Axel Springer commits to ambitious new climate targets

Axel Springer has committed itself to a ‘net-zero path’ as defined by the Science Based Targets initiative (STBi) – a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to help companies set emission reduction targets in line with climate science and Paris Agreement goals.

By 2045, all of Axel Springer’s avoidable emissions will be reduced by 90%. The company has also pledged to reduce its absolute CO2 emissions by 3-4% annually over the next ten years, and become climate-neutral and offset all irreducible emissions starting in the fiscal year 2024.

Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer SE, said: “In 1994, the Axel Springer printing plant in Ahrensburg became the first in Europe to undergo the EU eco-audit. Today, we are an international media and technology company and will once again play a pioneering role in the area of climate protection” 

“With our ambitious goals of becoming a net-zero company and being climate-neutral from the fiscal year 2024 onwards, we aim to lead the industry by example – and do our part to secure the future of current and coming generations.”  

Measurement, reduction, offsets

In addition to direct emissions, all indirectly caused emissions are also taken into account. This meets the strict scientific standard of the Science Based Targets initiative, and brings the climate protection ambitions of Axel Springer in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.   

Marcus Werner Blank, Head of Sustainability Axel Springer SE, added: “In 2020, our climate emissions were approximately 400,000 metric tons of CO2 – roughly equivalent to a small city on the order of Frankfurt (Oder). What this makes clear is that we have to face up to our responsibility and take stronger action to combat climate change. We are therefore developing concrete measures to cut our avoidable emissions by 90% by 2045. In the shorter term, we will continue to optimize our offset process and increase the share of offset emissions from 5 percent to 100 percent starting in 2024.”  

In other news…

The company has also this week announced that it has signed a deal with Outbrain, the recommendation platform. According to the agreement, the German digital offerings of the BILD and WELT Groups as well as B.Z., Rolling Stone, Musikexpress, and Metal Hammer will integrate Outbrain to serve personalised editorial article recommendations and support Axel Springer’s monetization with native advertising. 

Business Insider Germany, finanzen.net, Politico in the US as well as the media brands of Axel Springer in Spain already exclusively use Outbrain’s recommendation technology. Insider extends its long-standing partnership with Taboola in the US and international editions outside Germany. Since 2015, Insider has used Taboola Feed, which offers users personalized content and targeted advertising.

You can find the latest Axel Springer news here

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