✓ The decisive levers for decarbonizing our economic activities are improving energy efficiency (especially in our data centers and in the fiber-optic network) and reducing – and ideally completely avoiding – carbon emissions by deploying renewable energy.
All United Internet segments are accelerating the use of electricity generated from renewable energy sources (“green electricity”) on the basis of Group-wide requirements and recommendations. The transition has now been completed, at least for the areas under our direct control (our own data centers, our offices in Germany and Austria, and the infrastructure for which we have our own direct supply contracts). Regular operations at our data centers owned by IONOS and 1&1 are also emissions-free, since they source green electricity. We are also reducing the impact of our fiber-optic network operations by using green electricity. Conventional electricity is only sourced in the case of shared technical facilities and infrastructure that belongs to business partners (e.g., leased data centers) and some international office locations.
Even though we had not yet defined comprehensive, overarching decarbonization targets in the reporting period, we pressed ahead successfully with individual measures, and are continuing to do so. Management systems are used to manage our consumption of key resources. For example, our IONOS data centers have been certified as complying with ISO 50001.
More than half of our energy consumption in 2022 was attributable to our worldwide data center operations, while another quarter or so was caused by our fiber-optic network operations. Electricity and heating consumption by our office and logistics buildings and fuel consumption by company cars and data centers contribute substantially less to total energy consumption. Further details on the information given in the following overview can be found in the sections below. ✓
Electricity consumption - data centers
132,442
133,005
145,070
Electricity consumption - fiber-optic network
56,666
56,589
66,408
Electricity consumption - office and logistics buildings
6,557
12,409
12,344
Total electricity consumption
195,664
202,003
223,822
Heating consumption - office and logistics buildings
3,131
3,426
22,551
Total heating consumption
Gasoline consumption (company cars)
757
953
1,538
Diesel consumption (company cars)
8,824
7,005
9,602
Fuel consumption (data centers)
1,252
711
986
Total fuel consumption
10,833
8,669
12,126
Total energy consumption
209,628
214,099
258,499
Energy consumption (1) (in MWh)
2020
2021
✓ 2022
(1) Comparability of the energy consumption data for the office and logistics buildings and the leased data centers with prior-year figures, and hence also the comparability of total energy consumption, is limited, since the basis for the data has been expanded and additional estimates on locations as well as foreign company cars have been added. Further details can be found in the relevant subsections.
✓ Electricity consumption by our fiber-optic network rose in the reporting period because we expanded the network. Electricity consumption by our own data centers also increased slightly. The trends for our leased data centers and our office and logistics buildings cannot be ascertained since the data pool for previous years is incomplete. The same applies to total energy consumption and the KPIs derived from this (such as total energy intensity). ✓
Total energy consumption in MWh
Consolidated revenue in € million
5,366.2
5,646.2
5,915.1
Total energy intensity in Wh/€
39.1
37.9
43.7
Energy intensity
(1) The basis of calculation for energy consumption and emissions was expanded significantly in the reporting period. As a result, comparability of the figures given with those for previous years is highly limited.
✓ The IONOS Group’s high-performance data center operations are georedundant, making the services we provide to our customers as secure and reliable as possible. This approach ensures that power outages and environmental factors do not affect the operation of the applications concerned, and gives our customers unconstrained, permanent access to them. This added reliability comes at the cost of increased electricity consumption, which we address by using renewable energy and constantly improving our energy efficiency.
The following table shows the electricity used by the Company’s own and leased data centers. One key reason for the strong overall rise in the figures is the expanded pool of data now available for the leased data centers; as a result, comparisons to previous years are not really meaningful in this case. A slight increase can also be seen in our own data centers. Based on our consolidated revenue of €5,915 million, the energy intensity figure for our own data centers was 20.1 Wh/€ in the reporting period. (1) ✓
(1) Prior-year figures for energy intensity in the data centers (not part of the review): 20.3 (2021) and 21.2 (2020).
