Foreword

The past year was marked by a global push for a greener and cleaner future. Leaders, organisations, companies and individuals around the world actively incorporated sustainability principles and promoted their integration into decision-making processes and long-term strategic planning. Young people in particular led the way, raising their collective voice to foster awareness of climate change and to demand meaningful climate action.

Amid these global developments, this year the ECB celebrates a tenth anniversary of certification under the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). Over the past decade, we have demonstrated our strong commitment to environmental protection and have succeeded in significantly reducing our carbon footprint. I feel that it is important to acknowledge that our achievements are the result of the strong and thriving network of individuals and cross-organisational teams, who monitor and directly address environmental issues and are eager to drive change within and beyond their areas of influence. We must be very proud of all of our colleagues who actively incorporate sustainability into their ways of working and living.

In 2019 the ECB took important steps towards further improving its environmental performance. We participated for the first time in the European Week for Waste Reduction and took part in the European Mobility Week and WWF Earth Hour for the ninth consecutive year. In addition, we initiated various other small-scale activities to raise awareness of relevant environmental issues, facilitate the exchange of information and best practices, and build-up internal networks. We also entered into an interinstitutional partnership with the European Parliament to offset our collective residual greenhouse gas emissions for 2018, while continuing our close cooperation on environmental issues with other European institutions and national central banks.

At the time of writing, the global coronavirus (COVID‑19) pandemic is affecting our private and professional lives. The recovery measures related to this crisis will also have to include climate protection and sustainability principles as a means of resolving ecological imbalances and facilitating the transition to a green economy. The Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal propose concrete frameworks and pathways that will guide our common work. They will also steer the ECB in taking environmental protection to the next level. Looking ahead we are planning to pursue opportunities to further incorporate sustainability principles into our daily operations, foster biodiversity on our premises and continue fruitful interinstitutional cooperation.

I look forward to continuing our shared work and to marking further meaningful achievements for sustainability at the ECB.

Michael Diemer
Chief Services Officer

1 Environmental management at the ECB

1.1 Overview of the environmental management system (EMS) and relevant changes

This environmental statement contains environmental data relating to the buildings occupied by the ECB in 2019: the main building, the Eurotower and the Japan Center. Following a gradual increase in workplaces over the past years, the ECB has extended its operations to all three buildings and has occupied the entire office space in the three premises since 2018. The number of workplaces at the ECB stabilised in 2019, showing a 1.3% decrease from the previous year.

The varying operational scope of the ECB’s EMS with different building occupancy intervals and duration in the past as well as the different age and construction standards of the three buildings need to be considered when evaluating the development of environmental aspects. These particularities also make it difficult to draw meaningful comparisons between the environmental performance of each building. Therefore, as in previous years, the environmental data in this statement have been aggregated for the rented buildings located in the city centre (i.e. the Eurotower and the Japan Center), while the data for the main building are presented separately.

In order to align the ECB’s EMS with the ECB business strategy cycle, plans to shorten the current three-year interval of the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) under which the ECB’s EMS operates (i.e. 2019 – 2022) by one year are currently under consideration. Consequently, the ECB may prepare and publish a consolidated environmental statement one year earlier than initially planned so as to start a new EMAS cycle in 2021. This year’s environmental statement provides a scheduled update of the ECB environmental statement 2019.

The ECB’s environmental policy outlines the ECB’s overall intentions and direction in relation to its environmental performance and objectives. In line with the latest EMAS regulation and ISO 14001 updates and terminology, an editorial change was included in the ECB’s environmental policy in 2019. As a result, the organisational commitment towards “continuous environmental improvement” was edited to state “continual environmental improvement”, thereby emphasising the cyclical nature of the EMS.

