Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Responsibility for nature, culture and society
• Responsibility for supply chain and products
• Responsibility for employees

Environmental Achievements

• CO₂ emissions reduced by 2,751 tons compared to the target.
• Water saving: 33,278 cubic meters of water.
• Savings of plastic waste: 35 tons
• Energy savings: 22,128,000 kWh

Social Achievements

• Worldwide employee survey with 86% response rate, providing insights for improvements.
• Expanded financial and technical support for SOS Children’s Villages worldwide.
• Numerous restorations of architectural monuments (e.g., Green-Wood Cemetery, Votive Church, St. Marien church).
• Launched "Thank Your Cleaner Day" initiative.
• 9.5% recycled plastic quota (equivalent to 121 million 1.5-liter PET bottles).

Governance Achievements

• Extended supplier auditing to include strict social and ecological criteria.
• Increased regional sourcing (90% in China, 70% in Europe).

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Need to further reduce energy consumption and water usage.
• Need to increase recycled plastic content in packaging.
• Improving communication and information dissemination within the company.

Mitigation Strategies

• Implementing energy management systems (DIN EN ISO 50001) in all German plants (expanding to Italy and Romania).
• Introducing new load planning tools for increased loading density in trucks and containers.
• Global initiative “Coffee break with ...” to improve communication.
• Employee World Meeting to improve cross-site and cross-departmental collaboration.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 1,671 online audits in 2017

Responsible Procurement

• Extended supplier auditing to include strict social and ecological criteria.
• Increased regional sourcing.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Not disclosed

Transition Risks

• Not disclosed

Opportunities

• Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Eco-efficient products (e.g., dry vacuum cleaners, high-pressure cleaners)
• Water-saving pressure washers
• Low-water floor cleaner
• Steam cleaners without chemical cleaning agents
• Energy-efficient pumps

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate protection
• Resource efficiency
• Social commitment

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced carbon emissions by more than 5% compared with the previous year.
• 21 Kärcher sites worldwide were carbon neutral in terms of their balance sheets.
• Saved more than 1,500 MWh of energy at global production and logistics sites in 2022.
• Reduced annual carbon emissions at the Bühlertal factory by 158,112 kg CO₂.

Social Achievements

• Improved in all areas compared to the last employee survey.
• High employee satisfaction with working environment, tasks, conditions, and teamwork.
• Staff turnover remained at a comparatively low level (3.1% in 2022).
• Supported numerous SOS Children’s Village facilities worldwide.

Governance Achievements

• Established an e-learning program on corruption prevention for all employees.
• Introduced a worldwide whistleblower system.
• Extensively revised and expanded the Code of Conduct in 2022.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Reducing scope 3 emissions (upstream and downstream activities)
• Increasing dependence on gas
• High water risk at sites in Mexico and Romania
• Attracting and retaining employees and enabling better cooperation across divisions and countries.

Mitigation Strategies

• Working to set a reduction target for overall carbon footprint aligned with SBTi criteria.
• Taking measures to increasingly generate process heat electrically in production plants.
• Aiming to set a global water conservation target in 2023.
• Implementing measures to attract and retain employees, improve cross-border cooperation, and enhance work-life balance.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: More than 80 in 2022

Responsible Procurement

• Focus on long-term and regional procurement.
• Development of an overall strategy to implement the requirements of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG).
• Supplier commitment to comply with Kärcher's Code of Conduct.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Flooding

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI Standards (2021)

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• High-pressure cleaners saving 80% water compared to garden hose.
• Pumps for garden use making rainwater usable.
• Recycling systems in gantry car washes collecting up to 85% of used water.
• Eco!efficiency mode in professional machines.
• Battery-powered machines with zero emissions.

Awards & Recognition

• German Sustainability Award 2022
• Social Hero Award 2022
• Baden-Württemberg Environmental Award 2022
• Green Good Design Award

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate protection and energy management
• Working conditions and human rights in our business area
• Responsible corporate management

Environmental Achievements

• All Kärcher plants globally have been producing with green energy since 2021.
• Reduced absolute carbon emissions by 16,660 tonnes compared to 2020 with simultaneous company growth.
• Saved 68.8 tonnes of plastic in packaging in 2023 through reduction and switching from plastic to paper.
• Used 1,986 tonnes of recycled materials in products in 2023.
• 80% of the entire plant’s water requirement in Vinhedo factory (Brazil) covered without the use of fresh water in 2023.
• Reduced absolute production-related carbon emissions to around 25,566 tonnes of CO₂ in 2023 (2022: 27,472 t CO₂).

Social Achievements

• Launched a new employer branding campaign worldwide in 2023.
• Staff turnover remains at a comparatively low level at 3.6% in 2023 (2022: 3.1%).
• Implemented a virtual onboarding programme in 2023 to provide a standardised global welcome to new employees.
• Improved employee satisfaction in all areas compared to the last survey in 2022.

Governance Achievements

• Revised Code of Conduct in 2022 and supplemented it with a separate version for business partners.
• Appointed a human rights officer in January 2023.
• Established a proactive risk management system throughout the supply chain.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Scope 3 emissions often lie outside our direct sphere of influence, making it more difficult to obtain and ensure the availability and quality of corresponding emissions data.
• Attracting and retaining employees and enabling better cooperation beyond divisional and national borders.

Mitigation Strategies

• Analysed entire scope 3 footprint in detail for the first time in 2023 and formulated specific reduction targets.
• Developed a global talent market platform to enable cross-location coordination and staffing of suitable positions.
• Launched the “Mystery Meet” to extend employees' Kärcher network and get to know colleagues from different departments and regions.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: More than 270 audits in 2023

Responsible Procurement

• Long-term and regional procurement structures, AI-supported software for assessing social and environmental impacts, Kärcher Code of Conduct for Business Partners, and regular monitoring of compliance with sustainability criteria.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Flooding

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes, market shifts

Opportunities

• Development of energy-efficient products

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI (2021)

Certifications: ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 50001:2018, ISO 45001:2018

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 13 of the 17 SDGs

Analysis based on the SDG Compass method.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Bio-based material packaging for the steam cleaner SC 3 Upright, T 11/1 Re!Plast vacuum cleaner (60% recycled plastic), FlexoMate cleaning trolley series (up to 25% recycled plastic), water siphon housing made from almost 100% renewable material.

Awards & Recognition

• DQS Sustainability Heroes Award 2023, Baden-Württemberg Environmental Award 2022, Sustainability Heroes Award 2022, German Sustainability Award 2022, Forbes “World’s Best Employers” ranking, Stern magazine ranking.