131,026
132,198
thereof own data centers
113,885
114,372
119,911
thereof leased data centers
17,141
17,826
25,159
Fuel consumption - data centers
1,416
807
815
164
96
171
Energy consumption - data centers
146,056
Energy consumption for data centers in MWh (1)
2022
(1) The information provided is for our 11 own data centers and the IONOS Group’s leased data centers. In contrast to previous years, consumption for leased data centers for which no measurements or invoices were available was also estimated in the reporting period. As in previous years, electricity consumption for the two 1&1 AG data centers is included under the energy consumption data for the office buildings, since it is not currently possible to capture this consumption data separatelynot currently possible to capture consumption separately.
✓ Since 2022, we have only used electricity sourced directly from renewable energy sources for our own IONOS Group data centers worldwide (Business Applications Segment) and in the Business Access and Consumer Access segments. This practice is the result of Group-wide requirements and recommendations, and segment-specific management decisions. The servers belonging to the Consumer Applications (Mail & Media) Segment in Germany are all operated in IONOS data centers – and hence also run on emissions-free electricity.
When sourcing green electricity, we also focus on using renewable energy produced in nearby geographical areas – i.e., mostly in the same country or an adjacent region. What is more, IONOS has been a certified VMware Zero Carbon Committed Partner since the end of 2021. This initiative honors cloud providers that have undertaken to develop their services emissions-free and to power their data centers using 100% renewable energy by 2030.
In our leased data centers, selecting the utility tariffs and hence deciding on the use of green electricity is the responsibility of the operators concerned. Electricity consumption at our leased data centers is roughly one-fifth of electricity consumption at our own data centers. We disclose this share of electricity consumption separately in the table above since it cannot be assumed that emissions-free electricity is used in these data centers. In addition, residual emissions from diesel generators (emergency power) are also generated at our own data centers. We estimate that their contribution to total energy consumption at the data centers is less than 1%.
Other measures to increase the use of electricity from renewable energy sources include the expansion of our own photovoltaic (PV) systems. One such system was commissioned in the reporting period together with the new data center in Worcester, in the United Kingdom. The construction of additional PV systems is planned for data centers in the USA and France for 2023. ✓
✓ In 2018, the managers of the IONS data centers decided to introduce an ISO 50001-certified energy management system (EnMS). This EnMS covers the IONOS Group data centers that we operate ourselves and in which we can therefore manage energy consumption. Using it allows us to continuously pursue our goals of increasing energy efficiency and ensuring transparency. As a result, the EnMS helps to identify and remedy potential energy wastage, hence cutting costs, and to identify and comply with external requirements such as regular energy audits. In this way, it makes an important contribution to sustainability management and can have a positive impact on our reputation and market position.
The EnMS was successfully reaudited for all existing IONOS data centers (1) in the reporting period, and was recertified until July 2025. The head of TechOps Infrastructure is responsible for the EnMS and its strategic focus. An energy management team consisting of several members of staff ensures that the EnMS is aligned with our targets. The team comprises the regional staff responsible for this topic at the IONOS data centers in the countries concerned (Germany, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the USA). In addition, a management system manager has been appointed. ✓
(1) ISO 50001 certification of the new data center in Worcester is planned for 2023.
✓ The volume of data on our portals (e-mail and cloud storage) has almost trebled since 2017 (Mailstore has gone from 20.6 PB in 2017 to 53.0 PB in 2022, while cloud storage has expanded from 1.4 PB to 16 PB over the same period). User activities have also risen, from 1.4 billion log-ins in 2017 to nearly 2.5 billion in 2022. In addition, we offer customers a large number of new products and features that also need storage space and computing power (e.g., Smart Inbox, netID, full text search, enhanced spam recognition etc.).
