Gross Scopes 1, 2, 3 and Total GHG Emissions

Since fiscal year   2024, United   Internet has calculated a Group-wide CCF in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) so as to obtain an overview of the emissions it causes; the CCF for fiscal year   2023 has also been completed. At segment level, this had already been done since fiscal year 2022 in some cases.

Scope of GHG Emissions Accounting

United   Internet uses the operational control approach under the GHG Protocol. Under this, all locations and companies over which it has operational control are consolidated in its GHG footprint. Minority interests in companies over which no operational control is exercised are taken into account pro rata in the Scope 3.15 category; this is relevant for the Group’s IONOS brand and for Corporate .

All United   Internet segments performed a Scope 3 materiality assessment so as to identify the material relevant and nonrelevant Scope 3 categories. The assessment was oriented on the GHG Protocol requirements. The likely amount of emissions and the influenceability were estimated for each Scope 3 category, and the categories were grouped into three clusters.

• The first cluster comprises material Scope 3 categories that are assumed to be emissions hot spots. These categories were calculated in detail.


• The second cluster comprises relevant Scope 3 categories that do not represent emissions hot spots. Emissions were calculated for relevant categories using suitable methodologies and/or estimates.


• The third cluster groups together nonrelevant Scope 3 categories in which no activities take place; as a result, they were neither calculated nor estimated.

The reporting boundaries for estimating Scope 3 emissions at United   Internet comprise the Scope 3 emissions categories shown in the following table. A distinction is made here between categories that were addressed at cross-segment and at segment-specific level.

The Group-wide GHG footprint is the sum of the segment-specific GHG footprints. Intragroup services are deducted so as to prevent double counting. For example, some segments use data center services (Scope 3.1) supplied by internal providers (Scopes 1 and 2).

The following Scope 3 categories were classified as nonrelevant and excluded when calculating the footprint because no activities were performed in relation to them:

Methodology for Assessing and Calculating Greenhouse Gases: GHG Protocol

United   Internet calculated its greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol, including the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard and the Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions. In addition, the sector-specific guidance for telecommunications operators published by the Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association (GSMA) was taken into account. When calculating emissions, United   Internet uses the recognized methodologies and standards described to ensure precise, transparent reporting. The footprint metrics are expressed in tonnes of CO ₂ equivalents (CO ₂ e). United   Internet’s CO ₂ e intensity is expressed in CO ₂ equivalents per unit or per euro of revenue.

Where possible, supplier-specific primary data in CO ₂ e was used so as to guarantee the maximum possible data quality when calculating greenhouse gas emissions. This supplier-specific primary data was audited independently in some cases by the suppliers (e.g., logistics emissions by DHL).

Where data was not available, the emissions were calculated on the basis of volumes or weights using emission factors from secondary sources. In those cases in which volumes or weights were not available, United   Internet used financial data or expenditures plus spend-based emission factors to calculate the emissions. Where no detailed evaluations of the activity data were available, the emissions were extrapolated on the basis of studies. For certain Scope categories, data gaps were closed by making extrapolations on the basis of reasonable assumptions, e.g., when estimating relevant, nonmaterial Scope 3 categories such as the waste at international locations.

As a matter of principle, this results in a hybrid calculation methodology. The calculations were performed on the basis of spending, volumes, distances, or specific suppliers.

For Scope 1 and 2, the key assumptions made relate to energy consumption at the office locations. Since measurements were not available for all energy sources at all office locations, these data gaps were filled by assuming that all United   Internet locations have comparable energy intensities. In these cases, the data gaps were estimated using the number of square meters or employees per segment.

For Scope 3, material assumptions relate to the extrapolation of emissions from purchasing, for which no suitable emission factors exist. For example, the emissions from purchased wholesale services were extrapolated using studies on GHG intensities during network expansion. In addition, OpEx and CapEx lists were used throughout the Group to calculate emissions from purchasing and capital expenditure. Expenditures were classified as relevant or nonrelevant at account level. The classification was performed in some cases on the basis of assumptions, always in close coordination with the departments concerned. In cases of doubt, the more conservative assumption was adopted and the accounts concerned were classified as relevant. In addition, United   Internet currently does not have sufficient information on upstream logistics. Consequently, it assumes that suppliers of goods calculate their logistics costs as a percentage of their sales price. This percentage was then used to calculate the emissions from upstream logistics (Scope 3.4).

In the case of Scope 3.7 (Employee commuting), employee surveys were conducted for part of the United   Internet workforce. The results served as the basis for extrapolating the remaining emissions data for this category.

In the case of the downstream Scope 3 categories, assumptions were made as to the service life of devices in coordination with the departments concerned. Where no product carbon footprints (PCFs) were available, assumptions as to the electricity consumption of the devices were also used in the calculation.

Scope 3.15 (Investments) emissions in the Business Applications Segment were calculated through extrapolation based on the number of employees. By contrast, a revenue-based methodology was used for Corporate, since robust data was available for this.

United   Internet calculates material categories annually, whereas relevant categories are merely estimated and only have to be updated once every three years.

Emission Factors in GHG Emissions Accounting

Inflation-adjusted emission factors commonly used in the sector were applied (e.g., those from ecoinvent, the Life Cycle Assessment database, the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB, the organization that administers the European Energy Certificate System), Ember, and the UK’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (DBEIS)). These are secondary sources and depict the CO ₂ e intensities for a variety of sectors. This means that they are subject to statistical uncertainties. Average values for emission factors were calculated where there were data gaps. This approach was used, for example, to estimate Scope 3.4 emissions (for upstream transportation) for which no information on the means of transportation was available. Average values across the emission factors for different product groups were also calculated for Scope 3.1, 3.2, 3.11, and 3.12 emissions so as to plug gaps in activity data or emission factors.

The following table provides an overview of all emission factor sources used.

Outcomes of GHG Emissions Accounting

Summing up, the following Group-wide emissions were calculated for fiscal year 2024:

A small proportion of United   Internet’s emissions are biogenic in origin. However, United   Internet has not disclosed these separately since total emissions are partly based on spend-based calculations and the emission factors used do not distinguish between biogenic and nonbiogenic emissions.

Contractual Instruments in GHG Emissions Accounting

Contractual instruments are certificates that enable undertakings to transparently track the origin and environmental impacts of their energy sources when calculating their GHG footprints.

Green electricity contracts from contract partners and providers were used in quality assurance for Scope 2 emissions accounting. Conventional energy was assumed in the case of those locations or suppliers that could not furnish such certificates.

The difference between bundled and unbundled contractual instruments relates to the method of purchase. In the case of bundled contractual instruments, electricity is purchased together with guarantees of origin or energy attribute certificates (EACs). In the case of unbundled contractual instruments, guarantees of origin or EACs are acquired independently of the electricity purchased.  

GHG Intensity Based on Revenue from Financial Reporting

United   Internet’s net revenue as of December 31, 2024, was used as the basis of calculation when determining the GHG intensity per net revenue.