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Basis of calculations and definitions

     

Period and base year

The reporting period covers the period from January 1 to December 31, 2023.

Reporting boundary

The environmental key figures include all locations and companies in Comet’s scope of consolidation as listed in the annual report. Compared to the 2022 reporting year, the companies in the scope of consolidation have remained unchanged.

Comet has made the following significant changes to its locations for the calculation of environmental indicators in the 2023 financial year:

Restatements

The figure for natural gas consumption in Malaysia was corrected from the figure published in the 2022 Annual Report (3,023 MWh) to 1,639 MWh. This resulted in a correction of Scope 1 emissions from 918 tonnes of CO2 in the 2022 Annual Report to 598 tonnes and of emissions caused by natural gas from 652 tonnes of CO2 to 369 tonnes. The reason for the restatement is an erroneous classification of the energy source for the HVAC system (heating, ventilation, cooling) at the Penang site in Malaysia. Further deviations in the reported figures in this year’s report compared to last year’s report are considered insignificant (<10%).

Data sources and data collection

With the exception of the Flamatt site in Switzerland, which is owned by Comet, all of the company’s other sites are leased. As a result of these leases, not all the necessary data on energy consumption for the financial year is available in time for the end of the reporting period.

In order to nevertheless gain a comprehensive overview of energy consumption at these locations, the data collection for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions calculations is based on various sources: these include invoices received during the year, extrapolations based on the latest available data or estimates based on the previous year’s figures.

Scope 1 and Scope 2 data is collected every six months through surveys at all locations. The first survey takes place between November of the reporting year and January of the following year and forms the basis for the annual report. This is based on current information, with extrapolations made by Group Controlling in cooperation with the locations or estimates based on employee numbers and the size of the rented operating space being used in the event of missing data. A second survey is carried out in the second quarter of the following year based on the figures actually reported for the reporting year in order to check the provisional figures and, if necessary, correct them retrospectively in the next annual report if there are significant deviations. These figures are used for the entries in the CDP Climate Change Questionnaire.

Internal costs, external invoices and information from service providers as well as data provided by the landlord are used to record water consumption, waste volumes and energy consumption for heating and vehicles. If such sources are not available, an estimate is made based on the number of employees.

Data control and data plausibility

Plausibility checks of the reported data are systematically ensured through year-on-year comparisons. For each data collection, as described in the “Data sources” section, those responsible for the locations check the data against the figures for the reporting year and the previous year. Any discrepancies identified are reported to Group Controlling. In the case of values outside a tolerance of (± 20%), a detailed review is carried out. Group Controlling then works with the respective site managers to check and correct such data points. If the deviation is outside the tolerance and is confirmed, a correction is made in the annual report for the following reporting year.

Methodology Data evaluation and emission calculations

The data points collected are read in and consolidated by Sustainserv GmbH using a semi-automated Excel program. In order to ensure a uniform analysis, the different measurement units of the individual questionnaires, such as currencies, weights and performance units, are converted into standardized measurement units using conversion tables. This process complies with the guidelines of “The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard”.

Scope 1

For the calculation of Scope 1 emissions, which relate to direct emissions from the company’s own energy sources, the specific consumption data is summarized and calculated using the current conversion factors from the DEFRA 2023 database. These emission factors are adjusted annually to ensure accuracy and timeliness.

Scope 2 location-based

For the location-based Scope 2 emissions, which record the indirect emissions from the energy consumption of the locations, the calculation is carried out by multiplying the specific consumption data with the country-specific energy mixes, based on data from the IEA and eGRID 2023 databases.

Scope 2 market-based

For the market-based Scope 2 emissions, which calculate energy consumption based on the actual energy mixes and conversion factors of the energy suppliers, the emission factors, where available, are updated annually directly by the companies with the respective energy suppliers. Comet will make additional efforts in the coming years to obtain utility-specific emission factors and further develop Scope 2 reporting on this basis.

Once the data has been evaluated, the calculations are randomly checked before the corresponding tables and figures are published in the annual report.

External audit

The contents of the Sustainability Report 2023 marked in the respective places were subjected to an external audit by Ernst & Young AG to obtain limited assurance regarding the compliance of the reported information with the GRI Standards.

Definitions

     

Employees: Persons who are in a direct employment relationship with the company under national law or practice. Excludes persons who work on another basis, such as consultants, contractors, temporary workers, self-employed persons, etc.

Permanent employees: Employees with an open-ended contract that is not limited by time and/or performance of duties and whose expiry requires certain measures on the part of the employee/employer in accordance with national law or practice. Internal categories: 1A (CEO), 1B (member of the Executive Committee), 2A (General Manager), 2B (member of Division Management), 2C (Senior Vice President), 2D (member of Group Functions Management, 2E (Vice President), 2F (Senior Director), 3A (Director), 3B (Senior Specialist), 4A (Manager), 4B (Team Leader), 4C (Specialist), 4D (Junior Specialist), 6A (salaried employees), 6B (hourly-paid employees).

Temporary employees: Employees with a contract for a limited period of time (fixed-term contract) that ends at the end of the specified period or after completion of a specific task or event. Internal categories: 6A (apprentices), 6B (interns/trainees), as well as all other categories if only a fixed-term employment contract exists.

Full-time employees: employees whose working hours are defined per period in accordance with national laws or practices.

Board of Directors: Comprises all members of the Board of Directors of Comet Holding AG.

Executive Committee (EC): Comprises all members of the Executive Committee of the Comet Group in the internal categories 1A (CEO) and 1B (other members of the EC).

Regions: Europe - Denmark, Germany, Switzerland / Asia - China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan / North America - Canada, USA

Fluctuation: Rate at which employees leave the organization.

Voluntary turnover: if the employee leaves the company of their own free will and this cannot be foreseen/prevented by the company.

Involuntary turnover: if the employer causes the employee to leave the company or the employee leaves the company for a reason independent of the employer (illness/death, etc.).

Calculation employee turnover:
GRI Content Index
Assurance Report