Foreword

2025 was an encouraging reminder that steady action delivers real results and a milestone for the European Central Bank (ECB). Coinciding with the 15th anniversary of our environmental management system, we achieved a 46% reduction in CO₂ emissions relative to 2019. In practical terms, this means we have already almost met our emissions reduction target for 2030 (46.2%) in full, in line with the 1.5° degrees Celsius goal set out in the Paris Agreement.

This progress is the result of consistent, practical choices to reduce the environmental impact of our day-to-day operations. We have been concentrating on two areas where the ECB can make a measurable difference: emissions from business travel and the energy efficiency of our workplaces. In 2025 we reduced the number of kilometres travelled by plane by around 40% compared with 2019, showing that virtual and hybrid meetings can support international cooperation while cutting emissions. We also continued our move to the Gallileo building – a modern, more sustainable workplace with better energy performance – as part of the plan to reduce the ECB’s footprint in Frankfurt from three buildings to two. Together, these steps have helped us stay on track to meet, and maintain, our Paris-aligned emissions reduction target. Beyond greenhouse gas emissions, we improved how we manage energy usage, materials and waste, biodiversity, procurement and staff awareness. The new educational nature trail on our premises is one example – and a visible reminder – of why biodiversity matters, demonstrating how we can all help protect our natural surroundings.

Looking ahead, the ECB will stay the course on climate and nature work. We will continue to improve how we identify and manage the risks that climate change and nature loss pose to the economy and the financial system. This includes analysing the transition to a greener economy, assessing the growing physical impacts of climate change (such as heatwaves and floods) and gaining a better understanding of the consequences of ecosystem degradation.

At a time when climate and sustainability efforts are being questioned in parts of the public debate, the ECB remains firmly committed to staying the course. This progress reflects the dedication of ECB staff to reducing our environmental footprint and meeting our Paris-aligned emissions reduction target. The 2026 update of the ECB’s Environmental Statement reaffirms our commitment to responsible environmental management. Yet, significant challenges remain; for example, further reducing emissions related to business travel and delivering long-term projects that may have a large environmental footprint. Even so, we are determined to keep on improving, to lead by example in our own operations and to play our part in bringing about a greener and more sustainable future for Europe and beyond.

Myriam Moufakkir
Chief Services Officer of the European Central Bank

1 The year in figures

Figure 1

2025 highlights

Figure 2

2025 in figures

(2025 Percentage changes from 2024 to 2025)^[1]

Notable improvements can be observed in certain activities in 2025 compared with 2024. For instance, electrical energy consumption and fresh water consumption decreased in 2025 compared with the previous year. Significant reductions in emissions related to business travel and travel by conference participants were also achieved, setting the ECB on a path to meet its target trajectory. Nevertheless, there were also increases – such as the rise in waste generation – which can be traced back to the refurbishments needed to implement the dynamic workspaces concept and the move to the Gallileo building.

2 Environmental management at the ECB

2.1 Organisational context

In 2025 the ECB continued its transition towards more dynamic work environments while preparing to relocate from the Eurotower to the Gallileo building in Frankfurt’s city centre. Following the relocation to the Gallileo building after the summer, all associated environmentally relevant activities are being evaluated and duly integrated into the environmental management system (EMS). Preparing for the move required close coordination with the new landlord, the building operator and future contractors to ensure a smooth transition, reliable building operations and the seamless integration of the new site into the existing EMS. Reporting on environmental performance (environmental indicators) is only possible after one full year of operations has been completed following the relocation. Thus, these indicators will be reflected in the 2027 update of the ECB’s Environmental Statement.

The carbon footprint decreased by 17.7% in 2025 relative to 2024, primarily owing to a significant reduction in business travel-related emissions resulting from updated emission factors and fewer kilometres travelled. The travel-related emissions from conference participants also decreased on account of significantly fewer participants and thus fewer kilometres travelled, as well as updated emission factors. These two emission sources will remain key focus areas as the ECB works towards further reducing its climate impact (see Chapter 3.2 – Indirect emissions).

The future development of the ECB’s EMS will continue to be shaped by changes in the organisational context, including emerging opportunities and risks as well as evolving stakeholder expectations. Material risks, particularly physical and transition risks, that could affect internal business operations need to be assessed as part of the EMS annual processes.

In addition to its internal activities, the ECB continues to address climate and nature-related issues relevant to its mandate.

Climate change and the degradation of nature, as well as the transition to a carbon-neutral society, pose risks to the economy and the financial system. Identifying and addressing these risks is essential for the ECB to fulfil its mandate. The ECB Annual Report and the ECB Annual Report on supervisory activities detail the activities carried out in 2025. Since 2023 the ECB and Eurosystem national central banks (NCBs) have also published annual climate-related financial disclosures, covering the financial assets held in portfolios for monetary policy purposes, as well as in non-monetary policy portfolios. Additional publications are made available on the ECB website on a rolling basis throughout the year.

Over the past two years the ECB has further embedded climate and nature-related risks into its core work by concluding its climate and nature plan 2024-2025. Relevant actions include strengthened integration into the monetary policy framework, climate stress testing and scenario analysis, updated statistical climate indicators, increased understanding of nature-related risks and binding decisions in its role as banking supervisor. The reduced emissions from the ECB’s own operations were also a part of this work.

The economic and financial consequences of climate change and nature degradation continue to grow. The ECB therefore remains firmly committed to embedding climate and nature into its work, ensuring resilience to rising physical risks and transition challenges. Building on the progress made, in the coming years the ECB will continue its efforts in three priority areas: navigating the green transition; assessing and taking into account the increased physical impact of climate change; and advancing work on nature-related risks.

2.2 Overview of the environmental management system

The 2026 update of ECB’s Environmental Statement presents environmental data on the three ECB premises covered by the EMS in 2025. These are the ECB-owned main building and the two rented facilities in Frankfurt’s city centre – the Eurotower and the Japan Center. Following the relocation to the Gallileo building, the ECB will begin reporting environmental data for the new premises; however, the Eurotower will continue to be included in the reporting until three full years of environmental data have been collected for the Gallileo building, in line with the European Union’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) requirements.

