Carbon footprint

The profile of our carbon emissions

In 2009, Deutsche Bank refined its global inventory of greenhouse gases in accordance with the internationally acknowledged Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and began systematically integrating the cost of carbon into the financial decisions for the deployment of capital within our company and the selection of service providers.

In order to take into account the updated GHG conversion factors and heating and cooling data provided by landlords, we recalculated our carbon footprint for the base year 2007.

The total for 2007 (including renewable energies) is now 522,789 tons of carbon compared to the original calculation of 460,496 tons.

In 2008, we reduced our carbon footprint to 415,269 tons
(–20.6 percent compared to 2007) in relation to the recalculated basis and thus reached our goal of reducing global carbon emissions every year by 20 percent relative to our 2007 base year. This achievement was included in the scope of our assurance provider, ERM Certification and Verification Services (ERM CVS), London.

Reliable data for our carbon footprint in 2009 will be available from the third quarter 2010. First estimates suggest that we will achieve our goal – a total reduction of carbon emissions by 40 percent in comparison to 2007 – without having to purchase emission certificates. Our carbon footprint calculations do not cover any investments outside our core business.

For 2010, however, we expect to compensate for residual carbon emissions through high-grade offset certificates in order to achieve our 20 percent reduction goal.

In 2007, Deutsche Bank emitted almost 523,000 tons of carbon (including carbon equivalents) in the framework of its global operations, according to the definitions used. In 2008, carbon emissions from operations amounted to just above 415,000 tons. Energy consumption and business and air travel were the main causes of carbon emissions.