Our climate strategy: Net Zero by 2050

Climate action and decarbonization are becoming key benchmarks for competitiveness and resilience.

As part of the Schwarz Group, PreZero doesn't treat sustainable business as a goal in itself. It is proactive risk management that protects our business models for the long term.

Our climate targets through 2050

As a global retail group with a responsibility to address climate change, the Schwarz Group companies have jointly committed to reaching net zero by 2050.

Together, they aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the full value chain to net zero by 2050 at the latest.

To achieve this goal, the Schwarz Group companies have set short-term and long-term climate targets, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

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Developed Climate Strategy of the Companies of Schwarz Group

Long-term climate targets

Scope 1 & 2: By 2050, the Schwarz Group companies aim to reduce operational emissions by 90 percent on a Group level compared to the 2019 base year
Scope 3: By 2050, they aim to reduce indirect Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) emissions by 72 percent, and indirect energy and industrial process (E&I) emissions and sold fuel emissions by 90 percent on a Group level , compared to the 2022 base year.

The long-term climate targets, including the shared net-zero target of the Schwarz Group companies, were reviewed and validated by the SBTi in autumn 2025.

Short-term climate targets

Scope 1 & 2: By 2030, the Schwarz Group companies aim to reduce operational emissions by 48 percent on a Group level compared to the 2019 base year
Scope 3: By 2034, they aim to reduce indirect Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) emissions by 42.4 percent, indirect energy and industrial process (E&I) emissions by 35 percent, and sold fuel emissions by 58.8 percent on a Group level, compared to the 2022 base year.

The short-term climate targets of the Schwarz Group companies were reviewed and validated by the SBTi in spring 2025.

PreZero’s industrial profile gives it a different starting point then the other Schwarz Group companies. As an operator in the circular economy, we run energy-intensive facilities and logistics processes. This means some CO₂e emissions are technically unavoidable because they arise directly from the treatment of waste.

Our contribution to the Schwarz Group companies’ net-zero target:

We are continuously working to lower our emissions and manage our growth in a way that minimizes additional emissions. Specifically, we aim to limit the growth of our own emissions (Scope 1 & 2) to a maximum of +20.5% compared to our 2019 baseline.

As a circular economy company, we manage material flows – from collection and sorting to recycling, composting, and the energy recovery of non-recyclable materials. These processes generate operational CO₂emissions, which are reported under Scope 1 and Scope 2.

Simultaneously, through recycling and material recovery, we reduce the demand for primary raw materials (naturally occurring substances extracted directly from the environment) and fossil energy. The use of secondary raw materials (materials recovered from waste through recycling) contributes significantly to emission avoidance.

In traditional carbon accounting, this contribution to avoided emissions only apperas indirectly, as decreasing Scope 3 emissions for our customers.

Our climate strategy is reflected in our day-to-day operations.

We reduce CO₂e emissions across our own processes, especially in facilities, logistics, and energy generation.

Our most important levers are:

Energy-efficient facilities

We continuously improve energy efficiency of our facilities as part of our energy management.

This may include optimizing control and regulation technology, installing modern energy-efficient systems, expanding renewable energy sources, and utilizing waste heat generated by our technical facilities.

These measures aim to reduce our operational CO₂e emissions reported in Scope 1.

Modernizing logistics

One of our key levers is transport and collection logistics.

We reduce emissions through:

the gradual expansion of our electric fleet
the use of alternative fuels like HVO
smarter route optimization
training for fuel-efficient driving.

These measures target emissions from collection and transport.

Scope 1: Direct operational emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company
Scope 2: Indirect operational emissions from purchased or acquired energy, not generated within the company
Scope 3: Indirect emissions from business activities along the upstream and downstream value chain.

Net zero means reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the full value chain to the lowest possible level.

Since some unavoidable residual emissions are expected to remain even after significant reduction efforts, these need to be balanced through removal solutions within the company's value chain, such as technical carbon sinks.

The climate strategy of the Schwarz Group companies covers the entire value chain, from Scope 1 to Scope 3.

Within this framework, PreZero focuses on the systematic measurement and reduction of our operational Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

These direct and energy-related emissions arise mainly from landfills, logistics, and energy generation through thermal recovery.

Processes such as collection, sorting, recycling, thermal recovery, and landfilling are industrial activities and therefore generate CO₂e emissions.

At the same time, they help replace primary raw materials and fossil energy, which avoids emissions elsewhere in the system.