Towards a climate-neutral Berlin
Over the coming decades, Berlin will develop into a climate-neutral city, responding to the challenges of climate change alongside other major cities worldwide. The Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Programme 2030, adopted by the Berlin Senate in 2017, and the Climate-Neutral Berlin 2050 feasibility study were developed on the basis of scientific recommendations and the results of broad public participation.
The measures aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the city, including through action in the energy and transport sectors. As a publicly owned company, BEHALA pursues the same objectives and puts climate-neutral solutions at the heart of all its activities and projects.
For example, Berlin’s largest road-legal electric lorry has been in operation since 2014. Operated by BEHALA, it was the first vehicle of its kind on Berlin’s roads. The electric lorry was used in the KV-E-Chain showcase project and now mainly transports containers arriving by rail at Berlin’s Westhafen within the port.
An electric road-rail vehicle has also been used to shunt railway wagons at Westhafen since 2014. When purchasing new vehicles and mobile cargo handling equipment, BEHALA predominantly selects low-emission vehicles. The forklift fleet and the pool of vehicles for business use have already been successfully converted to electric drive.
Since 1 January 2021, BEHALA has purchased green electricity generated entirely from renewable energy sources. The Klima Natur electricity product is based on guarantees of origin that meet the requirements of European Directive 2009/28/EC.
A further project involves planning a charging station for hybrid electric vessels at Westhafen.
Every BEHALA project moves us towards a climate-neutral Berlin!
Here you can read our Sustainability Report 2022 and internal Sustainability Guidelines.
We for Berlin: Together with Franziska Giffey @RegBerlin, Bettina Jarasch @SenUMVK Berlin and Stephan Schwarz @SenWiEnBe, the companies of the mehrwert Berlin initiative discussed pathways for the energy and climate transition at Messe Berlin in August 2022. More information: mehrwert-berlin.de/wir-fuer-berlin
The companies of the mehrwert Berlin initiative share an interconnected responsibility for climate action with the State of Berlin. They take practical action and contribute in different ways according to their sectors and business models. For these companies, climate action is a very concrete issue. Although most do not operate primarily to generate energy, sector coupling demonstrates their contribution to the energy transition and climate protection, particularly through the expansion of renewable energy, energy-efficient refurbishment, the transport transition and the reduction of CO2 emissions.
mehrwert Berlin is more than the sum of its parts. Success can only be achieved through cooperation. The companies therefore also take responsibility for education, advice and connecting all relevant stakeholders. With our paper, we offer to bring our wide-ranging experience and different perspectives into the further development of Berlin’s energy and climate policy, which faces exceptional challenges as a result of the current energy crisis. In the final section, we set out five practical recommendations that can also help secure a reliable and affordable energy supply over the long term.