevented the emission of c.114,000 tCO2e by delaying or avoiding equipment upgrades.
Progress on material topic: circular spare parts and recycling
Evernex buys and refurbishes second- hand parts and reuses components where possible, enabling the company to act as a worldwide broker of refurbished spares, including parts that are no longer available from the original manufacturer. Currently, 30% of the components received by Evernex as ’IT waste’ are reused, representing more than 142,000 spare parts and more than 6,000 servers put back in service every year.
The remaining 70% contains valuable minerals such as steel and ores which are separated into secondary raw materials which re-enter the production cycle. Overall, 95% of computer equipment waste received by the company is recycled (500 tonnes). The company has over 330 stocking locations and 850,000 IT parts in stock globally, ensuring that customers have access to the spare parts they need locally, with minimal carbon impact from delivery. Shipments from the warehouse to stocking locations are grouped as much as possible to enable both efficiency and reduced environmental impact.
To support future growth in its recycling activities, in October 2022 Evernex opened a new 6,000m2 facility in Mitry-Compans, France. The opening of this facility, the largest reconditioning and recycling site for second-hand parts in EMEA, represents a key pillar of the company’s strategy by significantly increasing capacity for future recycling. Spare part processing capacity has potential to increase by 30%, while storage capacity will also increase by 40%.
As well as increasing capacity for recycling, a key objective of the new site was to create a positive environment for employees by improving working and safety conditions, enabling both performance and creativity of employees, and supporting the development of a strong corporate culture. A multi-functional project team conducted a review of each step in the production process to determine improvement opportunities, with changes implemented to improve efficiency and/or safety. One example included designing bespoke movable workstations which enable employees to safely assemble and move heavy equipment, eliminating any requirement for technicians to lift and carry products across the facility themselves.
Progress on material topic: GHG emissions reduction
Evernex was selected by ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition, to join a three-year programme to establish a climate strategy, transition plan and decarbonisation roadmap. In 2022 the company completed the first year of the ‘ACT’ – Assessing Low Carbon Transition programme which involved establishing a full baseline and conducting an initial maturity assessment. This assessment demonstrated that most of Evernex’s emissions are derived from Scope 3 and over 90% result from the supply chain, sourcing and delivering materials, and shipping parts to customers. Analysis also demonstrated the benefits of Evernex’s reliance on second-hand spare parts, leading to 6,570 tCO2e of avoided emissions compared to buying new ones.
Currently in the second year of the ACT programme, Evernex is training its executive committee, building a reduction trajectory and action plan to achieve it, and establishing ongoing carbon performance KPIs in line with external frameworks which include TCFD, CDP and the SBTi.
Evernex’s customers are provided with Carbon Footprint Reduction certificates to raise awareness of the decarbonisation benefits provided through the Sustainable IT maintenance programme.
Founded in 1996, Audley is the UK market leader in tailor- made travel. Since 3i invested it has made significant progress in developing its approach to sustainability. Progress on material topic: GHG emissions reduction Audley has taken steps to assess and reduce its corporate carbon footprint over many years, for example by moving all offices to renewable energy tariffs, reducing energy consumption, and installing electric car charging points and solar panels at its headquarters.
Progress on material topic: GHG emissions reduction
Audley has taken steps to assess and reduce its corporate carbon footprint over many years, for example by moving all offices to renewable energy tariffs, reducing energy consumption, and installing electric car charging points and solar panels at its headquarters.
As a result the company was able to deliver a c.50% reduction in Scope 1 and c.83% reduction in Scope 2 emissions between 2019 and 2022.
In 2022 Audley measured its Scope 3 emissions associated with client trips, including an assessment of the total distance travelled and hotel stays in each location.
Audley has used this data to identify ways to reduce its Scope 3 intensity, and has set a goal to reduce the carbon footprint of its trips on a per person per day basis. It intends to achieve this by working with local partners to identify changes including the use of more electric vehicles for transfers, and supporting accommodation and cruise providers to explore ways to reduce their emissions. Audley also continues to engage with its airline partners on their emissions reduction plans.
Audley submitted a commitment letter to the SBTi at the end of 2022. It has been awarded the silver World Responsible Tourism award for ‘Decarbonising Travel and Tourism’ in acknowledgement of its efforts to date.
Progress on material topic: responsible travel
Audley appointed a dedicated Responsible Travel and Sustainability Manager in 2019. When creating experiences, the company prefers to work with local partners where possible and offer small boutique hotels and unique local tours, leaving much-needed income within destination countries.
In addition to focusing on local experiences, Audley has taken further steps to identify experiences and accommodation that put a purposeful focus on supporting local businesses, educating staff, challenging local norms or promoting conservation and biodiversity efforts.
Any experience identified must be leading the way in the community, not just meeting a local minimum standard. By clearly identifying these accommodations and tour options, Audley can offer clients sustainable choices and allow them to make a positive contribution to the local environment or local community as part of their trip. In 2022 over 100 experiences were highlighted and Audley plans to identify at least 100 more in 2023.
Scandlines operates ferry services between Germany and Denmark, along two routes: Puttgarden-Rødby and Rostock-Gedser. Its ferry fleet includes six hybrid ferries and a freight ferry which also acts as a replacement ferry when required. In 2021, Scandlines set an ambitious target of achieving zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions on its Puttgarden-Rødby route by 2030, and on the Rostock-Gedser route and other parts of the business by 2040. It has identified environmental protection, health and safety, people and a healthy supply chain among its sustainability priorities.
Progress on material topic: GHG emissions reduction and environmental protection
Scandlines has invested significantly toward its zero direct emission vision and expects green investments to total approximately €400 million in the period from 2013 to 2024.
The four passenger ferries it operates on its Puttgarden-Rødby route were converted to hybrid ferries in 2013/14. They have now all been equipped with new thrusters, reducing CO2 emissions further and bringing down noise levels, thereby improving conditions for marine life.
The two ferries it operates on its Rostock-Gedser route were built as hybrid ferries in 2016. These newer ferries were tailor-made for the route to optimise for shallow waters and to reduce fuel consumption.
A rotor sail was installed on both ferries in 2020 and 2022 respectively, introducing wind power technology and further reducing emissions. With these ferries, fuel consumption can be reduced by two thirds per trip, per car, compared to previous ferries.
As a key step towards its net zero vision, in 2021 Scandlines ordered a new zero direct-emissions freight ferry which is expected to be commissioned on the Puttgarden-Rødby route in 2024.
Additionally, Scandlines switched all land-based electricity contracts to renewable sources in 2021, reducing the CO2 footprint of the business by more than 1,800 tonnes, and installed 34 additional charging stations for electric and hybrid cars at all its ports.
During 2022, Scandlines increased its efforts to improve emission calculations. Scandlines established its Scope 3 emission inventory confirming that purchased goods and services as well as fuel and energy-related emissions comprise most of the indirect emissions. Further, Scandlines has partnered with Reflow, a Danish climate tech start-up, to use its cutting-edge technology to produce a lifecycle assessment of the new ferry. This will allow Scandlines to run simulations of green technology so that it can develop and improve the design in the future.
Scandlines estimates that various initiatives it has implemented since 2019 have allowed it to reduce CO2 emissions by 12% per trip.