The data for the main building are presented separately from the aggregated data for the city centre premises. All office space across these three buildings is fully occupied by the ECB.

In line with the three-year reporting cycle of the European Union’s EMAS standard, this year’s Environmental Statement is the first update of the ECB Environmental Statement 2025, and as such this publication is only complete when read together with the 2025 publication.

The ECB’s environmental policy sets out its overarching environmental objectives and strategic direction. Information on the ECB’s environmental policy, the governance of its EMS and key stakeholders is outlined in the 2025 publication and on the webpage on environmental protection at the ECB.

The objective of continuous improvement set out in the EMS was achieved in 2025, as demonstrated by the implementation of new measures. Overall, environmental performance improved considerably relative to the baseline year 2019. The ECB’s operational carbon footprint remains well below the linear decarbonisation path, meaning that it is well on track to meet its Paris-aligned target of a 46.2% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.

Chart 1

The ECB’s carbon footprint and Paris Agreement alignment

(tonnes CO₂ equivalent)

For further information on the ECB’s operational carbon performance, see Chapter 3 – The ECB’s carbon footprint.

3 The ECB’s carbon footprint

The ECB classifies its emissions in alignment with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol framework. As such, scope 1 emissions include direct emissions from the ECB’s premises while scope 2 and scope 3 emissions entail indirect emissions from the ECB’s operations. Compared with 2024, there have been no changes to the scope of the greenhouse gas inventory. Figure 3 provides an overview of the components of the ECB’s carbon footprint sorted by the respective scopes.

Figure 3

Components of the ECB’s carbon footprint

Figure 4

CO₂e emissions objectives

Figure 5

CO₂e emissions measures – highlights

Total emissions saw a significant decrease of 17.7% compared with 2024. While scope 1 emissions continued to decline in 2025 (-45%), mainly owing to the progressive electrification of the ECB’s car fleet, scope 2 emissions increased by 7.2% as a result of increased heating consumption across all three buildings. Scope 3 emissions decreased in 2025 (-21%) and continue to be strongly influenced by emissions related to business travel and travel by conference participants. For updates on all CO2e emission measures see Chapter 7.2 – Emissions reduction measures.

Chart 2

Total CO₂e emissions – scopes 1, 2 and 3

(tonnes CO₂ equivalent)

The ECB focuses on avoidance of emissions, followed by their reduction. As the third and final component of its emission management, since 2018 the ECB has fully compensated unavoidable emissions with credits that finance emission avoidance projects worldwide. In addition, suppliers already compensate for upstream emissions from train travel within Germany and a share of office paper^[2].

For further information on data, see Chapter 5 – Technical information.

3.1 Emissions related to the operation of the ECB’s premises

The ECB reports the emissions from the operation of its own premises as direct emissions under scope 1 and as indirect emissions under scope 2. This includes emissions from heating and cooling, fuel use and cooling agent losses. In 2025 scope 1 and scope 2 accounted for 14% of the ECB’s carbon footprint. In this chapter, scope 2 emissions are reported using the market-based approach. Scope 2 emissions using the location-based approach are reported in Chapter 5 – Technical information.

Upstream emissions from the ECB’s energy consumption are included under scope 3 (see Chapter 3.2 – Indirect emissions).

Chart 3

CO₂e emissions – scopes 1 and 2

(tonnes of CO₂ equivalent)

3.2 Indirect emissions

Current indirect emissions reported under scope 3 accounted for 86% of the ECB’s total carbon footprint in 2025. For more information on underlying developments behind the changes to scope 3 emissions, see Chapter 4 – Environmental aspects and impacts of the ECB’s activities.

3.2.1 Business travel and hotel stays

Business travel emissions decreased by 37.2% relative to 2024, while emissions arising from hotel stays rose by 11.3%. Despite this increase, in 2025 the ECB operated at 50.4% below its 2019 travel emissions levels. As such, the objective of limiting annual travel-related CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) emissions to a maximum of 60% of pre-pandemic levels has been met, with current levels standing at 48%. The significant reduction in emissions in 2025 relative to 2024 was largely the result of a decrease in flight emission factors. For more information on this development, see Chapter 4.9 – Travel.

Business travel-related emissions remain a key focus for the ECB, with efforts directed at reducing emissions to meet the set target. To support this work, the travel dashboard has been made available to all ECB staff to monitor travel-related emissions in all business areas and to identify key areas of action. Furthermore, the dashboard was expanded in 2025 to include information on hotel-related emissions.

Emission calculations follow a best practice approach, using Well-to-Tank (WTT) emissions for all fossil fuel-based transport and applying the Radiative Forcing Index (RFI) for air travel^[3][4]. By adopting these approaches, the ECB ensures a comprehensive and accurate assessment of travel-related emissions using a best practice approach. For further details on travel activities, see Chapter 4.9 – Travel.

3.2.2 Conference participants’ travel

The ECB reports on the business travel emissions of its own staff as well as the travel-related emissions from external participants attending conferences and events held at ECB premises. Although the ECB’s influence on emissions stemming from conference participants is limited, the ECB acknowledges its importance and has been reporting on the travel behaviour of conference participants since 2021. The same method is applied to calculate travel emissions related to conference participants as for the business travel emissions of the ECB’s own staff, i.e. applying RFI-factors for plane travel and calculating WTT emissions for fuel-based transport.

The decrease in travel-related emissions from conference participants in 2025 can be explained by a lower number of conference participants compared with the previous year. The overall reduction in the number of participants led to a decrease in overall kilometres travelled, which influences travel-related emissions. Additionally, there were reductions in the emission factors used to calculate the emissions in 2025. For further information on developments related to emission factors, see Chapter 5 – Technical information.

The ECB is aware that the calculation of travel-related emissions from conference participants is reliant on certain assumptions which limit the overall data quality. These emissions are monitored closely and have been identified as a key topic in the Environmental Management Programme (EMP) 2025-27 once again, setting an objective for the number of physical and hybrid meetings organised by the ECB. For further details and data developments, see Chapter 4.9 – Travel.

