Technical documentation for the financial carbon footprint of loans by GLS Bank in 2024 : scope 3.15 emission intensities & methodology

This report is the result of work conducted on behalf of GLS Bank in 2025. The corresponding work package aims to calculate and operationalize the Financial Carbon Footprint of GLS Bank loans (indirect GHG emissions under Scope 3.15). The document at hand constitutes the "technical documentation" for this work. The research project that forms the basis of this report was carried out on behalf of GLS Bank. GLS Bank assigned the Wuppertal Institute with the calculation of the Scope 3.15 emissions of their loan programme in 2024. Moreover, they also asked for a set of calculation rules and background data to conduct such a calculation for future loan periods as well. Such GHG intensities usually estimate the emissions of an actor on the basis of the economic activity, the underlying value-chain-related emissions of this activity as well as some monetary reference unit so that each unit of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) can be directly associated with the loan value (e.g. as tons of CO2-equivalents per million Euro)

Horizontal building interaction as an element of neighborhood energy-oriented refurbishment

The building sector has a significant impact on the environment due to its high resource and energy usage. The refurbishment of the building stock is a measure for reducing emissions. In this context, the neighborhood scale is becoming increasingly important as the level at which urban redevelopment takes place. This study contributes a new perspective and data on the scientific debate on the importance of the neighborhood as a level of action in the transformation of the building sector. It combines horizontal building interaction and a practical refurbishment approach, aiming to reduce material use and balance energy demands. Using scenario modeling, the material savings are calculated for the first time by analyzing five refurbishment scenarios of a synthetic neighborhood. The scenario, modeled with horizontal building interaction, is identified as the favorable compromise among all scenarios when considering material demand and energy efficiency. This is achieved through re-thinking energy-oriented refurbishments and optimizing the usage of locally produced renewable energy sources. The results are embedded into the scientific debate, including the works on the balance of embodied and operational energy in the construction sector

Providing a knowledge base for decarbonizing the Kazakh metals industries (DeKaMe) : final report

Kazakhstan is one of the world's largest producers of metals such as uranium, iron, steel, copper, zinc and aluminium. This makes metallurgy, in particular the iron and steel industry, one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Kazakhstan's industrial sector. Kazakhstan has set itself the goal of achieving a climate-neutral economy by 2060. The country’s strategy for achieving climate neutrality includes the transformation of the Kazakh steel and aluminium industries to almost GHG neutral production. Against this background, the overarching objective of the DeKaMe project was to provide a knowledge base on which Kazakh policymakers and stakeholders can draw to define technological pathways towards a deep decarbonisation of steel and aluminium industries in Kazakhstan and for the design of supporting policy instruments. The project team identified and described technological options for decarbonising the iron and steel industry as well as the aluminium industry and summarised their advantages and disadvantages in the Kazakh context. In order to provide the Kazakh authorities with a broad portfolio of policy options, the researchers also identified and described policy instruments for decarbonising the steel and aluminium industries, including best-practice examples and international activities on green lead markets. To collect data and validate the findings, stakeholder interviews were conducted. The project results were presented in a webinar to Kazakh stakeholders