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Sustainability Report 2024

5.2 Our Environment | Energy Use

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Our Environment | Focus Topics

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5.1 Climate protection

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5.2 Energy use

5.3 Circular economy

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Energy – a critical factor.

Energy is a key factor for our operations and our supply chains. The way we and our partners source and use energy not only affects our operating costs, but also directly impacts our CO₂e balance—and therefore our climate footprint across the entire value chain.

Our energy policy supports the implementation of our climate action strategy and helps to minimize greenhouse gas emissions at our sites and along the value chain.

Dependence on fossil fuels brings risks such as price volatility, supply insecurity, and regulatory pressure. At the same time, investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency offer opportunities to reduce costs and strengthen our long-term resilience.

Our Ambition

We aim for sustainable and efficient energy use that aligns with the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement, the Net Zero approach of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and the energy efficiency goals of the EU Green Deal.

For our site in Gundelfingen, this means specifically:

Energy efficiency

increasing energy efficiency across our production processes,

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Reducing consumption

reducing overall energy consumption, and

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Renewable energy

raising the share of renewable energy in our energy mix to 100% by 2023.

We view sustainable, efficient energy use as an ongoing commitment and adjust our energy policy as needed to reflect new scientific findings and regulatory developments.

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Energy Consumption - Where we stand

SUPERNOVA’s energy consumption has increased in recent years, primarily due to expanded production capacity. At the same time, we’ve implemented extensive measures to transition to renewable energy and reduce our use of gas and oil.

Reducing the use of fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency, and switching to renewable energy remain essential to achieving our ambition of a sustainable energy supply.

Energy Metrics – Gundelfingen Site

Energy Consumption and Emissions 2020–2024

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Electricity (kWh)

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Oil (kWh)

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Gas (kWh)

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Total Energy (kWh)

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Climate-adjusted Total (kWh)

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CO₂ Emissions (t)

Energy Consumption

Energy use rose between 2020 and 2023 due to increased production and warehouse space. In 2024, with stable facility size, we significantly reduced energy use compared to 2023.

CO₂e Emissions

We reduced emissions from 30.57 t in 2023 to 24.40 t in 2024, largely thanks to electrification and the transition to renewable energy

Energy and Emissions Intensity

To better manage energy efficiency and energy-related GHG emissions at our Gundelfingen site, we will introduce new intensity indicators for production, warehousing, and administration as part of our energy policy revision in 2025.

Conclusion

Both total energy consumption and energy-related GHG emissions (in t CO₂e) were significantly reduced at the Gundelfingen site in 2024 compared to the previous year. In 2025, we will implement additional KPIs to further improve energy management. Our focus for 2025 is on increasing energy efficiency and accelerating decarbonization—especially by increasing the share of renewable energy.

Clear Principles

Our energy policy defines clear principles, KPIs, and targets—with the aim of optimizing energy use, phasing out fossil fuels, and advancing decarbonization.

Our guiding principles are:

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Account (Measure & Ensure Transparency

Systematic tracking and analysis of energy consumption and energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1–3)

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Optimize (Improve Efficiency & Reduce Energy Use)

Increasing energy efficiency and reducing total energy consumption per production unit in line with EU energy efficiency targets

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Substitute (Replace Fossil Fuels & Promote Renewables)

Decarbonization through the gradual replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources

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Collaborate (Partnership & Commitment to Sustainable Energy)

Working with supply chain partners to reduce energy-related Scope 3 emissions and to promote and support energy efficiency measures

KPIs & Targets for 2025

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Total energy consumption (climate-adjusted, kWh)

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Share of renewable energy

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Implementation of our energy policy

Our energy policy focuses on four strategic fields of action:

Action field 1: Efficient & sustainable energy supply

Action field 2: Decarbonization & renewable energies

Action field 3: Reduction of energy and greenhouse gas intensity

Action field 4: Measurability & transparency

The following sections provide an overview of central measures that were implemented as part of energy policy in 2024 or are planned for 2025.

The following sections provide an overview of our essential measures, in the past, present and future.

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Our Actions

Over the past few years, SUPERNOVA has implemented key measures to ensure efficient and sustainable energy use—with the goal of reducing consumption and emissions while professionalizing energy management.

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Past:

By 2024, new heating and cooling systems were installed in production and warehouse areas to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Energy consumption was systematically tracked and climate-adjusted. In 2024, energy KPIs and targets were introduced. Planning for a photovoltaic system and the switch to renewable heating systems were completed.