3.2.3 Staff commuting and teleworking

The teleworking regime introduced in 2023 allows ECB employees to work up to 110 days remotely. As a result, a share of the ECB’s emissions has shifted to employees’

homes. As staff commuting and teleworking are intercorrelated aspects, the ECB summarises these emissions in the carbon footprint under the category “Emissions from staff commuting and teleworking data”. To accurately monitor emissions from staff commuting, the ECB conducts a staff survey every two years. The most recent survey was carried out in the summer of 2025.

The decrease in emissions from staff commuting can be explained by a shift in the mode of transport observed in the latest staff survey. In 2025 more employees travelled to the ECB premises by public transport while fewer used their private car for commuting. This influenced the overall emissions from staff commuting in 2025. The increase in emissions from teleworking can be explained by changes to the underlying emission factors for heating and cooling as well as changes in the responses of survey participants about their energy usage. The ECB acknowledges the limited reliability of the teleworking and commuting emission data, which are based on underlying assumptions and a survey-based approach.

To promote green mobility among its staff, the ECB launched a programme that offers free access to the first hour of a bicycle-sharing service. Since this offer is valid in several German cities, it encourages green mobility beyond commuting for work. For further information on the survey-based approach for emissions data, see Chapter 4.9 – Travel.

3.2.4 Waste

The implementation of dynamic workspaces and the move from the Eurotower to the Gallileo building at the end of the year led to an increase in waste generation and waste-related emissions in 2025 compared with the previous year. Overall waste generation was eight times higher in 2025 than in 2024. This was strongly influenced by a change in emission factors for household residual waste which led to a significant increase in emissions from this specific source.^[5]

The ECB is aware of this development and is monitoring it closely. The EMP objective for waste accounts for a temporary increase in waste generation and waste-related emissions from household residual waste resulting from the move and the implementation of dynamic workspaces. For further information, see Chapter 4.5 – Waste and recycling.

3.2.5 Purchased goods and services

The ECB reports on emissions arising from purchased goods and services. These include emissions from catering and cleaning services, ICT services, office supplies and stationery, external printing, paper consumption for office purposes, ECB publications and other printed materials, gardening services, fresh and waste water consumption, as well as consumption at the external data centre.

Emissions from catering services comprise emissions from ingredients over their full lifecycle. Emissions from ICT services include videoconferences conducted by ECB staff. To estimate the impact of office supplies, stationery and cleaning services, a value-based approach is used to calculate the emissions from these areas, given the lack of detailed consumption data and sufficient emission factors. Emissions related to gardening services include fuel consumption for maintenance work.

The increase in emissions from office supplies and stationery is the result of estimating these emissions following a value-based approach, and because prices for items were updated over the course of 2025.

Chart 4

CO₂e emissions – scope 3

(tonnes CO₂ equivalent)

Chart 5

Scope 3 – shares of CO₂e emissions in 2025

Aside from CO₂e emissions, the ECB records and calculates other emissions generated by its activities. Thus, emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO₂), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) from the fuel consumption of the ECB’s vehicle fleet and emergency power unit test runs are reported. In contrast to the previous year, the upstream emissions from these sources are reported in the carbon footprint. In addition, the ECB reports on biogenic emissions resulting from biogas consumption in line with the requirements of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. For more information, see Chapter 5 – Technical information.

4 Environmental aspects and impact of the ECB’s activities

4.1 Update of the environmental aspects assessment

The ECB's direct and indirect environmental impacts are assessed annually, taking into account the organisation's ability to influence each impact and its importance for the ECB’s environmental performance, also in line with the requirements laid out in Annex I, No. 4 of EMAS.

The ECB works to better understand how climate change, nature degradation and the transition to a carbon-neutral society pose risks to the economy and the financial system, with respect to how this affects its mandate to maintain price stability and its role as supervisor. Over the past years, progress has been made to include these considerations in the conduct of tasks and duties that the ECB together with the National Central Banks as part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) have been entrusted with.

The objectives of and the activities carried out by the ECB, as well as the ESCB/Eurosystem and the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), are publicly available on the ECB’s website and described in the ECB Annual Report and the ECB Annual Report on supervisory activities. They encompass ongoing work to embed climate and nature-related risks assessments into ECB’s activities and focused efforts in three priority areas: navigating the green transition; assessing and taking into account the increased physical impact of climate change; and advancing work on nature-related risks.

Some of these activities take place beyond the ECB’s EMS perimeter and are conducted via the ESCB/Eurosystem committees, the SSM, and the related decision-making bodies. In virtue of this, and in accordance with the principle of independence,^[6] the ECB’s EMS focuses on the day-to-day operations, including those that support the fulfilment of its mandated tasks, and in close synergy with the ECB climate and nature strategy. This is ensured via continued exchanges between the environmental management team and the ECB climate change centre, as well via reporting to the ECB decision making bodies.

The ratings for 2025 remained stable compared with the environmental aspects assessment for 2024, with the exception of waste and technical fresh water. As a result of the preparations for the move to the Gallileo building and the implementation of the dynamic workspaces concept, non-hazardous waste increased by 40.6% and hazardous waste generation more than doubled in all premises. Therefore, the classification of non-hazardous waste shifted from medium to high significance, while hazardous waste increased from low to medium significance. Both these developments are expected to be tied to the move and the dynamic workspaces concept and thus only influence the environmental aspects assessment temporarily. The significance level of technical water shifted from high to medium, given that technical water consumption in the Eurotower decreased by 68%. As technical water is also classified as having a medium significance level in the Japan Center, the environmental aspect was classified as medium for the city centre buildings.

Figure 6

Assessment of the ECB’s direct environmental aspects

Figure 7

Assessment of the ECB’s indirect environmental aspects

4.2 Energy efficiency

Figure 8

Energy efficiency objectives

Figure 9

Energy efficiency measures – highlights

The ECB’s overall energy consumption decreased by 0.2% in 2025 compared with the previous year and was 18.9% lower than in 2019.

