Articles

Methodology and Results

Our GHG Emissions Inventory follows the Operational Control approach and represents our more than 5,000 dependencies across Brazil, including retail, wholesale and government branches, regional units and strategic units. It accounts for GHG emissions from three scopes, with the sources defined as follows:

• In Scope 1, we account for the tons of CO₂ equivalents (tCO₂e) emitted by our direct fuel consumption activities (mobile combustion – vehicle fleet, stationary combustion – fuel for electricity generators) and fugitive emissions (refrigerant gases and fire extinguishers);
• In Scope 2, we account for the tons of CO₂ equivalents (tCO₂e) that we emit through electricity consumption. At our dependencies we use electricity purchased from the National Interconnected System (SIN), which supplies electricity from different sources, from hydroelectric to thermoelectric (non-renewable), a situation that significantly interferes with the annual carbon equivalent conversion factor; and
• In Scope 3, we account for the tons of CO₂ equivalents (tCO₂e) that we emit from transportation and distribution – upstream (shared transportation of mailbags and cash), solid waste from our operations (paper purchased), effluents generated by our operations (water consumption), business travel (air and land travel), transportation and distribution (downstream) and employee commuting (home-work).

We calculate two Carbon Emission Intensity Indicators, which are expressed by the total quotient of GHG emissions (scopes 1 and 2) by gross revenue and by the number of employees, as shown in the tables below.

According to the GHG methodology, for the purposes of emission calculations we consider the gases listed in the following table:

The sources of the GWP factors used in the Inventory are based on those indicated by the GHG Protocol methodology. Our direct targets related to climate change impacts are expressed indirectly by controlling expenditure on fuels (Scope 1 emission sources), as well as having a specific targets for energy consumption (Scope 2 emission source) in the Ecological Footprint Index (IPE – Índice Pegada Ecológica), which evaluates all of our dependencies.

Analysis

By comparing our direct GHG emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) in 2018 with the previous year, we can see a reduction of 1.9%, from 67,346 tCO₂e to 66,068 tCO₂e, thanks to the actions of our EMS. In addition to the reduction in direct emissions, in 2018 there was also a reduction of 7.69% in Scope 3 emissions, from 71,841 tCO₂e in 2017 to 66,314 tCO₂e in 2018.

Scope 1

Overall, Scope 1 emissions increased by 89.64% due to changes to the information on types of air-conditioning equipment and calculations of the volume of installed refrigerant gas, as well as the inclusion of emissions from fire extinguishers. This caused the number of tonnes of carbon equivalent to increase by 154.07% in 2018, from 7,233 tCO₂e in 2017 to 18,376 tCO₂e.

On the other hand, we reduced fuel consumption, which represented a 12.75% emissions reduction, meaning that those emissions linked to mobile and stationary combustion fell from 4,551 tCO₂e in 2017 to 3,970 tCO₂e in 2018. In the last year, diesel consumption by electricity generators decreased by 19.9%. BB’s own vehicle fleet saw a total reduction of 4.8% in fuel use.

The reduction in fuel combustion emissions was achieved, among other things, by establishing clauses in contracts with the suppliers of our vehicle fleet requiring eco-efficient models with flex-fuel motors that allow the use of ethanol, which is less polluting and comes from a renewable source. In addition, we are constantly reviewing our transportation model to generate cost reductions and reduce environmental impacts. One example is the use of taxis via apps: in addition to allowing transport sharing by up to four employees, which results in a reduction in the use of motor vehicles, the mechanism also has a system for reporting the environmental impacts of the journeys made and informs the number of trees to be planted to offset the impact, as well as the financial cost of offsetting.

Scope 2

Scope 2 emissions corresponded to 43,721 tCO₂e in 2018, down 21.31% compared to 2017 (55,562 tCO₂e). Our electricity consumption fell by 1.81% from 609,074 MWh in 2017 to 598,393 MWh in 2018.

This reduction is due to the actions included in the Electricity Consumption Rationalization Program (Procen), such as internal awareness-raising initiatives and adaptation of the operating periods for lighting and air conditioning systems.

We also stipulated the following measures to achieve greater energy efficiency throughout the year:

• Strict observance of the times for switching on and off air-conditioning units, since these systems are responsible for 60% of our energy consumption;
• Set the air conditioning system to 23°C to meet current Brazilian standards;
• Replace fluorescent lamps with LED lamps for lighting;
• Periodically check that the lighting and air-conditioning system timers for self-service areas are functioning correctly;
• Switch off printers, stabilizers, computers and monitors at the end of the working day;
• Turn off the lights of places that are not being used and places with good natural lighting;
• On cold days, use only the ventilation function of the air conditioning system; and
• Communication actions through BB's internal channels for energy rationalization and campaigns for Responsible Energy Use and to eliminate the charging of fines on electricity bills (Campanha Multa Zero – Zero Fine Campaign).

Scope 3

In addition to the reduction in direct emissions, in 2018 there was a reduction of 7.69% in Scope 3 emissions, from 71,841 tCO₂e in 2017 to 66,314 tCO₂e in 2018.

This decrease was mainly due to transportation and distribution – upstream items (-25.20%), which included shared transport of mailbags (-46.30%) and cash transport (-22.82%); business trips (-11.79%); and transportation and distribution – downstream (-28.77%).

It is emphasized that the effort to rationalize air travel is a constant challenge for us. We encourage the use of our 670 audio and video conference rooms located in dependencies in all units of the Federation and abroad.