Roland Berger

Carbon per million dollars of revenue. The legacy industry-standard reference (CDP, MSCI). Useful for cross-sector context, but distorted by margin — high-margin firms appear artificially efficient. Read alongside the operational and asset intensities for the full picture.

OpEx (operating expenditure) is the running cost of the business — staff, services, energy, materials. This shows how carbon-intensive operations are per million dollars of spend. Removes the margin distortion that revenue-based ratios introduce.

EVIC (Enterprise Value Including Cash) is the firm's total capital footprint — equity + debt + cash + minority interest. The EU's standard intensity measure (SFDR PAI 3) — answers: how much carbon does each million of capital deployed in this business produce?

PP&E (Property, Plant & Equipment) plus leased real-estate assets is the firm's physical infrastructure on the balance sheet. This shows the carbon intensity of that physical footprint — uses Scope 1+2+3 for consistency with the other headline intensities. Surfaces stranded-asset risk for asset-heavy firms.

Carbon per FTE (full-time-equivalent employee) — the diagnostic measure for people-leveraged businesses where headcount, not capital, drives delivery. Captures the office, energy and travel footprint per person.

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Roland Berger consumed 2,241 MWh of electricity in 2023 of which 2,014 MWh (90%) was renewable, up from 24% in 2019. Targets 100% renewable electricity in offices by 2028 via SBTi-validated commitment. Increases share by purchasing Energy Attribution Certificates accounted for in market-based reporting.

Operates a Beyond Value Chain Mitigation approach distinct from inventory offsets. Leases 151 hectares of forest in Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO site since 2021, absorbing ~1,000 t CO2 annually. Funds WWF projects in Brazil's Cerrado (2,000+ spring sources) and Baltic Sea seagrass meadows. Preparing first purchase of Sustainable Aviation Fuel certificates (SAFc) via SkyNRG (RSB/CORSIA certified) for ~500 tCO2e savings on book-and-claim basis. Removals not counted toward firm's own net zero targets.

• Business travel reduction (73% of footprint)

  Business travel represents 73% of total footprint and is the dominant decarb lever. Achieved 25% per capita reduction vs 2019 baseline; targeting 50% by 2028. Minimize Weeks initiative pilots reducing travel emissions ~40% on selected projects via rotating on-site presence and split teams. CO2 Dashboard provides individual-level transparency. Rolling out Carbon Guru tool in 2024 to optimize staffing.

• IT hardware lifetime extension + refurbished devices

  Extended leasing period for company mobile phones and laptops from two to three years, starting Germany Q4 2023 and globally 2024. Offers refurbished device option to all employees. Each new laptop carries 400-600 kg CO2e in production emissions.

• Fleet electrification (Scope 1 mobile combustion)

  Reduced Scope 1 by 11% vs 2022 mainly through ongoing electrification of vehicle fleet. As of 2024, all new company cars will be fully electric.

• Rail substitution for flights (German-speaking countries)

  Consultants traveled almost 8 million km by train in Germany in 2023. Provides BahnCards (rail discount cards) in Germany to incentivize green business travel and Deutschlandticket for non-consulting staff for free public transit commuting.

• Sustainable Aviation Fuel certificates (SAFc)

  Preparing first SAFc purchase via SkyNRG partner using book-and-claim approach. Resulting saving of ~500 tCO2e of business travel emissions. SkyNRG certified by Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) and CORSIA; SAF reduces emissions by at least 82% over lifecycle vs conventional jet fuel.

• Car fleet electrification

  To address Scope 1 emissions from car fleet, Roland Berger is updating its car policy to fully decarbonize the fleet, with incentives for employees to use battery electric vehicles. Increasing the number of EV charging points across offices.

• Office energy efficiency

  Across Europe, lowered heating and adapted air-conditioning temperatures to reduce energy consumption. Energy-efficient heating/cooling ceilings in office rooms. IT infrastructure made more energy efficient by moving the last on-premises data centers to the cloud. Local waste reduction initiatives (paper -50%, plastic -70% targets in Brazil; Bring Your Own programs in China).

• Business travel reduction (largest Scope 3 lever)

  Business travel dominates Roland Berger's Scope 3 footprint (91% of total). SBTi target: 40% reduction in business travel emissions per FTE by 2028 vs 2019; achieved 43% reduction in 2022 (from 12.4 to 7.0 tCO2e/FTE). Measures: rethinking project delivery to be more remote, CO2 Dashboard pilot in Germany providing per-employee transparency, incentives for train over plane and battery EVs, plans to include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Berger Bike leasing platform.

• Climate awareness training (Climate Fresk + Glacier Academy)

  Partnered with NGO Climate Fresk for pilot workshops with cross-functional teams across Europe. Rolling out Glacier Academy online ESG/climate/net zero training, mandatory worldwide from 2024.

• Employee sustainability awareness and training

  Launched BeGreen Week, 36 Sustainability Ambassadors across offices worldwide, new Paris-office sustainability training partnership with ADEME, Climate Fresk workshops, and CO2 Dashboard pilot in Germany providing employees full transparency on business-travel emissions with peer comparison. Plans for global rollout of sustainability training and real-time carbon accounting in 2023.

• Client project decarbonization (5x growth in SCA portfolio)

  Roland Berger's biggest emissions reduction lever is its work advising clients. Sustainability and Climate Action (SCA) project portfolio grew fivefold from 2020 to 2022, exceeding 250 projects. Most-requested ESG topics: ESG strategy development, circularity and decarbonization strategies for materials, supply chains, and industrial processes. Plans to embed ESG/sustainability in all consulting projects, broadening scope to water, biodiversity, and carbon footprint calculation/optimization (via Polarixpartner acquisition).