Sustainability is part of our DNA

As Electrolux Group becomes one of the first companies to reach its independently verified science-based climate targets, Operations is making significant progress in our journey to become climate neutral. But with our commitment to continuous improvement, we’ll keep going further.

By Carsten Franke, Chief Operating Officer

The news that Electrolux Group has reached our 2025 science-based climate target three years sooner than planned is a proud moment for everyone in our company. ?

By the end of 2022, an independent climate impact audit by quality assurance specialists PriceWaterHouseCoopers found that we’d reduced our scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from our operations by 82% from their 2015 level, thus surpassing the 80% target we’d set for 2025.?

We’ve also cut our scope 3 emissions of when products are in use by 25%, fulfilling the 2025 reduction target. ?

These milestones show us that we’re well on the way to meeting our goal of becoming fully carbon neutral in our operations by 2030, but we know that we must keep our focus.?

A sustainable DNA

Over the past few years, sustainability has become part of the daily business of my role as Chief Operating Officer at Electrolux Group. ?

I see it as one of my key responsibilities along with keeping our people safe at work and driving productivity. ?

In fact, sustainability is truly in the DNA of our company now. And it needs to be because climate change is happening so quickly that we have a responsibility to do all we can to reduce our impact.

Industry-leading climate mitigation initiatives

We are industry leaders in our climate work. Our Swedish heritage, with a respect for nature and a strong sense of corporate social responsibility, made it natural for us to be early adopters of a comprehensive sustainability strategy. In 2018, we were amongst the first 100 companies to set a global science-based climate target, to contribute to achieving the global targets set by the Paris Agreement.

We’ve also introduced a roadmap of activities to help us meet our sustainability objectives:?

Our Zero Waste to Landfill program targets zero waste from our manufacturing sites by 2025. ?

At Electrolux Group, we were aware of the household appliances industry’s responsibility for creating waste through leftover steel and plastic from products and we knew we needed to act. With Zero Waste to Landfill we have ended the unsustainable practice of simply sending our product waste on to scrapyards. ?

Some 55% of our factories around the world have been third-party certified to the highest industry standard as fully recyclable plants, meaning that they do not send anything to landfill. Close to 98% of all our waste is recycled or used, and our target is to be above 99%.

We’ve also undertaken other significant steps in operations. We’ve optimized the heating of our equipment used in the enamelling of our products by automating the ramp-up time, we’ve switched to electric forklifts from ones that used fossil fuel, we only buy electricity from renewable sources, and we’ve switched from fuel to biofuel/biogas in our processes. Most recently, our site in Cerreto, Italy, has become our first fully carbon-neutral factory.

Sustainability partnerships with our suppliers

While Electrolux Group is getting its own house in order, it’s vital that we don’t just push our problems out onto our suppliers. We need to take responsibility for our whole value chain becoming carbon neutral.

Being a member of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) gives us a framework to engage with our suppliers and follow them on their sustainability journeys. I’m happy to say that 90% of the supplier base of Electrolux Group is assigned to the CDP. ?

The recent shortlisting of my colleague and Sustainable Procurement Senior Program Manager Carla De Luca for a 2023 CDP sustainability leaders award is testament to the impact of our supplier outreach. We’ve also worked with truck manufacturer Scania to help our transport providers switch to electric and sustainable vehicles, which again underlines the great influence we can have throughout our value chain.

Our suppliers are happy because they see the benefits of working with us as a large company that’s quite advanced on this journey. We know how to measure sustainability, and we can guide them as they take their own steps towards lasting changes. ?

Educating and listening to consumers

We have a responsibility to our consumers, too. ?

We can play a key role in helping them to use their products as sustainably as possible, whether it’s by saving water in washing machine cycles or using less energy in refrigerators. ?

By using the data from our connected products, we can understand how they’re used and find ways to simplify things for consumers. That way we can get even closer to their needs and lessen the carbon footprint of our products in use. ?

Where can we do better?

For me, it’s not so much a question of where Electrolux Group can be better in our climate mitigation work; it’s how we go faster. Such is the urgency of the climate crisis.?

It’s fair to say that the final 18% reduction that will get us to carbon neutral operations by 2030 is challenging and will require investment, be it on solar panels for factories or thermal heat pumps for energy generation. We must strike a balance between climate sustainability and sustainable profitability, to keep making a difference.?

We also know it’s simply not enough to rest on our laurels. We aim to be climate neutral across our whole value chain by 2050. ?

We want people see what we are doing and where we’re going in terms of sustainability so that we win their trust. And so that we can contribute to a better world.

Read more on the sustainability report 2022.