Our motivation
The climate is changing, and the far-reaching consequences of global warming are also being felt in Kaiserslautern. To limit climate change and ensure our region remains a good place to live for future generations, climate and environmental protection are of particular importance to us.
We have therefore joined forces with more than 50 municipal utilities across Germany to establish the ‘Municipal Utilities Climate Protection Initiative’ within the ASEW municipal utilities network. Since 2021, we have collectively committed to consistently reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and communicating the results transparently.
To chart a course towards a climate-neutral future and plan the necessary measures effectively, we have developed a transformation strategy, which has been funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.
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Our goal for a climate-friendly future
We want to shape the energy transition with and for Kaiserslautern and achieve a low-emission energy supply in the future. We have therefore set ourselves the target of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 – five years ahead of the current national targets.
To achieve this goal, we intend to systematically reduce our emissions of CO₂ and other known greenhouse gases to zero by 2040, or to fully offset them through carbon offsetting measures. Only in this way can we prevent a further increase in climate-damaging gases in the atmosphere.
Our aim is to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality primarily through the reduction and avoidance of emissions. Only unavoidable residual emissions are to be offset. To this end, we intend, wherever possible, to switch our energy generation to 100 per cent renewable energy sources by 2040, to increase our own resource efficiency in operational processes, and to systematically reduce emissions in all upstream and downstream processes.
In this way, we at Stadtwerke Kaiserslautern are making a significant contribution to a region that is liveable and fit for the future.
2022
Completion of the coal phase-out
Status: completed
2023
Reduction of SWK Versorgungs-AG’s total electricity consumption to 14.9 gigawatt-hours per year
Status: completed
2025
Reducing emissions by developing our own generation facilities using renewable energy sources
Status: ongoing
2030
A 40 per cent reduction in emissions from generation and our own operations within ten years.
Status: ongoing
2036
Conversion of the bus fleet and service vehicles to electric vehicles completed
Status: ongoing
2040
Objective: Greenhouse gas neutrality on a balance sheet basis
Conversion of the bus fleet and company vehicles to electric mobility completed
How will we become a ‘climate-neutral municipal utility’?
To achieve our goal of greenhouse gas neutrality by 2040, climate and environmental protection play a central role in all our business areas and corporate decisions. In addition, we are pursuing specific targets and measures across five key areas of action.
As part of our certified environmental and energy management system, our strategy – including all targets and measures – is reviewed and updated annually. In this way, we aim to ensure that our climate targets can still be achieved even if the framework conditions change.
In this area of action, we are getting Kaiserslautern moving with electric mobility. This includes local public transport, our eCarSharing service ‘Emil’ and the vehicles in our fleet.
Thanks to its energy efficiency, district heating is key to a climate-friendly heat supply in Kaiserslautern. That is why we are continuously expanding our district heating network and tapping into climate-friendly heat sources.
Over 65 per cent of our current emissions come from supplying Kaiserslautern with electricity and gas. To change this in future, our aim in this area of action is to expand energy generation from renewable sources – both for ourselves and for our customers.
We supply our customers with drinking water from the region’s groundwater reserves. We aim to ensure that this water extraction remains resource-efficient, climate-friendly and environmentally sound in the future.
We also want to put sustainability into practice in our day-to-day work. To this end, we are optimising processes, improving the energy efficiency of our buildings and promoting climate-friendly travel amongst our staff.
Together, we are tackling climate change
To achieve our climate target – greenhouse gas neutrality on a consolidated basis for the entire SWK Group by 2040 – we are joining forces to build a climate-friendly future.
We are already implementing a wide range of measures across the Group that contribute to the systematic reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions and improve our carbon footprint.
Mobility
- Establishment of an electric bus workshop and HVO filling station
- Conversion of vehicle fleets to electric mobility
- Expansion of electric charging infrastructure on street lamps
- Expansion of electric fast-charging points
Electricity & Gas
- Expansion of renewable energy
- Project development for ground-mounted PV systems
- Expansion of contracting models
- Expansion of PV installations on municipal properties
- Staff expansion in the field of solar technology
Operational resources
- Expansion of PV systems on our own properties
- Construction of a new data centre to improve resource efficiency
- Improvement of process efficiency
- Refurbishment of company buildings
(PV systems, energy storage)
