How FUNKE aligns sustainability reporting with CSRD standards using Cozero's carbon management platform

A prominent player in Germany's media landscape, FUNKE Mediengruppe is one of the largest newspaper and magazine publishers in the country, operating over 12 local newspapers, several local radio stations, about 130 magazines, and more than 70 digital brands in eight countries.

In 2021, the media house committed to achieving a Net Zero status on its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035. Three years later, in 2024, the company also committed to reach net zero for its Scope 3 emissions. The sustainability department, led by Gundula Ullah, Chief Procurement & Sustainability Officer, launched an initiative to track, measure, and reduce its carbon footprint to reach these commitments.

FUNKE has taken a pioneering step by aligning its sustainability reports with CSRD standards well ahead of its mandatory 2025 deadline. Leveraging Cozero’s platform, FUNKE was able to finalize a full report of FUNKE’s scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in just 12 weeks. Cozero’s automated emission calculation capability significantly streamlined the data collection process, ensuring both speed and accuracy. This forward-thinking approach positions FUNKE as a leader in sustainability reporting in the media industry, supporting more informed decision-making and accelerating its carbon reduction initiatives.

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Project and challenges

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Given FUNKE's diverse business units, multiple locations, and wide product range, tracking and measuring its carbon footprint was a challenging project. The sustainability department also faced challenges, such as limited transparency in suppliers' emissions data, especially for suppliers in the digital department.

The department sought a solution to handle its organization's complexity that would save them time on emission calculation while providing insights into emission hubs and carbon reduction opportunities.

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Choosing Cozero’s Climate Action Platform

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The media industry is predestined to take innovative steps in climate protection due to its already advanced digital transformation. Recognizing the need for an efficient solution, FUNKE Mediengruppe chose Cozero’s Climate Action Platform to streamline its sustainability activities, leveraging off-the-shelf emission calculations to save time and resources.

The platform's digital twin functionality allowed the team to create a virtual version of their organizational structure and allocate emissions to business units or physical sites.

"With Cozero, we consolidate all climate data of the FUNKE Mediengruppe in a single platform, simplifying the process so we can concentrate on what really matters—taking meaningful action to reduce our CO2 footprint and constantly improving the quality of our data," says Gundula Ullah, Head of Sustainability at the FUNKE Mediengruppe.

Cozero’s focus on streamlining supplier engagement was a key factor in the decision process, as it would support FUNKE’s effort to involve partners in its emissions reduction initiatives.

Cozero's comprehensive offering, the team’s expertise, and features such as its digital twin feature or the supplier engagement program made it an optimal choice for FUNKE.

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Result: Scope 1-3 reporting completed in 12 weeks

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Steered by Janina Hansmann, Sustainability Manager at FUNKE, and supported by Cozero’s climate experts, the team scoped activity data and set up FUNKE’s organizational structure in the platform within two months. Multiple joint departmental onboarding sessions led to high platform adoption and quality activity data.

Using Cozero's platform automated emission calculation capability, Janina Hansmann and her colleagues completed a full report of FUNKE’s scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in 12 weeks. Collaborative work on the calculations for the emission of digital products allowed the sustainability team to develop new methods, improving the accounting of digital emissions.

FUNKE has made significant progress in decarbonizing its value chain, which is a great success given the difficulty of gaining visibility into data across the supply chain. A notable achievement was the “WAZ Climate Pilot” project, which involved collaborating with paper production and logistics partners to deliver a carbon-neutral newspaper in a selected local distribution area. During the project, FUNKE achieved a 72% reduction in emissions for the newspaper's production and delivery. As a result, FUNKE focuses on the expansion of the usage of green electricity in the supply chain.

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In 2023, FUNKE achieved a significant reduction of 48,000 tCO2e in its corporate carbon footprint. Approximately 20 percent of this can be attributed to targeted sustainability initiatives. This progress was driven by several key actions, including the transition to green electricity across sites, a strategic shift towards sourcing paper from suppliers with lower product carbon footprints, and increased employee use of public transportation, supported by FUNKE's subsidized public transit program. Further reductions are due to the decline in the printing business, particularly in paper volumes.

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Janina Hansmann: “The Cozero team’s hands-on support and knowledge proved invaluable, guiding our sustainability team through intricate emission calculation procedures and ensuring the highest standards of data accuracy and quality."

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FUNKE has already published its 2024 sustainability report aligned with the CSRD framework and is now preparing for the mandatory 2025 report. In addition, the team is focused on expanding the use of green electricity throughout the value chain, further reinforcing their commitment to sustainability. Janina Hansmann and her colleagues will leverage Cozero's expertise and reporting tools to facilitate this regulatory reporting and showcase their emission reduction efforts.

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Janina Hansmann: “FUNKE aligned its most recent sustainability report with CSRD standards, laying a strong foundation for data collection and reporting that will be invaluable for the mandatory 2025 report. Cozero has been a key partner, providing essential support with its emissions databases and automated calculation methods.”