1.2 Compliance obligations

The EMAS regulations, together with the relevant German and municipal environmental legislation, define the requirements to be met by the ECB and its EMS. Therefore, the ECB keeps a register for its premises in Frankfurt am Main containing all relevant legal obligations. The register is revised and updated by legal experts on a regular basis. Relevant amendments to the legal framework are directed to the respective business areas and stakeholders who define and implement the measures necessary to meet compliance requirements. The majority of the environmental regulations at the ECB are related to the operation and maintenance of the premises as well as to contracted services, such as catering and cleaning. The ECB’s legal compliance is assessed on an annual basis during the internal environmental verifications. To date, no deviations from the legal framework have been identified during these verification checks.

The ECB has committed to further environmentally relevant obligations which go beyond the legal framework, such as developing sustainable procurement guidelines, setting environmental business objectives and raising awareness on environmental topics. Furthermore, the ECB recognises the challenges posed by climate change and, within its mandate, commits to contributing to addressing them, for example, via supporting market participants, legislators and standard-setters as they work towards identifying climate change-related risks.

Read more about climate change and the ECB.

Beyond its organisational boundaries, the ECB actively engages in interinstitutional collaboration with the Groupe Interinstitutionnel de Management Environnemental (GIME) and the Environmental Network of Central Banks (ENCB) to exchange environmental best practices, discuss shared topics of interest related to environmental management and coordinate joint participation in environmental awareness-raising events.

1.3 Context of the organisation

Given that the ECB’s environmental performance is influenced by internal and external factors and developments, the ECB regularly reviews its organisational context in relation to its EMS and examines internal as well external aspects associated with it. As ECB President Christine Lagarde has stated, the challenges that come with climate change present both risks and opportunities.^[1] By reviewing its organisational context and environmentally relevant aspects, the ECB can achieve a better understanding of current and future dynamics as well as related risks and opportunities, and could therefore adjust its EMS to effectively respond to relevant developments. The ECB also evaluates the needs and expectations of its stakeholders on a regular basis. The review of the organisational context and stakeholders is part of the implementation and maintenance of the EMS and an important step towards establishing environmental objectives and corresponding measures.

1.4 Environmental communication, engagement and awareness-raising activities

Throughout 2019, the ECB successfully engaged in various environmental communication and awareness-raising activities. These included internal and external events such as joint activities and meetings with interinstitutional collaboration networks, workshops and information sessions. By means of these activities, the ECB fostered collaboration with different stakeholders including employees, contractors, European institutions and bodies, national central banks and other external parties.

As in previous years, the ECB participated in the WWF Earth Hour in March 2019 together with millions of people and numerous organisations around the world by symbolically switching off non-essential lights in its buildings to demonstrate its commitment to climate protection. The ECB also organised information sessions during which ECB staff had the opportunity to dive into the science of climate change, its current and expected future impacts and possible ways they can reduce their personal carbon footprint.

In September 2019, the ECB again participated in the European Mobility Week. In order to increase employee awareness regarding the environmental impacts of different modes of transport, the ECB organised a variety of activities related to environmentally friendly mobility. The Green ECB team used information stands to inform staff about the environmental impact of different means of transportation as well as options for more sustainable commuting and business travel. Furthermore, the ECB organised information sessions on online collaboration tools to further reduce emissions from business travel, as well as expert talks and a panel discussion on the topics of electric mobility, cycling culture and the use of space in urban areas. As in previous years, ECB staff had the opportunity to participate in bicycle safety inspections. During the European Mobility Week, the ECB also launched a commuting survey to be able to better estimate emissions from staff commute and investigate opportunities to further promote environmentally friendly modes of transportation.

In November 2019, the ECB participated in the European Week for Waste Reduction for the first time. The official theme of the event, “Change your ways, reduce your waste!”, highlighted the importance of reducing and properly recycling waste. During the event week, ECB staff had the opportunity to learn more about waste avoidance, recycling and treatment options at dedicated information stands. Moreover, a zero-waste workshop revealed innovative avenues to avoid and reduce waste in everyday life. On the occasion of the European Week for Waste Reduction, the ECB launched a deposit-based system for reusable beverage cups, replacing the remaining single-use cups across its premises and thereby further contributing to waste reduction on site.

