Our mission: environmental neutrality
What’s better than climate-neutral? Environmentally neutral! Because only through environmental neutrality can comprehensive compensation be achieved.
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The difference: environmental and climate neutrality
Today, only the CO2 emissions—if anything—of a product are considered and offset through monetary compensation. In this case, the term “climate neutrality” is readily employed.
Climate neutral does not mean that the complete life cycle assessment of a product is taken into account, but rather only its CO2 potential, just one of many environmental impacts, and this is usually compensated for on the balance sheet (mathematically) rather than materially. All other environmental impacts (and damages) are routinely neither recorded nor compensated for, and the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere often does not decrease with such compensation measures.
This results in the shifting of ecological damage to impact areas that are not being observed—sometimes with massive (negative) consequences for nature. The simple reason: A multidimensional problem cannot be solved one-dimensionally.
The planetary boundaries
A new approach: environmental neutrality
Environmental neutrality, on the other hand, is a multidimensional approach. In addition to climate, it is based on protecting two other equally important assets:
1. biological diversity (biodiversity)
2. human health
We compensate for resource consumption and emissions detrimental to these protected assets in the “Big Five” impact categories of life cycle assessment: In addition to climate effects, these include acidification, overfertilization (eutrophication), ground-level ozone pollution and the destruction of the (protective) ozone layer in the stratosphere. These effects typically account for more than 95% of the environmental impact of products, services and organizations.
Climate change and what else? The most important environmental impacts
Climate change
Fossil fuels, cutting down rainforests or, for example, livestock farming increase the amount of greenhouse gases such as CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane) and N20 (nitrous oxide) that are present in the atmosphere. This increases the greenhouse effect and warms our climate.
Acidification of soils
Acidification means that the pH value in the soil or water decreases. This is caused by so-called acidifying substances or acid rain and has great consequences for the forest ecosystem and the life of many organisms.
Overfertilization (eutrophication)
This is when nutrients accumulate in bodies of water. For example, when phosphorus enters lakes or rivers, algae and aquatic plants can grow faster. These deprive other plant species, many small creatures and animals of basic necessities for life. In terrestrial ecosystems, too, the increased nutrient inputs are seen as a source of danger to biodiversity.
Ground-level ozone pollution (summer smog)
Ground-level ozone (summer smog) is formed when nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and the sun’s UV radiation collide. Through their emissions, cars, industry and private households generate the precursors necessary for the formation of ozone, which is harmful to health. Especially in summer, the ozone concentration can climb rapidly due to increased UV radiation. Summer smog attacks the respiratory system and damages plants and animals. Incidentally, the ozone layer in the stratosphere is useful and important for us. It keeps ultraviolet rays away from the earth’s surface.
Ozone depletion: Destruction of the (protective) ozone layer in the stratosphere.
The term refers to the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer. The depletion of ozone is caused, among other things, by gaseous halogen compounds under special climatic conditions. As a result, an ozone hole is created, and the ozone layer no longer protects us from UV-B and UV-C radiation.
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