The world is approaching a tipping point. Adverse climatic events are increasingly common around the globe, and beyond that point the impact of climate change will be irreversible. At Roland Berger, we are well versed in the climate challenges. It is foreseeable that the first global stocktake since the Paris Agreement to assess progress on climate change will make it visible that the path taken is not enough to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. According to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we are currently heading for global warming of well over two degrees.
Clearly, we need to stop talking about reducing emissions and start actually doing something about it. It's time to turn our climate ambition into climate action: Companies, public institutions, organizations, and individuals must act now – for the sake of humanity's future. At Roland Berger, we take a holistic approach to addressing climate action. Our most impactful role is to work with stakeholders to push the sustainability agenda. We help our clients decarbonize their operations and transform their businesses for a better future.
We believe that every step we take towards sustainability, no matter how small, contributes to the larger global effort to combat climate change – and helps create a sustainable future for all.
" At Roland Berger we believe we carry a special responsibility. We consider it our duty to have a measurable impact on the communities we work and live in. In the past two years, our sustainability-related project portfolio grew fivefold. "
We believe that reaching the climate targets defined by the Paris Agreement in 2015 requires cooperation and strong commitment from everyone, and now. Based on our deep industry knowledge and our experience in decarbonization, we are expanding our role as knowledge leaders for sustainability. We invest greatly in conducting research on topics like energy transition, smart mobility solutions, emissions reduction, supply chain risks, and sustainability. Our insights contain the latest research findings, expert assessments, future scenarios, and associated opportunities for companies. We intend to fuel sustainability debates, drive innovation, and catalyze change.
Our research into sustainability and climate action allows us to position ourselves as thought leaders, helping stakeholders worldwide adapt their strategies to the challenges. We collaborate with public institutions, governmental bodies, business leaders, investors, and NGOs, playing an important role in significant and impactful events.
Roland Berger is on a path to achieving net-zero emissions, in line with our commitment to the Paris Agreement goals. We have set ourselves short-term targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for all our Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions to guide our immediate actions. Our first target is to reduce our absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent by 2028, compared to a 2019 baseline. In 2022, we already achieved an absolute reduction of 28 percent.
Despite the easing of COVID-19-related travel restrictions in 2022, we managed a 43 percent reduction in our business travel emissions compared to 2019. A first step in the right direction that puts us on track to meet our target of cutting business travel emissions by 40 percent by 2028. However, we see this development as a snapshot on our way to finding a sustainable balance of business travel and delivery models in a post-COVID-19 world. We support our teams in rethinking travel and implementing flexible arrangements that do not compromise the quality of our services for clients, while at the same time leading to lower travel intensity.
We are currently reviewing our net-zero timeline based on the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard to see if we can raise our targets still further and accelerate our decarbonization journey.
