changes What’s driving the process industry

Success through clear values

Thinking long term, acting responsibly – with this attitude Endress+Hauser has grown into a large and successful company. By committing to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, we head further into the future.

Text: Kirsten Wörnle
Tree

“What is your climate strategy?” or “How do you ensure the protection of human rights in the supply chain?” Such questions are reaching Endress+Hauser more frequently. “Important customers and other stakeholders increasingly request detailed information on corporate social responsibility at Endress+Hauser,” says Gerd Gritsch, the Group’s Director Corporate Quality & Sustainability whose purview includes sustainability. The focus is on environment, social responsibility and governance (ESG)

Sustainability has firm roots at Endress+Hauser. Office employees separated their trash for recycling as far back as the 1980s, long before this practice became commonplace in Europe. In Germany, those who wanted to could have a catalytic converter fitter to their vehicle even before it was required by law. For the fullblooded entrepreneur Georg H Endress, the considered use of resources was a given.

Sustainability is one of the four brand values. Not only does it shape corporate decisions, it also determines how we deal with people, the environment and energy. Numerous company locations promote electromobility and use of renewable energy. New buildings are designed to be energy-efficient or even climate-neutral. Illustrating that we are on the right track are our good ratings in the EcoVadis sustainability report.

 

Science-based climate goals 

What has been missing to date is a Group-wide strategy: a coordinated approach with common metrics to quantify its success. In light of the Paris climate goals, the Endress family agreed at the beginning of the year to participate in the Science Based Targets initiative. This is considered as one of the most ambitious climate protection programs for companies and helps them to base reduction targets on scientific findings and methods.

“ This is our commitment to the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Climate Change Convention,” explains Julia Schempp, Corporate Sustainability Officer of the Group. Endress+Hauser intends taking various intermediate steps to reduce greenhouse emissions and resolutely accelerate the company’s decarbonization.

Sustainability as part of the strategy

Endress+Hauser began publishing an annual sustainability report in 2014. In 2022 the topic of sustainability gained a firm strategic anchor in the company. Julia Schempp holds the newly created position of Corporate Sustainability Officer and has served as human rights officer since January 2023. Manfred Jagiella, Corporate Director Analytical Business, is responsible for this issue on the Executive Board. Furthermore, regional 
networks for corporate social responsibility are being created to accelerate work on the matter and promote mutual learning.

New guidelines 

A further milestone is an EU guideline that will eventually require companies to report their sustainability performance just as they do their business performance, with hard numbers for ESG as well. The sustainability report will be a mandatory part of the annual report and likewise audited by external experts. Sustainability performance is not only about how a company’s own operations are positioned in terms of social and environmental responsibility; the entire value chain also comes under inspection.

Last year’s calculation of the CO2 footprint shows just how much this upstream chain impacts the overall equation. Sales and product centers around the world collected data on their vehicles, energysources and suppliers. Results showed that a high proportion of the footprint is linked to purchasing. “This is why in the future we will evaluate suppliers not only in terms of price and performance, but increasingly in terms of their climate footprint,” says Julia Schempp.

Published 29.11.2023, last updated 03.01.2024.