In collaboration with relevant stakeholders, the Green ECB team has also initiated the development of an internal guideline for making events and conferences more environmentally friendly. The guideline will assist staff in planning and running events, conferences and meetings at the ECB in a sustainable and resource-efficient way. While a green event pilot that was initially scheduled to take place in May 2020 had to be postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID‑19) pandemic, a high-level green event pilot is planned for 2021 in order to set a benchmark for sustainable event organisation and implementation.

The Environmental Representatives, who are delegates of their business areas, also support EMS-related activities alongside the Green ECB team. In their role as direct contact persons for environmental issues in their business areas, the Environmental Representatives foster horizontal and cross-organisational communication on environmental topics and support the Green ECB team in promoting internal environmental initiatives and events. Their involvement is thus essential for the increase of environmental awareness and for the reach of internal environmental communication activities and events. Furthermore, Environmental Representatives independently launch own local initiatives such as drafting newsletters or holding presentations on environmental topics in their respective business areas. Given their active engagement, the Environmental Representatives make a valuable contribution to the success and improvement of the ECB’s EMS.

The exchange of expertise and environmental best practices via interinstitutional networks is an integral part of the ECB’s approach to environmental management. At present, the ECB collaborates with other European institutions and national central banks through the GIME and the ENCB networks. The GIME is composed of a growing number of European institutions and bodies. Its aim is to promote best practices and facilitate the exchange of information regarding EMAS and environmental management in general.

Read more about EMAS in the European Institutions.

The ENCB currently consists of 14 ESCB NCBs aiming to build a network for sharing best practices and experiences on environmental management as well as jointly participating in environmental awareness-raising events, such as the WWF Earth Hour.

In 2019 the ECB entered into collaboration with the European Parliament in order to compensate their collective residual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the year 2018. A joint public tender procedure has been successfully awarded and the proposed projects are Gold Standard-certified and contribute to numerous Sustainable Development Goals. A new joint tender is planned to be launched in 2020 for the compensation of the residual GHG emissions for the year 2019, again with the participation of additional European institutions in a joint approach. While the compensation of residual emissions is an important measure that contributes to alleviating the ECB’s impact on the environment, the avoidance and reduction of emissions remain the ECB’s strategic priority.

2 The year in figures

Figure 2 provides an overview of the ECB’s environmental performance indicators in 2019. The reported percentages indicate the difference between the 2018 and 2019 environmental data.

In 2019 the total energy consumption of the ECB decreased by 5.3%. The consumption of electrical energy as well as heating and cooling energy also declined by 4.4% and 6.6% respectively. The trend of declining energy consumption figures is also evident in the energy consumption levels per workplace (i.e. energy: ‑4.1% per workplace; electrical energy: ‑3.1% per workplace; heating and cooling: ‑5.4% per workplace). The reduction of energy consumption at the ECB was facilitated by various factors, such as the optimisation of cooling facilities, the implementation of indirect free cooling of the data centre as well as the further installation of LED lighting.

The ECB’s geothermal energy system had been activated in 2018 and continued to operate in 2019. Total renewable energy consumption, covered by electrical and geothermal energy, accounted for 57% of the energy consumption on ECB premises in 2019.

The usage of cleaning agents decreased substantially compared with the previous year (-14.3% in total; ‑13.3% per workplace). In addition, further reductions could be noted for fresh water consumption (-9.3% in total; ‑8.1% per workplace) as well as waste generation (-3.5% in total; ‑2.3% per workplace).

A more detailed description of these and other environmental data developments can be found in Chapter 3 – Environmental aspects and impact of the ECB’s activities.

3 Environmental aspects and impact of the ECB’s activities

The ECB monitors the environmental aspects of its activities and evaluates their impact and development over time. The ECB’s environmental aspects were first identified in 2007. They are reviewed on an annual basis in order to adapt to potential changes within and beyond the ECB. This applies specifically to the aspects that have a significant direct or indirect environmental impact.