Increasing energy efficiency in all three premises continues to be a priority for the ECB. As such, the ECB is continuously working on identifying and implementing new measures. In 2025 the temperature in the data centre was increased by an additional two degrees after a successful testing period. The development of an energy dashboard represents a substantial pillar in the ECB’s efforts to increase energy efficiency. The energy dashboard is being constantly improved, and the ECB has placed particular emphasis on the overall development of the dashboard in the EMP 2025-27 cycle. By improving the dashboard, more granular data will be available in the future, which will help to identify promising areas for energy saving measures. For updates on all energy efficiency measures see Chapter 7.3 – Energy efficiency measures.

Changes in the working environment at the ECB are continuously assessed. As such, the ECB monitors its utilisation of cloud services and artificial intelligence and works closely with a multitude of stakeholders to assess and quantify the environmental impact of these services. The availability of teleworking and the associated utilisation of office space through new working models is evaluated as well. With the implementation of the dynamic workspaces concept, office space at the buildings has been allocated differently, allowing for space to be used more efficiently.

Electrical energy consumption in the main building decreased by 3.5% in 2025, while energy consumption for heating rose by 11.7% compared with the previous year. The amount of biogas used for cooking in the kitchen of the main building also decreased by 1.2%. By contrast, the stepwise migration to cloud services has led to a gradual reduction in electricity consumption in the internal data centre.

At the city centre premises, electrical energy consumption decreased by 3.7% in 2025. The consumption of energy for heating rose by 32.1%, which was partially explained by the bleeding of the radiators throughout the Japan Center, leading to more units being brought back into service. In addition to procured energy, two cogeneration plants powered by biogas are used in the Eurotower to generate heat and electrical energy. In 2025 the consumption of biogas increased by 11.1% compared with 2024. In comparison with previous years, an increase in generated energy was observed following changes in the run times of both cogeneration plants.

Chart 6

Energy consumption – main building

(MWh)

Chart 7

Energy consumption – city centre buildings

(MWh)

4.3 Material efficiency

Figure 9

Material efficiency objectives

Figure 10

Material efficiency measures – highlights

The continuous reduction of packaging waste in its own operations remains a priority for the ECB. As such, the ECB continues to work on eliminating single-use plastic items in customer-facing outlets in close collaboration with its external service providers. The ECB favours more environmentally sustainable and reusable packaging solutions wherever possible.

Office supplies are another critical aspect of material efficiency at the ECB. With the goal of procuring at least 80% of orders for office supplies from the sustainable office supply catalogue, the ECB ensures that environmental considerations are at the centre of the procurement of office supplies.

The following sections provide an overview of resource consumption for office paper, cleaning agents, office supplies, chemicals for water treatment and cooling agents. Chapter 3.2 – Indirect emissions presents details on the CO₂e emissions of these resources. For updates on all material efficiency measures see Chapter 7.3 – Material efficiency measures.

4.3.1 Office paper and official publications

Office paper consumption has steadily decreased over the past years, declining by 78% in 2025 compared with 2024. As larger quantities of recycled office paper were still in stock, only small quantities had to be ordered. Recycled paper accounted for 97.2% of total purchases in 2025. As in previous years, the ECB calendars were printed on-site.

ECB’s official publications continue to be produced exclusively in digital format, resulting in no recorded paper consumption for official publications.

Chart 8

Office paper consumption

(thousands of sheets of A4 equivalent)

4.3.2 Cleaning agents

A non-chemical cleaning system is implemented at the ECB for regular cleaning activities in all buildings, using microbiological detergents, aqueous ozone and mechanical cleaning techniques. The ECB continues to implement the established measures and is constantly looking for ways to further reduce the consumption of cleaning agents in all buildings.

As in previous years, the catering operation in all three buildings was conducted by an external service provider. Given that the same service provider is responsible for all three buildings, cleaning processes are streamlined. The decrease in hazardous cleaning agents in the city centre buildings can be attributed to the optimisation of dosage systems. The opening of the pop-up restaurant at the Japan Center after the closure of the Eurotower further influenced consumption.

Chart 9

Cleaning agent consumption

(tonnes)

4.3.3 Office supplies

To encourage sustainable office supply choices, the ECB highlights eco-labelled items within its stationery catalogue and analyses the share of eco-friendly stationery over time. A change in suppliers in 2025 means that data are only available for June-December 2025. During this time, the share of eco-friendly stationery items reached 81.8%, representing an increase from 51.7% in the previous year.

The ECB is exploring ways to further increase this share. Staff are encouraged to return unused stationery and other office supplies to logistics storage for reuse. Additionally, a loan catalogue has been introduced as a pilot project, where staff can take items out on loan and return them when they are no longer needed. When purchasing non-standard office supplies outside the stationery catalogue, priority is given to sustainable products whenever possible.

4.3.4 Chemicals for water treatment and cooling agents

The consumption of chemicals used for water treatment decreased by 50% in the main building in 2025 compared with 2024, while increasing by 8.2% at the city centre buildings compared with the previous year. For all three buildings no cooling agent losses were reported in 2025.

Chart 10

Chemicals used for water treatment

(tonnes)

Chart 11

Cooling agent losses

(kilograms)

4.4 Water and waste water

Water consumption in all three buildings is monitored closely, and the ECB is continuously looking for ways to optimise its utilisation. Technical fresh water refers to water used for temperature control in the premises. Non-technical fresh water includes water used in all sanitary facilities, kitchenettes and canteens. Irrigation water for the trees in the green areas of the main building is included under non-technical fresh water consumption and thus influences overall consumption when comparing non-technical fresh water consumption in the main building with that of the city centre premises.

The increase in technical fresh water consumption can be explained by changes in the performance of the data centre which impacts the need for water for cooling.

At the city centre premises, fresh water consumption decreased compared with 2024. After a strong increase in technical fresh water consumption at the city centre premises stemming from the regular flushing of water pipes, consumption decreased once again in 2025 following the installation of automatic flushing stations.

Further information on the CO₂e emissions related to water and waste water can be found in the subsection on purchased goods and services in Chapter 3.2 – Indirect emissions.

