ERM Certification and Verification Services (ERM CVS) was engaged by Deutsche Bank AG (‘Deutsche Bank’) to provide assurance in relation to the information set out below and presented on page 87 of Deutsche Bank’s 2014 Corporate Responsibility Report (‘the CR Report’) and in the environmental data table available online at www.db.com/cr/eco-efficiency-data
Engagement Summary
Scope:
Whether the data (Oct 2013 to Sep 2014) for the following indicators are fairly presented, in all material respects:
- Scope 1 Direct GHG emissions from natural gas combustion, liquid fossil fuels, refrigerant gases and emissions from company-owned and leased vehicles (tonnes CO2e)
- Scope 2 Indirect GHG emissions from imported electricity, steam, district heating and district cooling (tonnes CO2e)
- Scope 3 Other Indirect GHG emissions from global air travel (excluding private jets), rented vehicles, rail travel, and taxis (tonnes CO2e)
- Retirement of carbon credits (tonnes CO2e)
- Total water consumed (m3)
- Total paper consumed (tonnes)
Reporting Criteria used:
ISO14064-1:2006 and the WBCSD WRI GHG Protocol (2004) for the Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 GHG emissions.
Internal indicator criteria developed by Deutsche Bank and described on page 87 of the CR Report and at www.db.com/cr/eco-efficiency-data
Assurance Standard used:
ERM CVS’ assurance methodology, based on the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE 3000).
ISO 14064-3:2006 for the Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 GHG emissions.
Assurance level:
Limited assurance
Respective responsibilities:
Deutsche Bank is responsible for preparing the CR Report and the environmental data available at www.db.com/cr/eco-efficiency-data and for the collection and presentation of the information within it.
ERM CVS’s responsibility is to provide conclusions on the agreed scope based on the assurance activities performed and exercising our professional judgement.
Our conclusions
Based on our activities, nothing has come to our attention to indicate that the data for the indicators listed under ‘Scope’ above, are not fairly presented, in all material respects, with the reporting criteria.
This includes GHG emissions based on ISO14064-1:2006 and the GHG Protocol:
- Scope 1 Emissions: 60,876 tonnes CO2e
- Scope 2 Emissions: 402,312 tonnes CO2e
- Scope 3 Emissions: 77,439 tonnes CO2e
Our assurance activities
We planned and performed our work to obtain all the information and explanations that we believe were necessary to provide a basis for our assurance conclusions. A multi-disciplinary team of GHG and assurance specialists performed the following activities:
- Interviews with relevant staff to understand and evaluate the data management systems and processes (including IT systems and internal review processes) used for collecting and reporting the data;
- A review of the internal indicator definitions and conversion factors;
- Corporate level assurance activities at Deutsche Bank’s offices in London to review data management systems and processes and selected investigation of the source and consolidated data;
- Evaluation of GHG data and reporting processes to establish conformance of Deutsche Bank’s GHG inventory data and associated systems and controls with ISO14064-1:2006 and the GHG Protocol;
- Confirmation of purchase and retirement of verified emission reduction (VER) credits
- Reviewing the presentation of information relevant to the scope of our work in the Report to ensure consistency with our findings.
The limitations of our engagement
The reliability of the assured data is subject to inherent uncertainties, given the available methods for determining, calculating or estimating the underlying information. It is important to understand our assurance conclusions in this context.
Our Observations
We have provided Deutsche Bank with a separate detailed management report. Without affecting the conclusions presented above, we have the following key observations:
- Deutsche Bank has increased the completeness of its GHG emissions for 2013-14 by including emissions from certain types of business travel for which activity data was not previously available;
- For certain emissions sources, emissions include those calculated using data extrapolation where actual data are unavailable. A consistent methodology is applied for extrapolation, however in some cases this extrapolation is based on relatively small amounts of actual data;
- The Scope 2 emissions from renewable electricity are reported by Deutsche Bank with an emissions factor of zero. In future years, Deutsche Bank should consider reporting these emissions applying latest GHG protocol Scope 2 guidance.
Melanie Eddis
Head of Climate Change
20 March 2015
ERM Certification and Verification Services, London
www.ermcvs.com
Email: post@ermcvs.com
ERM CVS is a member of the ERM Group. The work that ERM CVS conducts for clients is solely related to independent assurance activities and auditor training. Our processes are designed and implemented to ensure that the work we undertake with clients is free from bias and conflict of interest. ERM CVS and the staff that have undertaken work on this assurance exercise provide no consultancy related services to Deutsche Bank in any respect.