Close collaboration and exchanges with all relevant business areas take place to ensure legal compliance, avoid environmental risks and further reduce the ECB’s environmental impact. In addition, for the rented city centre premises, quarterly reports are submitted that include data related to the operation of the premises as well as aspects related to employee activity, such as energy and water consumption, emissions and waste generation in order to monitor and ensure data quality. Moreover, aspects such as the environmental performance of service providers, purchased goods, business travel, staff commuting and related CO₂ emissions are also monitored and actively managed.

Environmental data are collected and compiled in an environmental inventory to be used in an annual monitoring and analysis of the impact of the ECB’s activities. The analysis of the data and environmentally relevant developments forms the basis for defining new measures for the enhancement of the environmental programme. The Green ECB team collaborates with all relevant teams to assess possibilities for further influencing the development of environmental aspects and implementing new environmental objectives and measures.

Assessment of the environmental aspects

Direct and indirect environmental aspects are regularly evaluated based on two criteria: the possibility to influence them (x-axis) as well as their significance for the ECB’s environmental performance (y-axis). The result of the most recent evaluation is presented below. Following the assessment of the ECB’s direct environmental aspects, fresh water at the main building has been changed from medium to high significance given that the collection of 2019 water consumption data revealed that although overall water consumption decreased in 2019, closer monitoring of these data is required. More detailed information on water consumption developments can be found in Chapter 3.3 – Water and waste water.

3.1 Energy efficiency

In relation to the number of workplaces, energy consumption in the main building and the city centre buildings decreased in 2019 compared with the previous year. It can therefore be concluded that the implemented energy efficiency measures are showing positive effects.

3.2 Material efficiency

Office paper

A positive development could be observed concerning office paper consumption which decreased by 57.0% in 2019 compared with the previous year. Office paper consumption per workplace decreased by 56.4% compared with 2018. The amount of recycled paper in the total office paper consumption was 94.5% and only a small amount of non-recycled paper is still used for printing high-quality materials.

The decrease in office paper consumption is the result of the focus on further promoting and enabling the digitalisation of processes, such as the handling of contracts in public procurement procedures. In 2019 an application was introduced that enables ECB staff to remotely and flexibly access meeting documentation from their ECB mobile devices. The steady reduction of office paper consumption also demonstrates that awareness-raising initiatives such as the “Plants for printers” campaign are showing an effect in sensitising ECB employees to the efficient and careful use of resources.

See Chapter – 3.7 Green public procurement for additional information.

Various other activities were carried out in 2019 which contributed to enhancing material efficiency in the ECB’s daily operations. One notable change was the replacement of all disposable coffee cups for take-away beverages with a reusable cup deposit scheme across all ECB premises. The deposit system enabled a considerable reduction in single-use items, and staff can also take advantage of the system in participating coffee shops.

Several additional measures were taken to further reduce waste in catering outlets and service areas. For example, individually wrapped snacks were phased out in conference and meeting areas and replaced with bulk alternatives offered in glass jars, single-use cutlery was removed from meal sets, and vending machines and catering outlets now offer refreshments and snacks in reusable jars. However, as a result of strict hygiene requirements related to the COVID‑19 pandemic, it is expected that the usage of disposable items will increase again in 2020.

Cleaning agents

In 2019, the ECB continued using microbiological detergents which are 99.9% biodegradable. The dosing process of cleaning agents and refilling and reusing spray bottles enables the ECB to reduce packaging waste. Moreover, the use of mechanical cleaning methods, such as a floor cleaning machine with a self-cleaning water tank, saves water in day-to-day cleaning. Daytime cleaning furthermore ensures social fairness and contributes to energy savings.

From 2018 to 2019, the use of cleaning agents in the main building decreased by 20.1% compared with the previous year as a result of constant efforts from the ECB’s cleaning services. This was achieved by dosing the detergents on site and the service providers’ staff gaining more experience with the use of microbiological detergents and the required amounts. In the city centre premises, cleaning agent amounts decreased by 4.0% compared with the previous year. The decline in the city centre buildings is not as pronounced since the cleaning services provider mainly doses cleaning agents in the main building.