Chart 13

Water consumption – city centre buildings

(m³)

4.5 Waste and recycling

Figure 11

Waste management objectives

Figure 12

Waste management measures – highlights

The ECB’s total waste generation increased by 44% in 2025 compared with 2024, amounting to 817 tonnes. This can be explained by the preparations for the move to the Gallileo building, the implementation of the dynamic workspaces concept and the refurbishment of the Governing Council (GovC) room. Of the 817 tonnes of waste recorded in 2025, non-hazardous waste amounted to 761 tonnes while hazardous waste made up 56 tonnes. The move to the Gallileo building will also affect waste figures in 2026. The ECB is aware of these developments and has formulated a specific waste-related objective as part of the EMP 2025-27. For updates on all waste measures see Chapter 7.4 – Waste measures.

While the ECB made it a priority to continue to use as many items as possible from the Eurotower, vacating the building led to an increase in waste generation. The amount of waste attributable to the move represents 11.1% of the total waste generated. Waste resulting from the implementation of the Dynamic Workspaces project and the GovC refurbishment made up 3% of total waste generation. Other waste sources include organic and grease waste from catering activities, confidential (paper) waste and donations of IT equipment.

In 2025 the ECB once again donated IT equipment, enabling old devices to be reused and helping to reduce IT waste. The ECB considers waste reduction and separation an important issue, of which it continues to raise awareness among staff and service providers. All newcomers, suppliers and employees are provided with specific up-to-date information on waste separation at the ECB.

Chart 14

2025 waste distribution by source

Main building developments

City centre developments

Chart 15

Waste and recycling – main building

(tonnes)

Chart 16

Waste and recycling – city centre buildings

(tonnes)

Total waste as defined by the German Commercial Waste Ordinance amounted to 527.5 tonnes in 2025, representing a 53.3% increase compared with 2024. The increase can mainly be attributed to the implementation of the dynamic workspaces concept and preparations for the move to the new building. Additional waste was generated for both projects, for example, by removing large quantities of paper. Separately collected commercial waste (total waste excluding residual waste) under the Commercial Waste Ordinance amounted to 423.8 tonnes, marking a separate collection rate of 80.3% for 2025. Residual waste is pre-sorted and disposed of at a certified treatment plant.

4.6 Biodiversity

Figure 13

Biodiversity objective

Figure 14

Biodiversity measures – highlights

In 2025 the ECB further strengthened its biodiversity agenda, advancing the strategies and practices developed in recent years. Its approach remains centred on the protection and enhancement of biodiversity, species conservation and the sustainable care of green spaces. Over the year, meaningful progress was made in cultivating an environment that supports a wide range of flora and fauna, while also deepening awareness among staff.

A key milestone in 2025 was the official opening of the ECB’s nature trail, launched during the activities held for Biodiversity Week. The trail stemmed from the implementation of the biodiverse green care concept in the garden of the main building and is intended to familiarise both ECB staff and visitors with the overall concept as well as the specific measures taken to promote biodiversity in the area. It comprises nine themed stations and one introductory station, all of which are also accessible digitally via the ECB intranet. The stations showcase core features of the garden, including regional wildflower plantings, the creation of sand dunes, as well as the ecological treatment of deadwood and leaf litter. For updates on all biodiversity measures see Chapter 7.5 – Biodiversity measures.

Throughout the year, piles of deadwood were put together using branches and twigs left over from routine tree pruning. These structures offer shelter for a range of organisms and support nutrient cycling in the garden’s ecosystem. Such improvements not only enhance the visual character of the ECB grounds but also create critical habitats and feeding opportunities for local wildlife. The focus on indigenous plant species strengthens ecosystem resilience, which is particularly important given that the ECB grounds have been classified as a dry biotope by the City of Frankfurt’s environmental office.

The ECB also continued its systematic monitoring and documentation of the flora and fauna present on its premises. This work is intended to benchmark the biodiversity on ECB grounds against other locations in Frankfurt and the broader Hesse region. The findings help to assess the impact of existing measures and highlight where further action may be needed. External monitoring experts support this process and provide guidance on additional ways to strengthen biodiversity.

Reaffirming its long-term commitment to nature conservation, the ECB once again organised a dedicated programme of events around the International Day for Biological Diversity. The 2025 Biodiversity Week featured a diverse programme of activities designed to inform, engage and inspire staff on the topic of nature conservation. Throughout the week, staff could visit information stands on local bird species in cooperation with experts from the Senckenberg Institute, take guided tours of the ECB gardens with the Green Care team and external specialists, and join interactive “Biodiversity Fresk” workshops exploring the role of biodiversity and the pressures it faces.

The ECB’s biodiversity activities in 2025 demonstrate a strong and ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility. By expanding nature-focused practices, maintaining robust monitoring and promoting awareness within its community, the ECB continues to develop a healthy, dynamic ecosystem that benefits both the natural environment and those who use and enjoy its grounds. The EMP 2025-27 underpins these efforts and supports further progress in biodiversity conservation. The reduction in the use of chemicals for cleaning and inclusion of environmental criteria in priority 1 tenders (see Chapter 4.8 – Green public procurement), also helps foster biodiversity beyond the ECB’s own garden.

4.7 Banknotes

As part of the Eurosystem’s cash strategy, the ECB endeavours to improve the sustainability of euro banknotes throughout the cash cycle.

The ECB and the Eurosystem NCBs have the exclusive right to issue banknotes within the euro area. At the end of 2025 there were 31.3 billion euro banknotes in circulation.

The ECB coordinates, monitors and regulates the design, production and circulation of euro banknotes. The ECB promotes good environmental management and seeks to avoid any risk to the health and safety of the general public, as well as to the workers involved in the production and circulation of euro banknotes. All manufacturers producing euro banknotes and their main raw materials must provide the ECB with copies of their ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 certificates and specific declarations showing that they conform to the applicable standards for quality, environmental, health and safety management, and ethical conduct of business. The ECB also monitors and assesses the environmental impact of euro banknote production annually.