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Present:

2025 marks the start of concrete implementation. A PV system has been installed at the Gundelfingen site. The energy policy has been finalized and now defines key control parameters for climate-friendly, efficient energy use across the company, including production, warehousing, and administration. Additional measures include automated lighting controls in office areas to optimize energy efficiency.

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Future:

Starting in 2026, our entire administration building will be supplied with Green Planet Energy’s proWindgas, which includes at least 35 % eco-friendly biogas sourced from organic waste and produced by German biogas plants within regional economic structures. Guaranteed investments in energy transition projects will also be made. In this way, we promote ecological energy supply. Our energy policy will be updated in line with our new climate action plan. Electrifiable processes will continue to be identified to further expand the use of renewable energy and phase out fossil fuels.

Learning points for the future

Our energy policy is not just a technical management tool—it’s also a learning process. Implementing our measures has provided valuable insights that we’re now integrating into our continuous development:

Our most important Aha! Moments in the field of energy use in 2024 were:

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100% renewable is achievable—but not simple.

Using air conditioning systems powered by green electricity has significantly reduced our reliance on fossil fuels for heating and cooling. However, not all systems are capable of meeting base-load demands at low temperatures. In winter, we are still partially dependent on gas and oil. Replacing this residual demand with renewable energy in an economically viable way remains both a technical and financial challenge.

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Energy intensity—no one-size-fits-all KPI.

Energy intensity must be calculated specifically for each functional area. Using company revenue alone as a reference point is not sufficient to effectively steer operational measures. In production, local value-added data matters; in warehousing, energy per square meter; in administration, consumption per workstation.

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Transparency creates room for action.

Consistently and systematically tracking energy use was key to improving our management. But only the combination of reliable data, concrete targets, and clear accountability enables meaningful progress. We are using these insights to evolve our energy policy as a learning system—measurable, effective, and future-ready.

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"We want to prepare companies for the challenges of climate change."

Interview with Marco Kittlinger from the Freiburg Energy Agency

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How did the cooperation between the Freiburg Energy Agency and SUPERNOVA come about?

We came across SUPERNOVA when we were looking for committed companies from the region for the CO2 PLAN project. SUPERNOVA was immediately very interested and the collaboration began very quickly.

What is the CO2 PLAN about?

Marco Kittlinger: CO2 PLAN is a network project that supports companies through regional and national meetings to manage their CO2 reduction targets based on science and become climate neutral. We want to prepare companies for the challenges of climate change and point out necessary steps on the way to climate neutrality.

Wait a minute, you just said climate neutrality. Isn‘t that a problematic term that is currently being criticized?

Marco Kittlinger: Climate neutrality is often misunderstood, as it is frequently promoted through questionable compensation projects without any real reduction in emissions. This has been rightly criticized by civil society and the media. However, progress is currently being made: a new standard on climate neutrality and EU directives prohibit the labeling of products as climate neutral if this is only based on offsetting. These measures promote real reductions in emissions, as in our project.

Who are the partners in the CO2 Plan and how is the project financed?

Marco Kittlinger: The network partners are Energieagentur Regio Freiburg, agiplan public GmbH and Energieagentur Regio Göttingen e.V. A certain number of companies are supported per region. Provided they are medium-sized companies or associations. The whole project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK). The project will run for three years, from 2023 to 2025.

In addition to the CO2 PLAN, the Energy Agency is also working with Supernova on so-called PCFs. What is this about?

Marco Kittlinger: While the CO2 PLAN creates a Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCF), i.e. a corporate balance sheet that considers all aspects of the company, including, for example, how employees travel to work, a Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) focuses on the supply chains and manufacturing processes of an individual product. We take a very close look at how many emissions are generated during the manufacture of a product, from the first raw material to disposal.

What are the biggest challenges for PCFs?

Data collection is always a major hurdle, especially for the first balance sheets. Much of the necessary information is often not yet available in a structured form and a consistent way of dealing with data gaps must be defined.

What do you want to achieve with the projects?

Marco Kittlinger: With the CO2 PLAN, we also want to enable smaller companies to calculate their own emissions. We provide them with tools with which they can estimate the reduction potential that certain measures can achieve. With the PCF in particular, the focus is on a detailed evaluation. On the one hand, this makes it clear how many emissions an individual product actually entails. We examine the raw materials, look at the transportation route and compare a lot in special databases so that we get the most accurate result possible. Once the whole process has been completed, the potential in the individual production steps can be determined and investment decisions for various measures can be better estimated. We can therefore use the PCFs to illustrate which levers we can use to improve the CO2 footprint of individual products.

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5.1 Our Environment - Climate Protection 5.3 Our Environment - Circular Economy

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