Greenhouse Gas Balance

Greenhouse Gas Balance

2025 by Country

Key Figures

Unit

2023

2024

2025

Germany

Austria

Sweden

Greenhouse Gas Balance

Emissions Scope 1+2+3

Total portfolio + business operations location-based 1)

t CO₂e

1,866,662

1,929,967

1,791,689

1,695,858

56,283

39,549

of which emissions from portfolio

t CO₂e

1,667,474

1,547,831

1,524,297

1,429,180

56,105

39,012

of which emissions from business operations

t CO₂e

199,188

382,136

267,393

266,678

178

537

Total portfolio + business operations market-based 1)

t CO₂e

1,796,191

1,891,414

1,705,871

1,622,308

51,819

34,586

of which emissions from portfolio

t CO₂e

1,600,697

1,509,278

1,441,320

1,355,630

51,642

34,049

of which emissions from business operations

t CO₂e

195,494

382,136

264,551

266,678

178

537

Intensities

Portfolio emissions per rental space 2)

kg CO₂e/m²

30.0

29.4

28.5

30.7

26.5

8.4

Portfolio emissions per € million Rental segment
revenue
2)

t CO₂e/‌ in € million

327

312

290

318

343

66

Total emissions per € million Group segment
revenue (location-based)

t CO₂e/‌ in € million

306

273

266

283

157

98

Total emissions per € million Group segment
revenue (market-based)

t CO₂e/‌ in € million

295

267

253

271

145

86

Emissions Scope 1+2

Total portfolio + business operations 1)

t CO₂e

834,979

836,832

803,822

753,620

27,517

22,684

of which emissions from portfolio

t CO₂e

808,374

811,344

778,346

728,737

27,370

22,239

of which emissions from business operations

t CO₂e

26,605

25,488

25,476

24,884

148

444

Scope 1 (Direct Emissions)

Total portfolio + business operations 1)

t CO₂e

508,141

539,867

530,690

513,891

16,393

405

Scope 1 Portfolio

Combustion processes of stationary plants

t CO₂e

487,711

520,168

510,780

494,440

16,340

0

of which heat from natural gas (ME)

%

93.2

93.5

94.1

94.5

82.6

0.0

of which heat from fuel oil (ME)

%

5.8

5.8

5.5

5.1

16.9

0.0

of which heat from coal (ME)

%

0.9

0.7

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.0

of which biomass (ME)

%

0.1

0.0

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.0

Scope 1 Business Operations

Combustion processes of business operations

t CO₂e

20,430

19,699

19,910

19,452

53

405

of which mobile plants

%

94.1

95.6

95.2

95.3

37.7

100.0

of which stationary plants

%

5.9

4.4

4.8

4.7

62.3

0.0

Scope 2 (Indirect Emissions from Energy Purchases)

Total portfolio + business operations location-based 1)

t CO₂e

393,615

335,518

356,108

313,279

15,587

27,242

Total portfolio + business operations market-based 1)3)

t CO₂e

321,259

296,965

270,290

236,936

11,075

22,279

Scope 2 Portfolio

Energy supply location-based

t CO₂e

387,440

329,730

350,543

307,847

15,493

27,202

of which district heating (ME)

%

88.0

97.3

89.1

89.5

87.2

86.3

of which heat from electricity (ME)

%

3.0

0.8

3.0

2.7

8.6

3.0

of which electricity (common areas)

%

8.9

1.8

7.9

7.8

4.2

10.7

Energy supply market-based 4)

t CO₂e

320,663

291,176

267,566

234,297

11,030

22,239

of which district heating (ME)

%

94.2

97.1

98.6

99.6

81.8

96.4

of which heat from electricity (ME)

%

3.7

1.0

0.6

0.0

12.2

1.0

of which electricity (common areas) 5)

%

2.1

1.9

0.8

0.4

6.0

2.6

Scope 2 Business Operations

Energy supply location-based

t CO₂e

6,175

5,789

5,566

5,432

94

39

of which electricity

%

69.5

67.6

65.4

65.4

53.9

100.0

of which district heating

%

30.5

32.4

34.6

34.6

46.1

0.0

Energy supply market-based 6)

t CO₂e

596

715

2,724

2,639

46

39

of which electricity

%

100.0

100.0

29.4

28.8

4.8

100.0

of which district heating

%

70.6

71.2

95.2

0.0

Scope 3 (Other Indirect Emissions)

