We are pushing ahead with our new sustainability initiative. The CO₂ emissions of our employees will be neutralized in cooperation with PLANTED.
Every person and every company causes CO₂ emissions – no matter how sustainably and economically one operates. Climate protection means recording all emissions and then reducing them as much as possible. All unavoidable emissions can be counterbalanced through a climate protection project. To protect the environment and climate for our future generations, not more than two tons of carbon dioxide should be emitted per person each year. In Germany, each person currently causes more than eleven tons of emissions, as calculated by the Federal Environment Agency.
ownCloud is now counterbalancing the CO₂ emissions of its employees in cooperation with the non-profit start-up PLANTED. As part of a subscription model, each individual’s emissions of climate-damaging gases are compensated for in their private as well as their professional lives. This happens through the purchase of CO₂ certificates, which PLANTED uses to support various social and energy-related projects. In doing so, PLANTED ensures that no greenwashing is carried out and that the compensation payments end up where they belong. The organization works with projects such as Gold Standard, the UN and the VCS, globally recognized project developers for climate protection. In addition, PLANTED plants a climate-stable tree for every ownCloud employee every month – right here in Germany. The CO₂ that will be bound by these trees does not count in the eco-balance calculation but is an important contribution to climate protection and the environment.
“Responsibility is part of our corporate DNA. With our Open Source solutions, we focus on data protection and data sovereignty. Resulting from this comes our commitment to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The first step in this direction is the climate neutrality of our teams. Sustainability is also an important topic for us in software development. ownCloud Infinite Scale, for example, will consume significantly fewer resources in operation than comparable software through the use of state-of-the-art technologies – while at the same time increasing performance” states Tobias Gerlinger, CEO and Managing Director of ownCloud.
“Reducing the CO₂ footprint is essential. Until this goal is achieved, we still need a lot of time. We founded PLANTED to actively fight climate change,” adds Wilhelm Hammes, CEO of PLANTED. “We ensure our carbon neutralization projects meet the highest standards. At the same time, we only plant mixed forests that are climate-stable and promote biodiversity by providing a habitat for many animals.”
About PLANTED
PLANTED was founded in 2021 to make climate protection easily accessible and tangible for everyone. PLANTED uses its TÜV-certified CO₂ specialists to create life cycle assessments of a company, the results of which can then be neutralized via CO₂ certificates. PLANTED counterbalances the employees’ private and business emissions and plants trees in Germany. PLANTED offers the opportunity to actively fight for climate protection together with the workforce and reforest the German forests. A Forester from PLANTED ensures maximum high quality in the reforestation of climate-stable mixed forests, on-site in Germany.