In 2022 the ECB assessed the environmental impact of the full cash cycle using a broad scope methodology, the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) developed by the European Commission, while the ECB’s operational footprint was calculated using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol framework. The environmental footprint of euro banknotes as a payment instrument is very low, i.e. equivalent to 0.01% of the total environmental impact of a citizen. A repeat PEF assessment of the full cash cycle is planned for 2027. Emissions related to banknotes are not included in the ECB’s operational carbon footprint, as banknotes are a joint responsibility of the Eurosystem as a whole.

The ECB and Eurosystem NCBs are implementing policies to further reduce the environmental impact of euro banknotes. For example, in 2025 the cotton fibres used to produce euro banknote paper came exclusively from sustainable sources and the electrical energy for banknote manufacturing came increasingly from decarbonised sources. When banknotes reach the end of their life, they are disposed of using recovery and recycling methods. Disposal methods for euro banknotes, such as landfill and combustion (burning with no energy recovery), have been banned since 2022. From 2030 onwards banknote transport via plane among Eurosystem NCBs will be conducted using 100% sustainable aviation fuel, and as of 2027 the use of this fuel will already surpass the requirements set out in the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation.

The ECB is engaging with all stakeholders to identify further ways to improve the environmental sustainability of euro banknotes throughout the cash cycle, including the eco-design of future banknotes. In this vein, a series of research and development projects are now under way. These projects aim to improve the environmental sustainability of current and future euro banknotes by (i) increasing their circulation lifetime, (ii) using raw materials with less environmental impact, and (iii) developing more sustainable solutions for their end-of-life treatment.

Detailed information on the environmental impact of euro banknotes is available on the ECB’s website in the section on The euro.

4.8 Green public procurement

Figure 15

Procurement objective

Figure 16

Procurement measures – highlights

In 2025 the ECB further strengthened the role of public procurement as a core instrument for delivering on its environmental policy, using it to steer suppliers and internal stakeholders towards more sustainable practices. The Central Procurement Office (CPO) continued to act as a key support agent of the ECB’s EMS, advising business areas on procurement-related topics, reviewing tender documentation as part of its function as a second level of control in procurement, while also promoting the consideration of environmental aspects throughout the procurement cycle.

Under the EMP 2025-27, the ECB set a new objective for its most environmentally relevant (priority 1) procurement categories: at least 75% of the total estimated value of procedures in these categories should include appropriate environmental considerations over the three-year period. Priority 1 procurement categories include procurements in areas where there is a potential for relevant environmental impact, such as IT hardware, vehicles, travel or building maintenance and construction works, among others. In 2025, 96.4% of completed priority 1 procurements by estimated value were classified as green. When extending the analysis to all procurement categories, almost 84.5% of the overall value of procurements completed in 2025 was classified as green. The share of priority 1 procurements with environmental considerations is expected to remain at consistently high levels and meet the EMP target over the 2025-27 cycle. This confirms that appropriate green criteria are now included by default, wherever possible, in high-impact areas such as IT hardware, technical equipment and other priority 1 categories. Sustainable procurement (SPP) has also been explicitly embedded as a key objective in the ECB’s Multi‑Annual Procurement Plan 2026-28, consolidating its strategic importance. Furthermore, fair trade requirements have also been applied across all ECB catering contracts. For updates on all CO₂e emissions measures see Chapter 7.6 – Green public procurement measures.

At the same time, the ECB is assessing software solutions to enrich the existing supplier environmental risk assessment functionality of its Contract and Vendor Management system with broader environmental, social and governance (ESG) and supply-chain information, in line with applicable ESG rules and regulations.

Knowledge-sharing and harmonisation have been significantly enhanced at the Eurosystem level. The Schuman Programme Project on Green Public Procurement, which was successfully executed by the ECB in 2025, has evolved into a standing network of SPP experts across the ECB and almost all Eurosystem NCBs, and is currently hosted and supported by the Eurosystem Procurement Coordination Office (EPCO). This network maintains a shared database of SPP practices, containing concrete examples and case studies in six key categories (consultancy services, payment systems, IT software, infrastructure, cloud and PCs/servers/peripherals). The database documents which central bank uses each best practice, whether the criteria are environmental or social and how they are applied, as well as an assessment of their effectiveness. CPO staff have access to this database and share relevant examples with procuring business areas. Some case studies will also be integrated into the Sustainable Procurement Guideline, which the CPO plans to review in 2026.

Beyond promoting and supporting the greening of its procurement processes, capacity building and awareness raising remained central to the ECB’s approach in 2025. All ECB staff members involved in procurements are offered the opportunity to attend external SPP training sessions delivered through the ECB-wide training portal, EUREKA. Additionally, the CPO is preparing a new procurement training programme for ECB staff based on short e-learning modules, including a dedicated SPP module that is planned to be rolled out by the end of 2027. In parallel, the ECB continues to organise awareness raising activities in the area of sustainable procurement to highlight good practices and foster dialogue within the institution.

Through these measures, the CPO continues to fulfil its mandate to help procuring business areas integrate environmental and social criteria into their procurement procedures in a consistent and compliant manner, while promoting alignment with Eurosystem partners and contributing to the effective implementation of procurement-relevant environmental and climate-related objectives and requirements within the ECB.

4.9 Travel

Notable changes were observed in the ECB’s travel-related environmental impact in 2025. The total distance travelled by staff rose slightly, by 0.7% compared with the previous year, reaching 26,166,597 kilometres, yet this remained 32% below the level recorded in 2019.^[7] Emissions related to business travel stood at 5,794 tonnes of CO₂e, which corresponds to a 37% decrease compared with the previous year and a 52% reduction compared with 2019. A main factor behind this substantial year-on-year decline was the update of flight-related emission factors issued by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. As these revised factors mirror post-pandemic aircraft occupancy rates, the sharp reductions in flight activity (kilometres flown) achieved in previous years have now materialised more clearly in the form of lower emissions. Nevertheless, emissions from air travel continued to dominate the travel-related footprint, representing 97% of all business travel emissions in 2025.