In 2019, the introduction of washing bags for microfiber cloths helped prevent microfibers from entering the wastewater stream during the washing process. In addition, non-hazardous laundry detergents and aqueous ozone, an eco-friendly disinfecting solution, were introduced to further reduce the environmental impact of cleaning.

Office supplies

The ECB helps staff to easily identify eco-friendly office supplies by highlighting environmental labels and credentials and continuously increasing their share in the ECB stationery catalogue. Eco-friendly office products can be easily filtered in the supply catalogue by keywords such as “planet” or “eco” and can be identified on the basis of the environmental certification labels visible in their description. In 2019 the share of eco-friendly office supplies in the ECB catalogue remained stable at 37.1%.

Moreover, the internal catalogue for reusable stationery is increasingly used within the Bank and has also contributed to a decrease in new external orders. Stationery continues to be handed back to the internal store room and can then be made available for re-ordering from the internal catalogue. Informative material on how to decrease the environmental impact of ordering stationery and office supplies has also been made available to ECB staff.

Moreover, the ECB donates decommissioned IT equipment (i.e. laptops, printers and related accessories) to various charities. Bicycles that are collected during quarterly bicycle parking clearances on ECB premises and remain unclaimed by their owners are also donated to local charities.

Chemicals for water treatment and cooling agents

Chemicals used for water treatment and losses of cooling agents are significant environmental aspects that are constantly monitored by the ECB. 11.3 tonnes of chemical substances, mainly composed of salts, were used to soften the water in the technical facilities in the main building in 2019. This represents a 14.5% increase compared with the previous year.

In the city centre premises, an increase of 25.3% in the use of chemicals for water treatment was registered owing to the fact that the automatic dosing system was temporarily out of service, and dosing was consequently carried out manually. In the city centre buildings, the use of chemicals for water treatment amounted to 4.5 tonnes in 2019.

Despite regular maintenance and checks of the cooling installations in the ECB premises, leakages of the cooling systems were nevertheless identified. This resulted in 22 kg and 48 kg of cooling agents having to be refilled in the main building and in the Eurotower respectively in 2019. A detailed assessment of the root causes of the leakages and prevention plans were commissioned in order to avoid similar incidents in the future.

3.3 Water and waste water

Water consumption at the ECB consists of technical water, e.g. used for building climate control, and non-technical water, used for sanitary facilities, kitchenettes and the canteens. In the case of the main building, non-technical water also includes water used for irrigating the green areas. The differences in the structure, landscape and number of workplaces of the ECB’s premises need to be considered when comparing water consumption figures of the main building and the city centre premises. The charts below show the development of technical and non-technical fresh water consumption of the ECB premises.

Fresh water consumption at the main building declined by 8.5% in 2019 compared with 2018. Technical water consumption in the main building has increased over the past two years due to exceptionally hot summers that required increased cooling of the building. At the same time, non-technical water consumption figures have been fluctuating during the past years. The maintenance of the ECB’s green areas, such as meadows, trees, wild flowers and herbs, accounted for a considerable amount of non-technical water consumption. In order to optimise the use of water for the garden, the irrigation patterns have been adapted to the different types of meadows and plants as well as to weather conditions. In addition, the consumption of non-technical fresh water is also reduced as a result of the collection of rain water from the roof of the Grossmarkthalle. The collected rain water is used for irrigation purposes as well as for sanitary facilities.

In the city centre buildings, fresh water consumption declined by 10.5%. Technical water consumption has fluctuated over the past years and decreased in 2019, while non-technical water consumption increased. Fresh water consumption per workplace decreased by 9.1% compared with the year 2018.

3.4 Waste and recycling

3.5 Biodiversity

For the calculation of the CO₂ emissions, suitable conversion factors have been defined which are updated on an annual basis. Changes of emission factors in 2019 are displayed in Chapter 6 – Technical information.