Given this clear increase in user numbers, data volumes, and functional requirements, the Consumer Applications Segment has been working to increase resource and energy efficiency. We implemented a range of energy-saving measures in Q4/2022. Since then, fan speeds have been reduced and management of rated capacity and reserve capacity has been improved. Consumption measurements performed in Q1/2023 confirm that these measures have led to savings of at least 45 MWh per month. Other ideas for making additional savings had not been finally assessed or planned as of the publication date for this report.
The software on which our GMX, WEB.DE, and mail.com brand products are based builds on a powerful server infrastructure in our IONOS data centers. In recent years, we developed a private cloud infrastructure taking the form of 16 Kubernetes clusters in three of our data centers. This enables us to run different applications together on a central platform without having to provide dedicated technical resources designed to cope with maximum loads for each application. The construction and continuous expansion of the infrastructure is based on strategic decisions. The Management Board is regularly informed of the progress made. By migrating our software assets to this platform, we were able to reduce the number of servers and virtual machines required despite the increased requirements mentioned above. Today more than 50% of our software solutions already run in the cloud. ✓
✓ The modernization of legacy data centers and the construction of new ones has helped reduce electricity consumption in recent years and enhanced energy efficiency. Thanks to the measures taken, IONOS data centers have PUE (power usage effectiveness) ratios of between 1.20 and 1.72.
Particularly good efficiency values can be achieved with newly built data centers. The new data center in Worcester in the West Midlands (UK) commenced operations in the fall of 2022. It was designed and implemented from the start with a focus on energy efficiency and sustainability.
The project aims both to increase capacity and to enhance operational efficiency in the United Kingdom, and will gradually replace the country’s previous data center in Gloucester. Current estimates expect energy consumption to improve by at least 20% compared to the existing data center. At 1.25, the PUE ratio of the new facility is substantially lower than that of the existing one.
A solar power plant on the roof of the new data center can generate up to 10% of the energy needed. The emergency generator sets run on diesel made from hydrogenated vegetable oil, cutting carbon emissions by up to 90%. The CO 2 generated when manufacturing the building’s hull was offset using certificates.
We are also constantly implementing projects and measures designed to save energy and enhance energy efficiency within our IONOS data centers:
For further details on the sustainabililty of the new data center, see Data centre in Worcester (German only)
✓ The demands placed on data centers are increasing all the time – both in terms of performance and regarding environmental aspects. The challenge for operators is to find a balance between ensuring high-availability, secure operations on the one hand, and cost and energy efficiency on the other. The new data center in Worcester that was mentioned earlier aims to provide the right combination of availability, energy efficiency, construction time, and simple, flexible operations. It was designed to offer Uptime Institute Tier IV-compliant distributed redundancy throughout – one of the most highly redundant operating standards in the data center ecosystem. The new data center design gives IONOS a scalable, energy-efficient, state-of-the-art server and cloud infrastructure that offers high availability and an attractive price-performance ratio to match. The success of the design means it will be used as the new standard for all future data center projects at IONOS (both renovations and any future new builds). There are concrete plans to modernize a number of existing data centers in the coming years.
The new data center design also features a “pay as you grow” approach. All data centers that are newly built by us, including the one in the United Kingdom, are constructed in such a way that they can be extended on the fly at any time if needed. Only essential components are installed and operated to start with – a highly cost-effective approach.
As a result, there are no excess units that have to be replaced at some point because they are showing signs of age even though they have never been used. This conserves valuable resources and saves on maintenance costs, while equipment that has not yet been installed also does not consume any power. IONOS uses this approach for large components such as UPS units, cooling generators, and cooling units. ✓
✓ Our fiber-optic network ensures economic efficiency and enables society to benefit from increasingly powerful, rapid data transfer. Today’s technology currently permits internet speeds of up to 100 GBit/s and represents the most powerful transmission technology by far. What is more, demand for higher bandwidth is constantly rising. However, 1&1 Versatel is continuously expanding our fiber-optic network since fiber optics are not available everywhere in Germany yet. Extensive additions were made to 1&1 Versatel’s network in recent years, with the use of more powerful network technology further optimizing it for our customers. Our fiber-optic network was 55,459 km long at the end of the 2022 reporting period, compared to 52,574 km at the end of 2021. This continuous network expansion means that 1&1 Versatel has one of the largest and most powerful fiber-optic networks in Germany and already provides a large number of cities and municipalities with high-speed internet services.