Chart 17

Emissions from business travel by car, plane and train and absolute number of kilometres travelled

a) Emissions

(tonnes of CO₂ equivalent)

b) Absolute kilometres travelled by means of transport

(kilometres)

Building on the strong impact of the measures introduced under the previous EMP, the target of limiting business travel-related emissions to 60% of their 2019 level was carried forward into the new EMP, with 2027 being set as the target year. The intention is to consolidate the more environmentally sustainable working practices that emerged during the pandemic and to further limit environmental impacts from travel. Consistent with the continuous improvement principle that underpins the ECB’s EMS, internal travel rules are regularly reassessed to identify potential enhancements. The ECB’s efforts to render its travel more environmentally sustainable, and the success of these efforts, have been reflected in the marked increase in rail use. In 2025 the total number of kilometres travelled by train was almost seven times higher than in 2019 and has remained relatively stable since 2023. For updates on all CO₂e emissions measures see Chapter 7.2 – Emissions reduction measures.

Chart 18

Percentage of total volume travelled (kilometres) for business travel by means of transport

Percentage of total volume travelled by means of transport

(percentages)

In addition, as part of the long-standing Environmental Network of Central Banks (ENCB), a dedicated working group was set up in 2024 to develop a structured approach to making interinstitutional business travel and events more sustainable. Over the course of 2025 this group completed its primary deliverable – a non-binding guideline – as planned. Further details on interinstitutional cooperation are provided in Chapter 6.10 – Communication, engagement and awareness raising. The guideline includes a proposed methodology for carbon accounting, designed both to support the calculation of related emissions and to ensure a harmonised approach among ENCB members. In order to better align its own internal carbon accounting practices with the recommendations developed by the ENCB task force, in 2025 the ECB decided to discontinue the “international” flight category and to base its calculations solely on the “domestic”, “short haul” and “long haul” categories. This change required the reclassification and recalculation of all flights since the international flight category was introduced in 2021. The impact of this re-categorisation on emissions is shown in Chart 19.

Chart 19

Emissions from business travel by plane with and without the “international” category

Emissions

(tonnes of CO₂ equivalent)

Conference-related activities at the ECB declined by 31.2% compared with 2024, leading to total emissions of 2,855 tonnes of CO₂e related to participants’ travel to the ECB.^[8] This corresponds to a 73.5% reduction relative to 2019. The main reason for the substantial decrease in emissions was the significantly lower number of participants travelling to the ECB for meetings, events or conferences. Compared with 2024, the number of people coming on-site for such purposes in 2025 fell by 38%. The effect of the updated flight emission factors mentioned above further amplified this reduction. Although the organisation of meetings in 2025 was no longer formally governed by the objective set in the previous EMP cycle, meeting organisers continued to follow the guidance applied in the preceding two years^[9]. Consequently, only 34% of all meetings involving external participants were held in person in 2025, substantially below the recommended cap of 50%.

Staff Commuting and Teleworking

Emissions from staff commuting and teleworking are estimated using a survey carried out every two years, with the latest survey conducted in 2025. This was the second survey round in the post-pandemic setting under the unchanged teleworking policy. Owing to the limitations inherent in survey-based methods, the resulting estimates are subject to a higher degree of uncertainty and should therefore be interpreted with caution.

In 2025 emissions from staff commuting to ECB premises totalled 1,175 tonnes of CO₂e, a reduction of 25% compared with 2024 and 58% below the 2019 baseline. By contrast, emissions associated with teleworking increased compared with the previous year, reaching 424 tonnes of CO₂e, which represents a 36% rise relative to 2024. As in earlier years, teleworking-related emissions were largely related to heating, which accounted for 80% of this source. Greenhouse gas emissions linked to staff commuting and teleworking are presented in Chapter 5.2 – Indirect emissions

4.10 Communication, engagement and awareness raising

Figure 17

Communication, engagement and awareness raising objectives

Figure 18

Communication, engagement and awareness raising measures – highlights

2025 was a fruitful year for the ECB’s environmental communication and awareness raising efforts. A variety of events and initiatives were successfully carried out both virtually and in person. The ECB focused on strengthening its engagement with staff and stakeholders, promoting environmental responsibility through collaborative efforts. This chapter highlights the main events and activities that shaped the ECB’s environmental agenda over the course of the year.

On 22 March the ECB marked Earth Hour for the 14th consecutive year, joining the World Wildlife Fund’s global initiative by switching off non-essential lights for 60 minutes to raise awareness of climate challenges and promote a sustainable future for our planet. Under the theme “Give an hour for Earth doing something you love”, the ECB offered a special Earth Hour menu that staff could later recreate at home.

As in previous years, the Biodiversity Week was a key event in 2025, held in combination with World Bee Day on 20 May. In collaboration with the Climate Change Centre, a wide range of activities were arranged aimed at raising awareness on biodiversity and nature loss. A particularly well-received highlight was the organisation of a bird stand on local species in collaboration with the Senckenberg Institute for Nature Research. Biodiversity Fresk interactive workshops were offered on-site, and staff were once again invited to join guided tours of the ECB’s garden at the main building, providing an opportunity to learn about the biodiversity measures implemented on-site. In collaboration with the ECB Theatre Section, a staged reading of Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” was presented. Additionally, a dedicated research session on “The Economics of Climate Change and Biodiversity” was hosted by the Directorate General Research with the Climate Change Centre. The “No Mow May” initiative was once again promoted to emphasise the importance of natural habitats in supporting biodiversity.

On 5 June the ECB celebrated World Environment Day with the launch event for the updated EMP 2025-27. The event aimed to engage staff to achieve shared environmental objectives and inform them about the new measures outlined in the programme. For updates on all communication and awareness raising measures see Chapter 7.7 – Communication and awareness raising measures.

The ECB hosted several events in the fourth quarter of 2025. In September the Green Care team launched the ECB Nature Trail, following the implementation of the biodiverse green care concept in the main building garden. The trail consists of ten different information boards explaining the general concept as well as the individual measures taken to foster biodiversity to both ECB staff and visitors.

