Sustainability at Schaeffler
For us, doing business sustainably means using natural resources responsibly and sparingly so that they can also be used by future generations. The corporate culture of the Schaeffler Group has always been characterized by long-term thinking and responsible action. Sustainability therefore also plays a key role in the implementation of our corporate strategy. Read more now about our sustainability guidelines and measures.
Our commitment
News
Strategy and management
We are promoting sustainability in the company with our Schaeffler Roadmap 2025. We accept ecological and social responsibility along the entire value chain. This means that our commitment to sustainability starts with the supply chain and covers our own production through to our products.
To manage and track all our sustainability activities, we have set ourselves eight sustainability targets that apply across the entire company. Apart from climate protection, we are focusing on our social responsibility and constantly improving our governance and compliance management systems.
Climate-neutral Supply Chain
CO₂ reduction in the supply chain (scope 3 upstream) by 2040 compared to base year 2019
Climate-neutral Production
CO₂ reduction in own production (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030 compared to base year 2019
Energy Efficiency
100 GWh cumulated annual efficiency gains through implementation of energy efficiency measures by 2024
Renewable Energy
100 % purchased power from renewable sources by 2024
Women in top Management
Increase the percentage of women at top management level to 20 % by 2025
Freshwater Supply
20 % reduction of freshwater supply by 2030 compared to base year 2019
Accident Rate
10 % average annual reduction of accident rate (LTIR) by 2024
Sustainable Suppliers
90 % of purchasing volume of production material from suppliers with sustainability self-assessments by 2022
From 2040, we will be doing business climate-neutrally. To achieve this target, we will make our own production (Scope 1 and 2) climate-neutral from 2030. In addition, by as early as 2025, 75 percent of our production emissions will be reduced. We will reduce emissions resulting from intermediates and raw materials in the supply chain (Scope 3 upstream) by 25 percent by 2030. We aim to also achieve climate neutrality in this area by 2040. The base year for all our calculations is 2019. We aim to achieve our targets almost exclusively through tangible reduction measures. We will only resort to carbon offsets in the case of unavoidable emissions.
The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide the guidelines for our orientation towards sustainability. We are already contributing to 11 of these 17 SDGs through our sustainability activities.
For more information on our commitment to sustainability in relation to strategy and management, please see our full online sustainability report, which is also available as a PDF download.
Ratings and rankings
CDP
Climate: Score A- | Water: Score A- (2021)
EcoVadis
Platinum status | 76/100 Points (2022)
Sustainalytics
8.8 (“negligible” risk level) – core framework (2021)
Memberships
The organizations listed here by way of example offer an insight into our commitment to sustainability through our involvement in various associations and initiatives. A complete list of our memberships is available to download.
UN Global Compact
We commit to the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of human rights, labor standards, anti-corruption and environmental protection.
Value Balancing Alliance
As a member of the Value Balancing Alliance (VBA) we work with other companies to develop a consistent standard for measurement and monetary assessment of the environmental and social impacts of companies.
Diversity Charter
Integration and mutual respect have been part of our internal corporate culture for a long time now. We made a binding commitment to these values by signing the “Diversity Charter” in May 2008.
Econsense
Since 2016 we have been contributing our expertise to econsense – Forum for Sustainable Development of German Business. The objective of this network of various globally operating organizations and companies aims to advance sustainability in business.
At Schaeffler we take an integrated approach to sustainability, with a lot of different measures contributing to the big picture. This is how we will become sustainable in all areas in the long-term. Overview of our four action fields:
Customers and products
For us, sustainability in respect of customers and products means developing innovative product solutions tailored to the requirements of the future. These solutions are underpinned by alternative drive systems, new mobility concepts, climate-friendly energy generation and intelligent repair options.
Read more detailed information about our customers and products in our online Sustainability Report.
Environment and energy
We are working constantly on making our processes as eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and resource-conserving as possible. This is how we are driving the implementation of a sustainable global production system.
Find out more about the issues of environment and energy in our online Sustainability Report.
Suppliers and raw materials
Safeguarding human rights and ecological and social standards are also important to us in our supply chain, as is the responsible handling of critical materials. We believe that sustainable sourcing is an integral part of principled corporate governance. The requirements we expect our suppliers to meet are laid down in our Supplier Code of Conduct.
You will find more information on our suppliers and raw materials in our online Sustainability Report and on our supplier landing page “Sustainability”.
Employees and society
We know that the expertise, dedication and inventiveness of our employees are responsible for the success of our company. This is why we promote long-term education, effective occupational health and safety, diversity and inclusion as well as the social well-being of our workforce. High-quality training opportunities and programs that can be accessed at any time and from any location are firmly integrated into the daily work routine.
To learn more about our commitment to sustainability in respect of our employees and society please go to our online Sustainability Report.
We are contributing to 11 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
As part of its 2030 Agenda, the United Nations (UN) has defined 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). This “timetable” focuses on the implementation of sustainability in companies, governments, and private households. The aim is to enable decent living standards worldwide and at the same time protect natural resources.
Through our activities we are contributing to 11 of the 17 sustainable development goals. You will find a detailed overview of our commitment to achieving the sustainable development goals in our Sustainability Report.
50 Climate & Sustainability Leaders
Schaeffler has been chosen as one of the 50 Sustainability & Climate Leaders by the United Nations in April 2021. As a representative of automotive and industrial suppliers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, we see this as an incentive to continue to step up our commitment to sustainability.
Online Sustainability Report
In our online Sustainability Report you will find detailed information about our sustainability targets and what we are doing to achieve them.
Our Code of Conduct
In our Code of Conduct we describe the principles and practices that we urge all our employees, Members of the Executive Board to implement. We also expect our business partners to adhere to this Code of Conduct.
Green Finance Framework
With the help of “green” financing tools like the Green Finance Framework we enable the implementation of eligible projects that help create a lower-emission and more climate-friendly economy.
Certificates and awards
We have put together all certificates for all Schaeffler locations related to energy and quality management to occupational safety and environmental management, on this page.
Reports and downloads
The Schaeffler Group publishes an annual Sustainability Report, which explores in detail the topic of sustainability in all business areas. All reports published since 2016 are available.
The Sustainability Report from 2021 contains the combined separate non-financial report in accordance with the CSR Directive Implementation Act. The reporting is conducted in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards (Core option).
2018 Combined Separate Non-financial Report
2017 Combined Separate Non-financial Report
In addition, the following documents are available to download:
Our contacts
For all questions relating to sustainability at Schaeffler please contact the Schaeffler Group’s Competence Center for Sustainability, Environmental Protection, Health and Safety. We look forward to hearing from you.
Thomas Fusshoeller
Head of Sustainability, Environmental Protection, and Occupational Health and Safety
Andreas Possel
Head of Sustainability Reporting and Stakeholder Engagement
Schaeffler AG
Industriestrasse 1-3
91074 Herzogenaurach
Germany
Whistle-blower system
The BKMS whistle-blower system is an important tool for preventing and following up illegal business practices and violations of human rights or environmental laws. The system allows employees and external whistle-blowers worldwide to report breaches of laws or regulations anonymously and around the clock. Reprisals against whistleblowers based on justified information is not tolerated at Schaeffler. If you are suspicious about something, please use the points of contact we have provided.
Further information on the procedural principles of the Schaeffler whistleblower system and complaint mechanism can be found in the Guideline Whistleblowing System.