Federal Environment Minister kicks off retailers’ Climate Action Campaign

Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks and HDE President Josef Sanktjohanser officially kicked off the HDE Climate Action Campaign today. 

The HDE Climate Action Campaign is aimed at small and medium-sized companies in all trade sectors. The goal is to make a significant contribution to protecting the climate and increasing energy efficiency in the retail sector, and to achieve concrete savings of 300,000 tonnes of CO2.

“The retail sector is an important partner in reaching our climate goals. We want to support the retail sector on its way to the climate-friendly future. I am convinced that this engagement will profit not only the environment, but also business”, said Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks.

HDE President Josef Sanktjohanser: “Leading retailers already invested more than 370 million Euros in climate action last year, saving 110,000 tonnes of CO2. We would now like to especially support small and medium-sized enterprises in increasing their energy efficiency”.

A central component of the HDE Climate Action Campaign is the online portal providing retailers with information on the frameworks for climate action and on what the campaign can offer. They can use www.hde-klimaschutzoffensive.de to compare their own energy consumption, and can access checklists, guidelines, and best practice examples. A virtual store gives a playful view of what measures are possible and sensible. To reach retailers where they are, various workshops, fairs, and events will be held in individual federal states.

The Climate Action Campaign will take place over a period of three years.  The German Trade Association (HDE) is collaborating with adelphi, an independent think tank and leading advisory institution for climate, environment, and development topics. The campaign supported with funds from the National Climate Initiative (NKI) of the Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).

adelphi is, as part of the Climate Action Campaign, responsible for the preparation of tips and measures for saving energy, the content and technical support of the campaign website, various communications services, and the creation of helpful online tools for the economic evaluation of investments in energy saving technologies.