Total portfolio + business operations

t CO₂e

964,906

1,054,582

904,891

868,687

24,302

11,902

3.1 Emissions from purchased goods and
services
1)

t CO₂e

81,021

170,748

143,033

143,033

0

0

3.2 Emissions from capital goods 1)7)

t CO₂e

72,361

132,075

78,556

78,556

0

0

3.3 Fuel and energy-related emissions
(not Scope 1+2)
1)8)

t CO₂e

210,026

205,634

197,948

184,590

9,726

3,632

Portfolio

t CO₂e

204,800

200,366

193,132

179,897

9,695

3,540

Business operations

t CO₂e

5,226

5,268

4,816

4,693

30

93

3.11 Emissions from use of sold products 1)

t CO₂e

13,974

48,557

15,511

15,511

0

0

3.13. Downstream leased assets 1)

t CO₂e

587,523

497,568

469,843

446,997

14,576

8,270

Downstream leased assets WEG 9)

t CO₂e

52,274.98

24,153

20,186

13,987

6,199

0

Household electricity 10)

t CO₂e

535,248.04

473,415

449,657

433,010

8,378

8,270

  1. 1)Calculation logic according to ESRS E1–6.
  2. 2)Excl. emissions from purchased goods and services (Scope 3.1), capital goods (Scope 3.2), use of products sold (Scope 3.11) and household electricity (Scope 3.13).
  3. 3)Corresponds to the sum of Scope 2 emissions from the portfolio (market-based) and business operations (location-based) for 2023 and 2024, as there was insufficient data available for district heating in business operations (market-based).
  4. 4)Calculation using utility-specific emission factors (market-based) if available in qualified form. Otherwise, use of location-specific emission factors (location-based).
  5. 5)For the Germany region, all volumes traded via VESG using 100% green electricity guarantee of origin, cleared via the Federal Environment Agency’s register of guarantees of origin.
  6. 6)For locations in the Austria region: 100% green electricity. Calculation using utility-specific emission factors (market-based) if available in qualified form. Otherwise, use of location-specific emission factors (location-based).
  7. 7)Of which 100% from emissions caused by new construction/development.
  8. 8)Includes fuel- and energy-related emissions of the entire portfolio (incl. WEG share), in each case stationary combustion.
  9. 9)Rental units that belong to a residential property owners’ association (WEG) in which Vonovia has an ownership interest of ≤ 50 % in the building (no full operational control). There are no proportional ownership rights in Sweden.
  10. 10)Calculation incl. commercial units.

Notes on the Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This greenhouse gas balance (GHG balance) was prepared on the basis of the standards of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard), the internationally recognized standards for calculating greenhouse gas emissions. The recommendations set out in the guidance issued by German Association of German Housing and Real Estate Companies (GdW), “Arbeitshilfe 85 (CO2 Monitoring)”, and the recommendations published by the Wohnen 2050 housing initiative (IW2050), have also been taken into account. The scope of consolidation relevant to Vonovia’s greenhouse gas balance matches that used for the other key environmental figures in this ESG Factbook. Greenhouse gas emissions were calculated in CO2 equivalents (CO2e), the standard unit for measuring the relevant contribution to the greenhouse effect for the greenhouse gases regulated in the Kyoto Protocol (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, SF₆, HFCs and PFCs).

The calculation of GHG emissions in the portfolio is conducted according to the “Financial Control Approach”. Emissions produced as a result of operating the housing stock over which Vonovia has full control (>50% ownership of the building) are disclosed under Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions.  For the part of the housing stock in which the company holds a minority interest (max. 50% ownership of the building), the corresponding Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are reported under Scope 3.13.

As actual measured values for the relevant reporting year are not available at the required time, we calculate the emissions associated with supplying heat to buildings in the portfolio on the basis of the valid energy performance certificates of the individual buildings. The energy consumption of those buildings that do not have energy performance certificates is extrapolated based on the age of the building and corresponding average values based on the characteristics of the rest of the portfolio.

To calculate the emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and location-based emissions in Scopes 1, 2 and 3.3, the CO₂e factors from version 5.1 of the GEMIS database were used for the portfolio in Germany. GEMIS (Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems) is an internationally recognized model for determining energy and material flows with an integrated database. The model calculates life cycles for all processes and scenarios, i.e., it takes into consideration all material steps from primary energy/raw material extraction to effective energy/material provision and also includes the auxiliary energy and cost of materials to produce energy plants and transport systems.  The emission factors of the Environment Agency Austria are used for Austria, while the Swedenenergy emission factors are used for Sweden.

Market-based emission factors were used to determine Scope 2 emissions from district heating where these were available in qualified form. Otherwise, location-based emission factors were used. With regard to the purchase of district heating from combined heat and power (CHP) plants, we use emission factors based on the Carnot allocation method, as this allows for more realistic allocation of emissions to heat or electricity in physical terms. If other emission factors are used in isolated cases, this is indicated accordingly.

Explanatory information on the scopes included in the GHG balance:

Scope 1 – Direct emissions: GHG emissions from stationary combustion for heating and warm water, as well as mobile combustion (vehicles owned by the company).

Scope 2 – Indirect emissions from energy purchases: GHG emissions from the generation of (general) electricity, local and district heating for heating and warm water.

Scope 3 – Indirect emissions in the upstream and downstream value chain (where these are identified as significant):

Vonovia will review its GHG emissions on a regular basis with a view to the significance of other Scope 3 categories.