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Varo Energy

Varo Energy is a privately owned midstream oil and gas company headquartered in Switzerland. In 2020, it reported 450 employees*. The company did not report its revenue. Varo carries out oil refining activities in Switzerland and Germany. Its limited publicly available information indicates it does not hold itself accountable for achieving a low-carbon transition.

Summary

Varo Energy ranks 34th with an ACT rating of 0.2D-. Varo has a very low score in this benchmark assessment. Varo’s performance is characterised by its lack of transparency; the company has one publicly available sustainability report with limited information. Varo has not established climate-related governance and strategic processes, and it lacks a comprehensive low-carbon transition plan and emissions reduction targets.

Given the company’s lack of transparency on its emissions and activity data, the scope 1 and 2 emissions impact of its midstream activities could not be assessed for alignment with its 1.5°C pathway. It was also not possible to assess the upstream and downstream scope 3 emissions impact of the fossil fuel products the company sources, refines, distributes and sells.

*Employee figure as reported in 2020. This figure may include full- and part-time employees and workers, depending on the company’s reporting practice.

Ranking position: #34 /100
Total score: 12.4 /100
Performance score: 0.2 /20
Narrative Score: ABCDE
Trend Score: Trend line is up

Trend line is equal

Trend line is down

Performance module name	Performance module score	Rank (0-100)
Targets	0.0 /100	#38
Material Investment	0.0 /100	#84
Intangible Investment	0.0 /100	#20
Sold products	0.0 /100	#55
Management	0.9 /100	#87
Supplier Engagement	0.0 /100	#57
Client Engagement	5.0 /100	#39
Policy Engagement	10.0 /100	#69
Business Model	0.0 /100	#52

Leading practices

No leading practices were identified for this company.

Low-carbon and mitigation technology CapEx: Varo’s only forward-looking, low-carbon relevant statement is an intention to increase investment in renewable fuels and greater energy efficiency. The company does not specify the scale or time frame for this investment. To align with a 1.5°C scenario, Varo needs to strive towards meeting the sectoral expectation for oil and gas companies to invest 77% of their capital expenditure (CapEx) in low-carbon and mitigation technologies, including renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Business model: Varo’s only low-carbon business activity is its biofuels production. The company offers renewable gasoline, diesel and marine fuels produced from food waste products, used cooking oil and forest waste products. In 2019, Varo supplied customers with renewable fuel blends containing over 1.1 billion litres of sustainable renewable fuels. Varo’s biofuels business is an opportunity for the company to grow its low-carbon revenue. However, with no details disclosed on the profitability or growth plans for this activity, the company’s commitment to it is unclear.

Trend

Varo receives a trend score of -. If the company were reassessed in the near future, its score would likely decrease. Varo’s lack of transparency on activity and emissions data means the company’s future emissions performance could not be estimated. Varo’s only low-carbon business activity is its biofuels production. However, without growth targets and deployment schedules, it is unclear how committed the company is to scaling up its biofuels business. In the absence of targets and a detailed low-carbon transition plan, Varo is predicted to diverge further from its 1.5°C pathway.

Commitment: Varo has not set any emissions reduction targets or other low-carbon commitments.
Transition plan: Varo has not set out a low-carbon transition plan. The company does report it will increase investment in renewable fuels and greater energy efficiency but provides no further detail on this.
Present: Varo owns and operates the Cressier Refinery in Switzerland and owns a 51.4% share in the Bayernoil Refinery in Germany. However, the company’s current fuel mix and product mix are not known due to lack of transparency. Varo is improving energy efficiency at its refineries and contributing to renewable energy projects in Oman to reduce its upstream emissions.
Legacy: Varo’s lack of transparency on emissions and activity data for the years 2014-2019 mean its past performance on scope 1 and 2 and scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions intensities could not be assessed.
Consistency: With no detailed low-carbon transition plan or emissions reduction targets, and with only small-scale low-carbon business activities, Varo is not prepared for the low-carbon transition. The company will be required to make a significant strategic and business model shift to align with its 1.5°C pathway.

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2023

More about the company

Headquarters: Cham, Switzerland
Group revenue: Not available
Ownership structure: Private
Number of employees: 450
Scope of activity: Midstream
Website: https://varoenergy.com/en/investors

Varo Energy

Leading practices

Risks and opportunities

Low-carbon and mitigation technology CapEx

Business model

Trend

Progress towards the Paris Agreement

Commitment

Transition plan

Present

Legacy

Consistency

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More about the company