We also give reducing electricity consumption and associated environmental impacts a high priority in our fiber-optic network operations. The most important measure being taken here is to increase our use of green electricity at a number of our technical locations. Where 1&1 Versatel uses third-party fiber-optic networks (city carriers, Deutsche Telekom, etc.), 1&1 Versatel does not manage electricity procurement itself. In these cases electricity consumption is paid for via usage fees.
Air conditioning technology was optimized in the 2022 reporting period at our Berlin, Düsseldorf, Erfurt, Hamburg, and Munich locations by installing direct and indirect free cooling systems. This kind of system uses cool outside air for air conditioning, hence cutting energy consumption.
The following table shows 1&1 Versatel’s electricity consumption and the locations where 1&1 Versatel is a user. ✓
Own electricity consumption
34,614
35,846
35,779
Electricity consumption at business partners caused by 1&1 Versatel
22,052
20,743
30,629
thereof green electricity
355
21,148
57,056
Electricity consumption - fiber-optic network in MWh (1)
(1) The figures cover electricity consumption for all 1&1 Versatel’s own technical locations, plus locations where 1&1 Versatel is a user. Consumption at a few locations for which no readings are currently available was estimated.
✓ Apart from the longer fiber-optic network, increased electricity consumption is due to the expansion of the 5G network and the associated infrastructure. In the reporting period, this mainly took place at locations that were leased from business partners. Despite this, we were able to cut carbon emissions by our fiber-optic network since the share of total electricity consumption accounted for by renewable energy rose significantly at the same time. ✓
✓ Our office and logistics buildings account for a comparatively small share of our total energy consumption. These buildings need energy in the form of electricity and heating. The figures available in previous reporting periods were incomplete for heating consumption in particular, but also to a lesser extent for electricity consumption. Now, for the first time, the current report contains comprehensive figures including estimates for locations for which no reliable consumption data is available.
The new figures also serve as the basis for expanding our decarbonization plans and setting targets in this area. Efforts in the reporting period and in previous years focused on saving energy and reducing emissions in the data centers and the fiber-optic network. An end-to-end management approach for energy consumption in office and logistics buildings had not yet been put in place during the reporting period. ✓
✓ The electricity sourced for a large part of the Group was switched to certified green electricity in recent years, hence reducing carbon emissions and the resulting climate impact. This process has now largely been completed, with a total of 34 office and logistics locations in Germany – including all the major ones – now using certified green electricity. Only three small locations with fewer than 10 employees still use conventional electricity or electricity whose origins are unknown.
Electricity consumption at our German office locations declined slightly year over year. Further analysis is needed to determine whether this fall is attributable to energy saving measures in 2022.
Only incomplete information is available for our foreign office locations (roughly 18% of the Group’s total workforce); this applies both to consumption figures and to the use of renewable energy. Consumption for the international locations was therefore extrapolated so as to be able to disclose a total figure for electricity consumption throughout the Group. ✓
Electricity consumption - German locations (1)
11,463
Electricity consumption - international locations (2)
n/a
881
Electricity consumption - office and logistics buildings in MWh
(1) The figures relate to United Internet’s offices and related technical infrastructure. Own estimates account for <5% of the information on the German locations. The information on the international locations uses estimates based on the location size (area, number of employees).
✓ An overall estimate of heating consumption was published for the current reporting period for the first time. Inconsistent and staggered meter reading and billing periods and the fact that, for many locations, heating consumption can only be determined using landlords’ service charge invoices make it more difficult – and in some cases impossible – to capture exact data in many locations.
Nevertheless, the figure given offers at least a plausible estimate of United Internet’s total heating consumption, which – given the fact that heat generation is based on fossil fuels – make a significant contribution to the Group’s emissions.
