Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Awareness, Access, and Affordability
• Building a wonderful place to work
• Protect the planet

Environmental Achievements

• Increased recycling rate to 70% (2023 target achieved early)
• Share of renewable electricity reached 41%
• Reduced CO2 emissions by 4,655 tons through renewable electricity

Social Achievements

• Launched #Hearittogether Hearing Healthcare Program in South Africa
• Employee engagement score improved to 7.6 (from 7.2)
• Retail rebranding program launched in North America (HearUSA and HearCanada)

Governance Achievements

• Increased number of women in the board to two members (target achieved)
• Strategic acquisition of Audibel (Brazil) and Longkang (China)
• Partnership agreement with Sony Corporation for OTC hearing aids

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Market softening in Q3 due to the war in Ukraine, energy crisis, high inflation
• Supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressure
• Shortfall of HCPs (Hearing Care Professionals) in the US retail business

Mitigation Strategies

• Near-shored part of custom hearing aid production to Mexico
• Implemented efficient treasury policies for currency and interest rate risks
• Engaged closely with critical suppliers and identified alternative sourcing options

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 15/year (100% of high-risk suppliers)

Responsible Procurement

• WSA Supplier Code of Conduct
• Due diligence process for high-risk suppliers

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events
• Changes in precipitation patterns

Transition Risks

• Increased pricing of GHG emissions
• Enhanced reporting obligations
• Increased regulation of existing products

Opportunities

• Use of more efficient production processes
• Use of lower-emission sources of energy
• Shift toward decentralized energy generation

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, UN Global Compact, TCFD

Certifications: ISO 13485, ISO 14001 (in progress for Lynge), ISO 45001 (Lynge in progress)

Third-party Assurance: Deloitte

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Rechargeable hearing aids

Awards & Recognition

• CES Innovation Award (Signia AX platform)
• CES Innovation Award and iF Design Award (Signia Insio Charge & Go AX)

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Awareness, Accessibility and Affordability of hearing aids
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Employee Engagement
• Talent Attraction, Development and Retention
• Health and Safety
• Human Rights
• Community Engagement
• Waste Management
• Water Consumption
• Sustainable Materials
• Energy Consumption
• Climate Change
• Supplier Due Diligence
• Business Ethics and Anti-corruption
• Product Safety
• Ethical Marketing
• Data Privacy
• Data Ethics
• Cybersecurity

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 61% from a 2020 base year
• Increased share of renewable electricity used to 66%
• 69% of non-hazardous waste from main production sites sent for recycling
• Pilot project to recycle polypropylene waste from wax guard production, achieving 100% recycled plastic in wax guard production
• 60% of all product packaging sourced from FSC-certified sources
• 50% of Signia jewel case material composition made from non-virgin material (PCR)

Social Achievements

• Launched global WSA Onboarding program
• Improved employee engagement score to 7.9 (increase of 0.3 compared to June 2022)
• Improved employee net promoter score from 20 to 28
• Successfully achieved the title of Top Employer in Singapore and Germany
• Launched Respect at Work campaign, including mandatory global e-learning module and revised Group Harassment-free policy
• Reduced recordable work-related injuries from 11 to 4
• Launched take-back program for used hearing aids in Australia and New Zealand, donating 89% to charities
• Donated two container offices and 1,000 hearing aids to earthquake survivors in Turkey

Governance Achievements

• Implemented a new governance structure with fewer layers and faster decision-making
• Linked Executive Committee to a Strategic Forum
• Completed ISO/IEC 27001:2013 audit and received certification
• 100% of high-risk suppliers audited for social, environmental, and ethical management systems and performance
• Established improvement plans to rectify non-compliance for 5 suppliers
• 98% completion rate for ethics and anti-corruption training

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical uncertainty impacting sales in Germany and France
• Initial start-up challenges at Americas Manufacturing & Distribution Center (AMDC) affecting US and Canada wholesale
• Soft private pay market in US retail
• Supply chain bottlenecks and inflation
• Increased hazardous waste (80%) and non-hazardous waste (33%) due to increased reporting scope of Mexico
• Difficulties sourcing a suitable waste recycling vendor in Mexico

Mitigation Strategies

• Implemented efficient treasury policies for assessing interest rate and currency risks
• Hedged a significant portion of interest rate and currency exposure
• AMDC performance back on track in the second half of the year
• Engaged closely with critical suppliers, conducted audits, and identified alternative sourcing options
• Implemented energy conservation measures at manufacturing sites
• Introduced a new waste management vendor and implemented new procedures in Mexico
• Implemented clean production initiatives reducing non-hazardous waste by 2% (excluding Mexico)

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 5 in 2023

Responsible Procurement

• WSA Responsible Supplier Standards (RSS)
• Conflict mineral reporting
• Responsible sourcing of materials

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events
• Raw material shortages

Transition Risks

• Supply chain disruptions due to regulatory changes and market shifts

Opportunities

• Energy and resource efficiency improvements
• Renewable energy sources
• Decentralization of energy generation

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI Standards, UN Global Compact (UNGC), Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

Certifications: ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 13485, ISO 27001

Third-party Assurance: Deloitte

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Rechargeable hearing aids
• Signia Multi-Charger

Awards & Recognition

• Top Employer in Singapore and Germany

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Circular Economy
• Human Rights
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Governance
• Compliance

Environmental Achievements

• Increased share of renewable electricity used to 83% (from 66% in FY23)
• Reduced total energy consumption by 7%
• Recycled and reused 80% of all waste from manufacturing sites
• 81% of product packaging sourced from FSC-certified sources

Social Achievements

• Maintained high employee engagement score of 7.9
• Reduced total employee turnover to 18% (from 25% in FY22)
• Reduced voluntary employee turnover to 10% (from 12% in FY22)
• Launched WonderfulYOU, inclusion & belonging initiative

Governance Achievements

• Enhanced cybersecurity resilience through employee training and technical improvements
• Implemented a robust legal and regulatory monitoring process
• Strengthened whistleblower system by formalizing the mechanism into a written policy

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Geopolitical instabilities affecting supply chain
• Cyber & IT security risks
• Financial market risks (interest rate fluctuations, currency fluctuations)
• Product innovation risks (competition, technological advancements)
• Compliance & regulatory risks (varying global standards, data privacy)

Mitigation Strategies

• Continuous risk monitoring and scenario planning
• Strengthened cybersecurity resilience through employee training and technical improvements
• Effective treasury policies to mitigate financial market risks (hedging)
• Continuous monitoring of emerging technologies and market trends
• Robust internal compliance programs, regular audits, employee training

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 6 suppliers audited in 2024

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Conduct
• Supplier Decarbonization Program
• Chain of custody audits for battery suppliers

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather events disrupting operations

Transition Risks

• Costs to transition to lower-emissions technology
• Changing customer behavior towards low-carbon products

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, UNGC, ISSB

Certifications: ISO 13485

Third-party Assurance: Deloitte

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being)
• Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure)
• Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)
• Goal 13 (Climate Action)

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Rexton BICORE B-LI Rugged (durable, water-resistant hearing aid)

Awards & Recognition

• Top Employer Seal 2024 (Germany, Singapore, USA, Denmark)
• Red Dot Design Award 2024 (Signia Silk Charge & Go IX)
• German Design Award 2024 (Widex SmartRIC)