Galeria Kaufhof: Awareness for climate protection

The department store chain Galeria Kaufhof’s sustainability strategy specifies the objective of reducing carbon emissions per square meter of retail floor space in Germany by 15 percent. The aim is to decrease emissions from 113 kg per m² in 2014 to 96 kg per m² in 2022.

The company has calculated its carbon footprint on a yearly basis since 2006. Galeria Kaufhof succeeded in reducing the specific greenhouse gas emissions generated by its German and Belgian sales divisions by a solid one-third by the end of 2014.

ClimatePartner worked with Galeria Kaufhof to calculate the carbon footprint for 2014 to 2016. The results show that Galeria Kaufhof is well on target so far. The carbon footprint provides the foundation for the development of reduction measures and further strategic initiatives.

The calculation accounts for direct emissions sources such as heat, company vehicles, and coolants; purchased energy such as electricity and district heating; and emissions from procured goods and services, such as printed materials, packaging, and car leasing, to name just a few examples.

The main source of emissions is electricity consumption. It caused around 75.1 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the year 2016, followed by district heating (9.7 percent) and heat (7 percent).

In light of this insight, Galeria Kaufhof is undertaking a wide variety of measures to further reduce its energy consumption. The company’s objective is to reduce the specific energy consumption per square meter of retail floor space in Germany by 18 percent by 2022 compared to 2014.

Photo: Galeria Kaufhof, Köln Hohestraße