The following chart provides an overview of the emission trends related to the ECB’s activities.

In 2019 total CO₂ emissions related to the ECB’s activities declined by 3.3% compared with the previous year. This represents a positive development towards achieving the ECB’s objective of reducing its total CO₂ emissions by 10% by 2030, measured at the 2018 baseline. The developments that lead to these outcomes are presented in the following sections.

Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions together make up approximately half of the ECB’s total reported CO₂emissions. These emissions are directly linked to the operation of the ECB’s premises, including for instance the consumption of natural gas, district heating and cooling agent losses. As the ECB has been purchasing 100% renewable electricity since 2016, the reported emissions from electricity consumption equal zero. Nevertheless, reducing overall electricity consumption remains a priority.

The chart below presents the development of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions at the ECB.

Scope 3 emissions include emissions resulting from business travel, staff commuting and paper consumption (in the offices and for external communication). Taken together, these emissions account for approximately half of the ECB’s total reported CO₂ emissions.

Business travel is a key aspect in the ECB’s EMS and Scope 3 emissions. Here, the largest share of CO₂ emissions stems from air travel, which increased in 2019 as emissions from continental and intercontinental flights grew. Emissions from domestic air travel decreased in 2019. The recent launch of a data analytics initiative is expected to enable deeper insights into business travel activities and their impacts by improving data quality and granularity. In order to raise staff awareness on the climate impact of air travel, the ECB has been making efforts to improve the information provided to users on its travel booking platform to include insights into the environmental impact of travel activities. The platform can also be used as a tool to support the development of awareness-raising events and activities in collaboration with the Environmental Representatives.

With the support of online collaboration tools and the enhanced use of videoconferencing, there is significant potential to enable further reductions in CO₂ emissions by substituting avoidable business travel with web-based communication. Several practical workshops and information sessions on the use of existing online collaboration tools were carried out in 2019 and supported their increased user uptake as recorded at the end of the year.

Staff commute to and from work represent another emission source that the ECB actively addresses and reports on. The CO₂ emissions from commuting are estimated on the basis of the results of a survey carried out in 2019 that enabled new insights related to the choices of means of transportation used by ECB staff to commute to and from the office. Compared with the last survey, which formed the basis for previously reported emissions, the 2019 survey revealed an increase in the uptake of environmentally friendly modes of transportation used by staff for their commute. The updated shares for the modes of transportation resulting from the new survey, combined with the slight decrease in workplaces in 2019, resulted in a decline in emissions from staff commute by almost 25%. Nevertheless, as emissions from staff commute are largely based on estimates, this figure should be interpreted with discretion.

The ECB took the opportunity of its participation in the 2019 European Mobility Week to promote sustainable means of transportation and raise awareness for eco-friendly mobility options among staff.

Finally, emissions from paper used in the offices and for ECB publications and external communication materials are also considered under Scope 3 emissions. While a decrease in CO₂ emissions from office paper consumption could be observed in 2019, emissions from paper consumption for official publications increased compared with 2018. The latter development is related to the publication of information and awareness material for the newly issued euro banknotes, further described in Chapter 3.2 – Material Efficiency.

In addition to the previously illustrated emissions, the amounts of emitted sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and particulate matter (PM) are also monitored and reported. These specific emissions arise directly from the use of ECB-owned cars, test runs of emergency power units and consumption of natural gas. For the specific figures related to these emissions please refer to Chapter 6 – Technical information.

The ECB continuously assesses and implements measures to avoid and reduce its CO₂ emissions. Furthermore, in 2019 the ECB entered into an interinstitutional partnership with the European Parliament to jointly offset the collective residual CO₂ emissions of the two institutions for 2018. Four additional European institutions intend to join the collaboration for the joint compensation of residual greenhouse gas emissions for 2019.

