Breitling joins forces with Climeworks for its net-zero strategy
Breitling and Climeworks closed a first-of-its-kind 12-year agreement, advancing Breitling’s existing net-zero roadmap and accelerating efforts to take pioneering climate action.
Key take-aways:
Starting today, Climeworks offers holistic, high-quality carbon removal portfolios, complementary to its existing carbon removal service focused on direct air capture.
Under the new Climeworks Solutions offering, portfolios are tailored to the individual needs of companies and are comprised of both engineered and nature-based approaches that remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.
The decision to extend its offering beyond direct air capture-based removals comes in response to strong customer demand and the urgency to accelerate on all fronts in the pursuit of fighting climate change.
Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling is the first to benefit from the new offering and closes a first-of-its-kind 12-year agreement, further elevating its existing net-zero roadmap and accelerating efforts to take climate action.
Climeworks, with its unmatched experience in bringing a high-quality technology solution to the market, will vet all suppliers to ensure that one ton of CO₂ purchased is one ton of CO₂ removed.
As recent global temperatures records show, the world is off-track to reach net zero. The carbon removal industry needs to grow rapidly on all fronts to help fight global warming. This is why, as of today, Climeworks offers holistic high-quality carbon removal portfolios, supplementary to its own direct air capture technology, to turbocharge the scale-up of carbon removal.
Navigating the complexity of a new industry
In line with climate science and industry guidance (IPCC, SBTi), pioneering companies have begun to include carbon removal solutions in their net zero strategies, on top of drastic emissions reductions. The fact that there is no net zero without carbon removal is clear to many more, but acting on it remains challenging, given the complex range of technologies and suppliers available. Afforestation, biochar, enhanced weathering, or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage - few have heard these technical terms, let alone know what advantages and challenges the respective approaches offer in terms of additionality, measurability, durability, or price.
This is precisely where Climeworks steps in with its extended product offering: Climeworks Solutions. Flexible, tailored solutions packages can now be put together, sourced, and managed by Climeworks to suit companies’ needs regarding their strategic priorities, timing, quality, and budget.
Adrian Siegrist, Vice President, Climeworks Solutions
We meet customers where they are today. Some are highly advanced in their strategy but have limited resources to scan the market for high-quality solutions. Others recognize the need to shift away from avoidance offsets, but are at the beginning of the journey, with limited budgets. We can cater to all those needs and meet their ability to pay.
Highest-quality carbon removal embracing engineered and nature-based solutions
Climeworks’ solution architects will structure portfolios composed of Climeworks’ direct air capture technology as well as other engineered and nature-based approaches.
Sourced directly from Climeworks, companies will have assurance that every solution has undergone an in-depth due diligence process and that one ton of CO₂ purchased will really be one ton of CO₂ removed. The science and sourcing teams exclusively consider solutions for the portfolios that meet Climeworks’ own rigorous quality standards and have been third-party verified.
Tom Crowther, professor of ecology at ETH Zurich, affirms: “In fighting climate change we have to embrace all solutions, engineered and nature-based. Climeworks’ new offering will be in line with climate science, meeting the highest quality standards, integrity, and trust.”
Serving strong customer demand
The new offering hits the mark, with nearly 30 clients already in negotiations. Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling is leading the charge as the first customer of Climeworks Solutions. The two companies join forces under a pioneering 12-year agreement for a dynamic portfolio that mainly includes Climeworks’ own direct air capture technology, as well as enhanced weathering.
Breitling’s carbon reduction roadmap is validated by the Science Based Target initiative and aligned to its most ambitious Corporate Net-Zero Standard. Together with its global stakeholders along the value chain, Breitling has developed a clear and time-bound plan to achieve absolute emission reductions in line with the Paris Agreement goals by 2032. To further progress towards net zero at the speed and scale required, Breitling selected Climeworks to work with an experienced partner that can provide comprehensive support for its carbon removal journey.
Georges Kern, CEO of Breitling, explains: “Climeworks is an essential partner in the tangible action Breitling is taking as a ‘Squad on a Mission to do Better’. Addressing climate change in our sphere of influence is a crucial step in achieving net zero globally.”
Aurelia Figueroa, Global Director of Sustainability at Breitling adds: “By building a high-quality and robust removal portfolio for our hard-to-abate emissions, Climeworks is helping us realize our vision for social and environmental impact. Their expertise in the carbon removal industry, project due diligence, and identification of high-quality solutions complement our own efforts to pioneer meaningful climate action.”
Adrian Siegrist emphasizes: “Long-term agreements are a key enabler for the carbon removal industry’s transformation of scaling to gigaton capacities over the next 26 years. Breitling’s multi-year portfolio agreement guarantees offtake security for Climeworks and its suppliers, which accelerates technology deployment in the field.”
Market with trillion-dollar potential
Christoph Gebald, co-founder and co-CEO of Climeworks
At Climeworks, we have 15 years of experience in permanent carbon removal via direct air capture. We have profound insights stemming from real-life operational experience and extensive R&D in technology. Thus, we know what determines best-in-class. This is why we are uniquely positioned to meet the growing demand for carbon removal in the market. A market that, according to analysts, has a trillion-dollar potential in 2050. So far, the market has been dominated by early adopters. Now, we see a next wave of companies entering as buyers and we can serve them according to their individual needs.
Climeworks is on a journey to climate impact at scale:
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