The current estimate and future efforts to refine the underlying data will enable us to define targets and measures for heating consumption and hence to successively reduce our consumption and emissions in this area as well. ✓
Measured heating consumption
15,486
thereof natural gas
6,286
thereof district heating
8,958
thereof heating oil
242
Estimated heating consumption for remaining locations
7,065
2,225
4,840
0
Heating consumption - office and logistics buildings in MWh (1)
(1) The measured figures for gas, district heating, and heating oil consumption relate to German locations that account in total for more than half the Group’s workforce and office space. Consumption figures for 2021 were used since in many locations heating consumption can only be determined using landlords’ service charge invoices, which were not available for the reporting period by the editorial deadline. Heating consumption was estimated for all locations for which no consumption data were available. In earlier reporting periods, only measured figures for individual locations were included. As a result, comparisons to previous years are not meaningful.
✓ We work together with external partners on the use of rental and company cars. These partners provide us with regular information on vehicle fleet usage and evaluate fuel cards, enabling us to monitor trends in fuel consumption and associated greenhouse gas and carbon emissions. ✓
Fuel consumption (gasoline and diesel) in liters
998,713
834,306
953,058
Fuel consumption per company car in liters (2)
1,306
1,107
1,217
Total kilometers driven (3)
15,159,073
11,275,181
14,944,644
Total kilometers driven per company car
19,816
14,954
19,086
Company cars (1)
(1) The figures relate to the entire United Internet Group in Germany, including long-term rental cars and fuel for rental cars.
(2) Number of vehicles reported as assets as of December 31 of the reporting period in question: 2020: 765; 2021: 754; 2022: 783; the number of cars in the fleet may vary over the course of the year.
(3) The figures are based on manual data input by users when refueling.
✓ The energy consumption data above permit a full assessment of United Internet’s direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) own greenhouse gas emissions for the first time. In particular, the inclusion of the leased data centers and heating consumption data for all office and logistics locations reveals emissions drivers that were not taken into account in previous reports.
Although electricity consumption accounts for roughly 85–90% of United Internet’s total energy consumption, electricity-related emissions only account for roughly two-third of total emissions. ✓
CO 2 equivalents from heating energy consumption (gas and oil)
641
452
1,784
CO 2 equivalents from fuel consumption in data centers
366
208
267
CO 2 equivalents from fuel consumption for company cars (2)
3,750
3,074
3,025
Total direct carbon emissions (Scope 1)
4,757
3,734
5,076
CO 2 equivalents from electricity consumption in data centers
13,857
CO 2 equivalents from electricity consumption in fiber-optic networks
21,116
14,885
5,777
CO 2 equivalents from electricity consumption for offices and logistics buildings
419
1,549
866
CO 2 equivalents from district heating for offices and logistics buildings
3,863
Total indirect own carbon emissions (Scope 2)
21,535
16,434
24,363
Total own carbon emissions (Scope 1+2)
26,293
20,168
29,439
Total carbon emissions in tonnes of CO 2 equivalents (1)
(1) Energy and fuel consumption figures were converted into carbon emissions using the conversion factors provided by the Umweltbundesamt (the Federal Environmental Agency), the Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle (the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control), and the European Energy Agency. Residual mixes are provided by the Association of Issuing Bodies.
(2) Emissions from fuel consumption by company cars include projections for the Group's international locations. Residual mixes are provided by the Association of Issuing Bodies.
✓ A large proportion of electricity consumption is not included when calculating carbon emissions since green electricity is used (market-based method). Calculating the emissions theoretically on the basis of the regional electricity mix (location-based method) produces a figure of 85,394 tonnes of CO 2 equivalents. In other words, using electricity from renewable energy sources allowed us to reduce our total emissions to less than one-quarter. ✓
Whereas more or less complete estimates of United Internet’s direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) own greenhouse gas emissions can be produced, it has not been possible so far to adequately analyze and quantify a large proportion of the indirect emissions in its value chain (Scope 3). Existing data and comparisons with other companies suggest with a high degree of probability that Scope 3 emissions significantly exceed Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. United Internet is attempting to successively determine reliable information and estimates about all 15 Scope 3 categories (as set out in the GHG Protocol).
