Nivea parent Beiersdorf switches to green power

German skincare group Beiersdorf, behind household-name brands like Nivea and Elastoplast, said Tuesday that all its operations would be powered by renewable electricity by the end of 2019.

"All Beiersdorf sites worldwide have switched to electricity from renewable sources as of 2019," the company said in a statement.

The move is part of an effort to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 70 percent between 2014 and 2025, it added.

By the end of 2018, it reported emissions were already down 59 percent.

Beiersdorf, which boasted revenues of 7.2 billion euros in 2018, of is one of the 30 blue-chip firms listed on the DAX index.

It is also among hundreds of companies worldwide that have signed up to the so-called "Science Based Targets" initiative.

The scheme, backed by the WWF and United Nations, helps companies set climate protection targets in line with the latest science and the internationally-agreed aim to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius.

At last week's inconclusive UN Climate Conference in Madrid, Beiersdorf was one of 177 companies that said they would aim to reshape operations in line with a more stringent warming target of 1.5 degrees -- one of only five German firms to do so.