Climate Neutral by 2030

In 2030 Bertelsmann will be a climate-neutral company. By then, the Group aims to have halved the greenhouse gas emissions generated at its sites, by the manufacture of its products and by the mobility of its employees; the remaining emissions will be offset. Bertelsmann will also support its business customers in reducing product-related emissions.

Thomas Rabe and Immanuel Hermreck.
50 percent
reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions
>500,000
tons of CO2 eliminated
100 percent
green electricity

Highlights 2019

“be green Day” Campaign Sets New Record

This year, employees from 26 countries – more than ever before – sent out a signal for the protection of the environment and climate by taking part in the Group-wide “be green Day” campaign. At 88, the number of sites where employees took part in the campaign also exceeded that of 2017. From Norway to Chile and Canada to New Zealand, numerous creative activities were organized around the slogan “Waste less! Your contribution to less trash.” Activities ranging from workshops on upcycling to “plogging” groups to collective tree-planting served to demonstrate the employees’ commitment to the topic.
Sven Deutschmann (left) and Christian Knehans (right) inspect the production tools for food packaging together with a customer.

Countering Plastic with Cardboard

The Bertelsmann subsidiary Topac has offered sustainable alternatives to plastic packaging in food retailing since 2019. Its new cardboard-based concept reduces the plastic content of packaging by up to 70 percent. In this way, the company makes a contribution to reducing plastic waste in retail.