Beyond Net Zero: Embracing climate responsibility to champion justice and systemic transformation – Allianz Foundation
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How can a philanthropic organisation take real responsibility for its own climate footprint while funding systemic change?
This case study, from the publication “How to Integrate Climate into Your Philanthropic Programmes: What Foundations Need to Know, and Where to Begin” follows Allianz Foundation as it develops a “Beyond Net Zero” Climate Responsibility Strategy that measures emissions across operations, investments and programmes, applies an internal carbon fee and reinvests those resources into additional climate contributions that reinforce its justice-focused grantmaking.
About the organisation
Formally launched in 2022 through the merger of its predecessor foundations, Allianz Umweltstiftung and Allianz Kulturstiftung, the new Allianz Foundation reflects a response to the profound shifts that have taken place globally since the turn of the millennium. Its integrated mission brings together environmental protection, social justice, democratic empowerment, and cultural expression. These commitments are embodied in its three strategic priorities:
- Empowered people
- Open societies
- A liveable planet
Motivation and approach
An organisation-wide approach to climate responsibility
The Allianz Foundation’s approach to climate action in its grantmaking is rooted in the understanding that the world’s most pressing challenges – such as the climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, rising nationalism, democratic backsliding and social fragmentation – are deeply interconnected and demand systemic, collective solutions. At the heart of its approach lies a belief in the need for a new culture of solidarity; a renewed relationship between humans and nature; and a transformation that extends beyond technological fixes.
Through the activities in its “liveable planet” strategic pillar, the foundation advocates for bold, inclusive and imaginative responses to the narrowing window for preventing catastrophic climate change. The foundation seeks to support transformative climate protection efforts, championing initiatives that not only reduce emissions but also address the structural inequalities that can undermine a fair and equitable transition. The foundation combines support for legislative and policy engagement with investment in creative expression, biodiversity protection and grass-roots empowerment, underscoring the belief that meaningful climate action must be both systemic and socially integrated.
Allianz Foundation’s Climate Responsibility Strategy: Beyond Net Zero
In 2024, the Allianz Foundation took a decisive step towards full organisational accountability on climate by developing a comprehensive Climate Responsibility Strategy, titled “Beyond Net Zero.” This strategy, separate from its climate-focused grantmaking, aims to embed climate considerations across all decision-making processes.
At the core of the strategy is a commitment to full transparency in measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, and a clear emphasis on actively reducing emissions across the foundation’s operational, programmatic and investment activities. The foundation explicitly rejects conventional carbon offsetting, citing strong evidence that it often fails to deliver meaningful reductions and risks delaying essential cuts in actual emissions. Instead, it adopts a “climate contributions” approach – making direct, measurable contributions to global climate goals, as outlined in guidance from the NewClimate Institute.
Though still in the early stages of implementation, the foundation has laid out an ambitious 5-step plan to be tested in a 2-year pilot phase and completed by the end of 2026. This strategy is intended not only as a roadmap for Allianz Foundation itself, but also as a model for other foundations and partner organisations:
Step 1 — Understand the foundation’s full climate impact
The foundation has already made good progress in this area. Each year, it calculates its greenhouse gas emissions in line with the globally recognised GHG Protocol, covering indirect emissions from purchased energy (Scope 2), and indirect emissions across the value chain (Scope 3), including investments. The foundation has no Scope 1 emissions. Work is ongoing to include emissions from the foundation’s programmes, with efforts focused on enabling partner organisations to measure and report their own impacts efficiently. By prioritising the main drivers of emissions from its operations – such as travel and events – the foundation aims to capture most Scope 3 emissions linked to its funding activities.
Step 2 — Avoid and reduce emissions as far as possible
Allianz Foundation has developed annual action plans that target operational emissions including energy use, travel and procurement. For a grantmaking foundation with substantial endowment assets, investments account for the vast majority of emissions, potentially undermining other funding objectives. Mitigating the climate impact of capital is both a significant challenge and a tremendous opportunity for real climate impact. Therefore, the foundation is reviewing its investment portfolio to shift more capital towards impact investments that drive ecological and social change. Grant partners are also encouraged to incorporate emission reduction goals into their work, helping to build a broader culture of climate responsibility.
Step 3 — Apply an internal carbon fee on ongoing emissions to reflect the true cost of climate damage
In 2023, the foundation set this fee at €254 per ton of CO₂, based on the latest scientific assessments from the German Environment Agency. This internal price is reviewed and updated annually, serving as a financial incentive to reduce emissions and a tool to reinforce climate accountability within the organisation.
Step 4 — Use internal carbon fee funds to support projects that deliver deep, systemic change
With its carbon fees, the foundation focuses on areas that are often underfunded, such as policy advocacy, behavioural change, innovation and long-term transformation. The third and fourth steps shape the concept that is commonly referred to as “climate contributions”. A key challenge – currently explored through the Coalition for Climate Responsibility, co-initiated with the NewClimate Institute – is how to ensure that these climate contributions are “additional” and clearly distinct from the foundation’s existing climate grantmaking.
Step 5 — Share progress transparently and foster open dialogue
The foundation will publish an annual climate report detailing its emissions, internal carbon fees and use of funds
Success factors
While still at the beginning of its journey, Allianz Foundation is aiming for rigour, ambition, impact and accountability by adopting the following principles in the implementation of its Climate Responsibility Strategy:
Pioneering an alternative model with experts, partners and peers
The Allianz Foundation’s climate responsibility strategy is based on the “Climate Contribution” model, developed by a number of organisations, including the NewClimate Institute, as an alternative to carbon offsetting. The institute has already done extensive work to promote the concept across different sectors.
To support further implementation and encourage other organisations to adopt this model, the Allianz Foundation set up the Coalition for Climate Responsibility with the NewClimate Institute. Experts are examining the challenges of implementation in more detail – especially for foundations – and developing support and guidance. The project includes dialogue formats with experts from other organisations, foundations and civil society organisations.
Motivated core team, supportive stakeholders
To implement the necessary steps in its ambitious Climate Responsibility Strategy, the foundation must involve all relevant stakeholders. This is the only way that the foundation can implement the strategy robustly and coherently, and communicate it credibly to the outside world.
Aiming for transparency and sector leadership
Transparency is a core ambition of the strategy. The foundation plans to publish an annual climate report that discloses its emissions data, explains the use of the internal carbon fee, tracks how climate contribution funds are allocated, and shares the lessons learned along the way. Beyond accountability, the foundation seeks to lead by example, sharing its model and its learnings to encourage more foundations to take up climate responsibility in an impactful and measurable way.