Bitcoin Life

Sustainability (as of 1^st November 2022)

The management, protection and conservation of our natural resources are very important to us.

When selecting a pension scheme, a financial or insurance product designed for a longer period of time, consideration of possible adverse sustainability impacts and sustainable investment objectives is an economic decision criterion in addition to responsibility for our collective livelihood. Sustainability risk is defined as an environmental, social or governance event or condition that could have a significant negative impact on the value of an investment.

We would like to inform you here - in a concise and clear form - about the essential and most important environmental and social features of Bitcoin Life.

blockchain energy requirements

computing and power intensity
In many use cases, cryptographic coins or tokens are managed via decentrally managed blockchains. To ensure that no central authority has to be trusted, there are various approaches to establishing freedom from trust. Some of these methods, for example the so-called proof-of-work or, to a certain extent, the proof-of-space method, are very energy-intensive.

environmental neutrality
In itself, energy use - regardless of the amount - would not be an ecological criterion if the energy were obtained from renewable and CO₂-neutral sources. However, it is not possible for us to find out from which sources the miners cover their energy needs.

In order not to burden nature with our share of the use of the blockchain, we plant at least 10 trees for every bitcoin transaction we initiate. In this way, we achieve a positive CO₂ balance - for the environment and the climate!

energy saving through blockchain use
However, the high energy requirements of mining are also offset by energy and resource savings. Blockchain technology, the associated applications, consistent digitization and virtualization eliminate work routes, car journeys, building maintenance, heating, and much more. Tasks that previously had to be performed by hundreds or even many thousands of employees are now performed (partially) autonomously by computers. This not only saves energy and other resources and raw materials, but also frees up human resources for new challenges.

our ecological sphere of influence

transaction reduction
Not all business transactions require real-time response. Many bookings and transactions can be bundled. In this way, we not only save costs and do our part to avoid network clogging, but also reduce energy requirements.

Wherever possible, practical and appropriate, we use sidechain and offchain techniques, i.e. methods that process transactions outside the blockchain.

digitalization, virtualization, automation
Our consistent digitalization approach and the almost complete automation of all processes reduce the burdens that otherwise arise from real-world activities to just over zero.

acting CO₂-consciously
We run our nodes, computers and servers in polar or subpolar data centers, or preferably with green electricity from renewable sources, whenever it is practical and sensible.

We completely dispense with plastic cards and similar old-fashioned tools. Where paper is still required in contact with the "old system", we ensure CO₂ neutrality.

fixed remunerations
Our compensation policy is independent of the inclusion of sustainability risks. We provide compensation within the scope of the usual standards. Furthermore, we do not consider sustainability risks to be relevant in the context of our compensation policy, as compensation relates almost exclusively to consulting and mediation services, which are nowadays increasingly provided online or by means of video conferences and chats in an energy- and resource-saving manner.

social responsibility

no cooperation with exploiters or oppressors
Bitcoin Life's business field and model is not significantly dependent on suppliers, the purchase of raw materials or the like. Therefore, the problem of recognizing and rejecting suppliers that create price advantages through modern slavery or other forms of exploitation is not a priority for us.

In principle, however, we reject any oppression of the weak and the exploitation of people who are in need.

avoidance of unfreedom regimes
Bitcoin Life offers all members the possibility to make contributions in Bitcoin as well as to receive benefits in Bitcoins. Bitcoin can neither be regulated nor controlled by any government (control not in the sense of supervision, but of intervention). Using fiat money (euros, dollars, etc.), on the other hand, is inherently risky and thus less secure than Bitcoin - also in terms of government intervention and coercion.

Bitcoin Life is free to operate under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Should Germany's order develop toward the unfreedom side or the organization itself be attacked, a programmed, graduated process kicks in, the final step of which involves paying out all assets to members in the form of Bitcoins.

The relevant resolution was brought to the attention of the competent court in 2014 as part of the seizure provision under Section 45 of the German Civil Code.

Bitcoin Life sets its procedures and relations in such a way that, as far as possible, unfree regimes are neither directly nor indirectly supported. The judgement of what we consider to be unfreedom is left to Bitcoin Life, or its members. In the past, it has been shown that the applied standards are rather strict in this regard.

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Looking at the details, it is difficult, if not impossible, to make precise estimates of the actual energy and sustainability balance in Bitcoin Life's field of activity. This is because the methods of measurement and calculation fail where the baseline data is inaccurate. It is a hallmark of decentralized and unregulated systems that this baseline data (e.g., what energy sources miners are using) is not reliably available. We must therefore limit ourselves to the measures described above over which we ourselves have direct control.

If we invest our own funds in 3^rd party products, within the framework of proportionality - just as in all other business relationships - we generally give preference to providers who actively support sustainability goals.