The following sections contain fragmentary information about two topic areas for which data and estimates have been available for some time.
Our Group is distributed across roughly 40 locations in nine countries, a fact that makes high demands on employee mobility. Carbon emissions are produced when our employees travel.
We aim to reduce travel-related emissions, both by avoiding business trips and by using climate-neutral options such as rail travel. Our Corporate Procurement and Human Resources functions work closely together to manage employee mobility. Responsibility for this topic ranges from business trip management through vehicle fleet monitoring down to defining the terms on which company cars are provided and can be used.
We have taken the following measures to promote ecofriendly mobility:
Passenger kilometers (pkm) for long-distance travel
1,989,343
842,721
3,073,332
Pkm for long-distance travel per employee (2)
251
103
384
CO 2 equivalents from long-distance travel in tonnes (Scope 3)
Pkm for local travel
176,600
74,223
273,655
CO 2 equivalents from local travel in tonnes (Scope 3)
Climate-neutral rail travel in % of total
100
Rail travel (1)
(1) The figures relate to the United Internet Group in Germany. They are taken from Deutsche Bahn’s annual client environmental data report (“Umweltbilanz”).
(2) The figures relate to the United Internet Group’s core workforce in Germany; 2020: 7,929; 2021: 8,199; 2022: 7,999.
Kerosene consumed in liters (2)
30,582
22,294
82,883
Kerosene consumed per employee in liters (3)
4.0
3.3
10.4
Total kilometers flown
861,469
626,226
2,328,162
CO 2 equivalents in tonnes (4) (Scope 3)
386
189
580.2
Air travel (1)
(1) The figures relate to the United Internet Group in Germany.
(2) Calculated on the basis of the average kerosene consumption data per passenger and 100 km provided by the Bundesverband der deutschen Luftverkehrswirtschaft (German Aviation Association – BDL); 2020: 3.55 l; 2021: 3.56 l; 2022: 3.56 l.
(3) The figures relate to the United Internet Group’s core workforce in Germany.
(4) The figures are based on travel agent data.
Fuel consumption (gasoline and diesel) in liters (2)
67,706
43,545
114,817
Fuel consumption per employee in liters (3)
8.5
5.3
14.4
Total kilometers driven
914,948
588,448
1,551,579
120
79
211
Rental cars (1)
(2) Calculated on the basis of the average fuel consumption data for passenger cars and station wagons per 100 km provided by the Umweltbundesamt (the Federal Environmental Agency): 7.4 l.
(4) The figures are based on service provider data.
We also take responsibility when it comes to shipments : All 1&1 product deliveries have been climate-friendly since August 2022. We work together with Germany’s leading shipping companies to achieve this and can guarantee carbon-neutral delivery through a mix of avoiding and offsetting emissions. We assume the extra costs in full for our customers.
Based on the analyses by our logistics services providers, the transportation of 1&1 shipments generated 1,498 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 (2021: 1,422 tonnes; 2020: 1,695 tonnes).
These emissions were not generated by our organization itself, but are the result of our business activity and as such the Greenhouse Gas Protocol specifies that they count towards our Scope 3 emissions as purchased transportation services for products sold.
CO 2 equivalents in tonnes (1) (Scope 3)
1695
1422
1,498
Shipping distances
(1) The figures are based on the information and estimates supplied by our logistics services providers. They are reported using the “well-to-wheel” (WTW) method.
Since August 2022, delivery to customers has been carbon-neutral thanks to offsetting (i.e., the financing of climate protection projects). In addition, we source our packaging and printed materials from local suppliers, avoiding long transportation distances and reducing carbon emissions.
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