5 Conclusions

The continuous improvement of the ECB’s environmental performance and the environmentally relevant developments during 2019 represent an important step towards accomplishing the ECB’s environmental objectives and reducing the ECB’s overall environmental impact. Some environmental aspects reveal room for improvement, and measures to further limit their negative environmental impacts are being assessed on a constant basis. Overall the ECB’s EMS performed well in 2019, and its substantial progress and positive results are also visible in the reported figures.

The positive developments are the result of various environmental improvement measures implemented and of the joint and collaborative efforts of various stakeholders across the Bank that actively contributed to the success of the ECB’s EMS. In fact, the achievement of the ECB’s environmental objectives and implementation of corresponding measures is highly dependent on the engagement and support of employees and contractors. Their active involvement is essential for achieving further improvement of the ECB’s EMS and of its overall environmental performance. Therefore, the collaboration with the Environmental Representatives, contractors and ECB staff together with the sustained support of senior management remain the backbone of the ECB’s EMS.

The future development of the ECB’s EMS continues to be shaped and challenged by internal and external factors. The outbreak of the COVID‑19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020 has caused major changes in the ECB’s day-to-day operations and is expected to also influence its EMS. However, the new developments also offer opportunities to implement innovative solutions in adapting to new circumstances which, from an environmental perspective, could enable positive outcomes in the long term. In fact, environmental and sustainability considerations are a key part of discussions and reflections on shaping the “new normal” that take place via various fora at the ECB. This approach, together with the continued efforts of all teams that work towards achieving a sustained reduction of the ECB’s environmental impact, signal the ECB’s commitment to achieving environmental excellence in its operations.

6 Technical information

The previous chapters report and explain the developments and activities of the ECB’s most relevant environmental aspects. In line with the requirements of the EMAS regulation, this next chapter aims to provide further details and additional insights regarding the ECB’s environmental performance.

The following table shows the variation of the CO₂ emission conversion factors used to calculate the emissions reported in the previous chapters. The difference between the years 2018 and 2019 is based on the latest figures provided by the corresponding sources^[3].

6.1 Environmental management programme

7 Environmental verifier’s declaration

Environmental verifier's declaration on verification and validation activities

The undersigned, BSI Group Deutschland GmbH, an environmental verification body with the registration number DE‑V‑0228, accredited and licensed for the areas of “Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding” (NACE Rev, 2: NACE 64), confirms that it has verified whether the environmental declaration of the European Central Bank (ECB), at its sites at Sonnemannstrasse 20, 60314 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (main building) and at Kaiserstrasse 29, 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany and Taunustor 2, 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (city centre), with registration number D‑125‑00045, meets all the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of 25 November 2009 as amended by Commission Regulations (EU) 2017/1505 of 28 August 2017 and 2018/2026 of 19 December 2018 of the European Parliament and of the Council, on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS).

The signature of this validation confirms that:

• the verification and validation has been carried out in full compliance with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1505 and 2018/2026;
• the result of the verification and validation confirms that there is no evidence of non-compliance with applicable environmental legislation;
• the data and information in the environmental statement give a reliable, credible and truthful picture of all the organisation’s activities within the scope specified in the environmental statement.

This document is not equivalent to EMAS registration. EMAS registration can only be granted by a competent body under Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009.

This document shall not be used as a standalone piece of public communication.

Frankfurt am Main, 30 June 2020

Dr Rainer Feld
BSI Group Deutschland GmbH Umweltgutachterorganisation

Environmental verification body
(DE – V – 0228)

Disclaimer
This update of the ECB’s environmental statement provides information to the general public and other interested parties about the environmental performance and activities of the European Central Bank (ECB) in 2019. It can be found on the ECB’s website (see the page entitled “Environmental protection at the ECB”).The ECB was first validated under the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in 2010. This environmental statement, which is the eleventh to be produced within the EMAS validation cycle, is a follow-up to the consolidated environmental statement for 2019. It is only complete when read together with this publication and contains updated data for the year 2019.This environmental statement was drafted in accordance with EMAS standards according to Regulation (EC) No. 1221/2009 and the updated annexes of the EMAS Regulation according to Regulation (EC) 2017/1505.