2023 carbon footprint

CO₂ emissions in total

In 2023, the Munich Re Foundation's total emissions amounted to 982 tons of CO₂. Since we offset the emissions of all participants for their travel to and from the event, the events of the Foundation caused the majority of emissions at around 944 tons (96%). At 9 tons (1%) and 28 tons (3%), emissions from office operations (electricity, heating requirements) and business trips were low in comparison.

Compared to the previous year, CO₂ emissions fell by around 45 tons.

The proportion of emissions from events is offset by the Foundation through the purchase of emission certificates. The CO₂ emissions from business trips by employees and the head office are offset by Munich Re*.

CO₂ emissions from events

To determine the event emissions, the journeys of all participants and speakers were accounted for (the short-term operation of the event rooms can be neglected). With around 781 tons of CO₂, the "International Conference on Inclusive Insurance" in Accra, Ghana, accounted for the largest amount (83%). This is due to the long flight distances of the 432 participants. 

The Climate Academy, which brought together young scientists and representatives from non-profit organizations from all over the world in Saly, Senegal, generated around 162 tonnes of CO₂ (17%).

The series of dialog forum events in Munich contributed less to emissions. At 0.52 tons (1<%), it accounts for a small proportion, as expected, as the participants generally come from the greater Munich area.

CO₂ emissions from business operations

CO₂ emissions from business operations (office and business trips) amount to almost 37 tons of CO₂: 9 tons of CO₂ for the office (electricity and heating requirements) and 28 tons of CO₂ for business trips. Air travel accounts for around 99% of emissions. We travel by train within Germany and try to avoid employees traveling twice wherever possible. 

For more information on the calculation of office and flight emissions, see below: */**

20 December 2023

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* For the calculation of office emissions, 1.9 t CO₂ per employee (FTE) were calculated. This is the result of the Munich Re Corporate Responsibility Report 2022.

** An RFI (Radiative Forcing Index) factor of 3 was applied to air travel. The transfer distance to and from airports for each journey by plane was taken to be 100 km. For train journeys, a distance of 50 km was taken for transfer to and from the station.