From 16 to 22 September the ECB participated in European Mobility Week under the official theme “Mobility for Everyone”. As part of the initiative, bike inspections were provided by the ECB’s safety team at both the main building and city centre premises. To further promote sustainable travel, internal communications highlighted the ECB’s business travel support and green travel options and featured a quiz to test staff knowledge on sustainable mobility.

Additionally, from 22 to 30 November the ECB celebrated the European Week for Waste Reduction. Under the theme “Turn on the value, switch off the waste”, internal communications focused on raising awareness about Europe’s increasing volume of e-waste, featuring an interactive quiz and providing staff with an e-waste recycling map.

In December practical tips for sustainable Christmas trees and eco-friendly choices during the festive season were featured internally to staff. Throughout the year, “Cinema of Change” movie nights were offered to staff, presenting carefully selected films about environmentally relevant challenges in our time.

The Environmental Management team continues to present an introduction to their work to newcomers on the first day. The e-learning course on Climate Change and Environmental Management once again proved popular with ECB staff, with 3,085 members having participated since its launch in early 2022. Since January 2024 the e-learning course has been integrated into the ECB newcomers’ onboarding programme, providing exposure to the ECB’s EMS from the moment they join the bank.

Interinstitutional collaboration remains a cornerstone of the ECB’s EMS, fostering exchanges with other European institutions and Eurosystem NCBs. The collaboration is primarily facilitated through key networks that aim to share best practices and expertise on environmental management topics. The ENCB serves as a platform for environmental management teams across European NCBs to coordinate efforts, both through ad hoc engagements and dedicated task forces. Notably, the Task Force on Carbon Footprints made progress on its work through deep dives into areas such as teleworking and commuting, purchased goods and services, as well as banknotes. Additionally, the Task Force on Business Travel finalised its primary deliverable – the guideline on sustainable travel. This non-binding guideline presents a structured approach to making business travel and events more environmentally sustainable, setting out key policies, guidelines and methodologies on carbon accounting. To further foster cooperation, the Interinstitutional Group for Environmental Management (GIME) facilitates collaboration among EMAS-registered European institutions. The ECB also remains active in the Network for Greening the Financial System, where central banks and supervisors from around the globe meet to exchange experiences, share best practices and contribute to the development of guidance.

5 Technical information

The previous chapters presented the ECB’s most relevant environmental aspects and the developments in these aspects, as well as their related objectives and measures. In this chapter, additional insights and information are provided in line with the requirements of the EMAS Regulation.

5.1 Updates to conversion factors

The following table shows an overview of percentual changes of CO₂e emission conversion factors which have been used for the calculation of the 2025 emissions. Additional information can be found in Chapter 3 – The ECB’s carbon footprint. Although most emission factors are updated annually, only those factors that have changed by more than 5% compared with 2024 are listed in the table. The aim of the table is to transparently report on underlying changes in emission factors to improve the measurement of the carbon footprint. Since 2025, the German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt – UBA), has published a standardised, quality-assured and regularly updated list of emission factors for all common fuels as well as major climate-damaging activities and processes carried out by organisations. To ensure a consistent methodological approach for calculating the ECB’s carbon footprint, emission factors have been taken from the UBA publication wherever possible (only available in German).

The following ranking was applied to estimate the uncertainty of the activity data and the emission factors.

5.2 Compliance obligations

The ECB adheres to a multitude of environmental regulations which are based on German legislation both at the municipal and the national level. Relevant regulations are summarised in a comprehensive register which is regularly reviewed and updated by legal professionals at the ECB. Compliance developments and resulting measures are diligently monitored to ensure full compliance.

Most of the ECB’s legal requirements are centred around the maintenance and operation of all three premises as well as external services such as catering and cleaning. A comprehensive review of compliance with the environmental regulations is conducted through the annual internal verifications. The latest assessments found no instances of non-compliance.

In 2026 a comprehensive environmental inspection was carried out for the new Gallileo building, including a full review of all applicable environmental law obligations to ensure regulatory conformity during commissioning and operation.

Alongside its environmental legal obligations, the ECB adheres to additional self-imposed environmental commitments. These include a commitment to the sustainable procurement guidelines and the environmental objectives formulated in the EMP. Moreover, the ECB organises various awareness raising activities that foster environmental engagement among ECB staff.

Since 2022 the ECB has adopted an internal framework which aims to support the integration of the climate considerations set out in relevant policies, projects and activities. With the publication of the ECB’s climate and nature strategy, the ECB has expressed its ongoing commitment to embed climate and nature considerations in its day-to-day processes, wherever relevant.

More information about the climate-related activities within the ECB’s mandate is available on the ECB’s website.

For enquiries concerning information in this publication, please refer to the ECB’s contact page.

6 Environmental verifier’s declaration

The environmental verifiers listed below confirm that they have verified that the sites, as described in this environmental statement of the organisation European Central Bank with the registration number DE-125-00045 meets all the requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009, as amended on 28 August 2017 and 19 December 2018, on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS).

By signing this declaration, it is confirmed that

• the assessment and validation have been carried out in full compliance with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 1221/2009 as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1505 and (EU) 2018/2026,
• the result of the assessment and validation confirms that there is no evidence of non-compliance with applicable environmental legislation and that
• the data and information in the environmental statement give a reliable, credible and true picture of all the organisation's activities.

This declaration cannot be equated with EMAS registration. EMAS registration can only be carried out by a competent body in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1221/2009. This statement may not be used as a stand-alone basis for informing the public.

Frankfurt am Main, 2026-06-11

		GUT Certifizierungsgesellschaft für Managementsysteme mbH Umweltgutachter DE-V-0213 Eichenstraße 3 b D-12435 Berlin Tel: +49 30 233 2021 - 0 Fax: +49 30 233 2021 - 39 E-Mail: info@gut-cert.de
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jan Uwe Lieback Environmental verifier DE-V-0026

7 Environmental Management Programme (2025-27) measures update

7.1 CO₂e-emissions reduction measures

7.2 Energy efficiency measures

7.3 Material efficiency measures

7.4 Waste measures

7.5 Biodiversity measures

7.6 Green public procurement measures

7.7 Communication and awareness raising measures