3 sustainability questions to… Laura Ann Lüdtke, Sales Manager Green Energy and Climate Services at First Climate
What is the potential and added value of digital solutions for companies that wish to take climate action?
As in all other fields, digital services and solutions offer unique advantages for users, including the possibility to take climate action easily, quickly and at any chosen point of time 24/7. First Climate has therefore launched my.FirstClimate, a digital hub for carbon management. It’s our aim to offer all our offline services through this online platform in order to facilitate access for all companies that want to engage. my.FirstClimate offers companies the opportunity to calculate their carbon footprint, procure green energy, book climate strategy workshops and to support verified emission reduction projects as a means to compensate for residual emissions resulting from their business activities — and we are constantly working to further develop our online service offerings.
Is this the backstory to your collaboration with SQUAKE?
Absolutely. We see great potential in cooperating with partners such as SQUAKE in the digital sphere to further enhance our services. Through flexible API interfaces, any module can be conveniently integrated into external client portals to optimally tap into our synergies. SQUAKE brings a wide array of experience to the table, including being able to integrate customized, real-time carbon emission calculations directly into online booking processes. And through our collaboration, we combine SQUAKE’s technical know-how with First Climate’s carbon market expertise.
How can companies in the aviation or transport sectors contribute to climate change mitigation?
In these so-called hard-to-abate sectors, the potential to reduce emissions through internal efficiency measures is limited. On the medium and long-term, breakthroughs will only be possible through new, low-carbon technologies such as climate-neutral fuels. As an interim solution, purchasing emission reduction certificates, which in turn through this funding, enable additional climate protection measures is a possible approach.
However, this will not suffice. We also need to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. First Climate is intensively involved in developing innovative carbon removal projects in different sectors. An interesting example is biochar: it is produced from residual biomass containing natural carbon absorbed from the atmosphere and can be used to augment agricultural soils or mixed with long-lasting construction materials such as concrete. Besides storing carbon dioxide on a long-term basis, biochar provides distinct agricultural benefits and can add unique, climate-friendly properties to various agricultural and industrial products.
Laura Ann Lüdtke, Sales Manager Green Energy and Climate Services at First Climate, a provider of climate protection and green energy solutions based in Frankfurt, Germany. Laura supports companies on their way to net zero and helps them develop customized climate strategies. In 2009, Laura finished her Diploma Thesis “How Green does Germany convene?” for which she conducted a survey with all major German convention and meeting centers and organizations on their sustainability goals and measures.