Progress is Made: Hansgrohe Moves Towards a More Sustainable Future

Schiltach, February 2023. Neither companies nor individuals become sustainable overnight. Our ecological, economic and social lives are constantly evolving. Step by step, processes have to be analyzed, reconsidered again and again, and set up anew. Hansgrohe, the faucets and shower manufacturer from the Black Forest, has been following this path for more than four decades. Sustainable thinking and action was already anchored in the company structures by the founder's son and former CEO Klaus Grohe. In order to operate even more sustainably and efficiently, it is important to analyze one's own projects and progress. At Hansgrohe, this is already being done continuously within the company. However, customers around the world and many other stakeholders expect transparent and comparable benchmarks that only neutral external service providers can deliver. Hansgrohe uses ESG ratings for this purpose. ESG stands for 'Environmental, Social, Governance'. External classifications help to classify the company's own performance in various categories. The results of sustainability measures thus become more transparent not only for the company but also for customers. "Only by permanently monitoring and evaluating our sustainability activities do we continuously gain important insights and opportunities for comparison," explains Rebecca Weigold, Team Leader Green Company at Hansgrohe. "As soon as we identify potential for improvement, we in turn initiate new projects in these areas."

Transparent Successes: Silver Medal from EcoVadis and a B Rating within CDP Climate Change

Right at the beginning of the year, Hansgrohe can report verifiable successes in two internationally significant sustainability ratings. As early as mid-2022, the Black Forest-based company received the EcoVadis Silver Medal. This puts the company in the top 25 percent of all companies assessed by EcoVadis in only its second year of participation. EcoVadis assesses how well a company has integrated sustainability into its management system for the topics of environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. Hansgrohe also achieved a good B rating within Climate Change at the end of 2022 with the CDP (Climate Disclosure Project) disclosure system. The global business community considers the CDP to be the gold standard of environmental reporting, with the richest and most comprehensive data set on actions taken by companies and cities. "This initial ranking - also in comparison to other companies in our industry - is very important for Hansgrohe, including our international project business," says Rebecca Weigold. "In 2022, we submitted our environmental data to CDP for the first time and immediately achieved a B rating. This shows that we are on the right track and it motivates us to continue. Of course, we have set ourselves the goal to achieve a gold medal or an A rating in the next years. The current ratings help us to pursue our sustainability initiatives in a goal-oriented and ambitious manner and to further align our actions with the well-being of our planet."

About ecovadis

Since its founding in 2007, EcoVadis has grown to become the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, creating a global network of more than 100,000+ rated companies. More information

About CDP

CDP (Climate Disclosure Project) CDP is a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. The world’s economy looks to CDP as the gold standard of environmental reporting with the richest and most comprehensive dataset on corporate and city action. More Information

About the Hansgrohe Group – Setting the Beat of Water. Since 1901.

With its brands AXOR and hansgrohe, the Hansgrohe Group, based in Schiltach/Southern Germany, enjoys a reputation as a leader in innovation, design and quality within the bath and kitchen industry. Founded in 1901 in the Black Forest, the company gives water form and function with its faucets, showerheads and shower systems. The 122-year history of the company is marked by innovations, such as the first hand-held shower with multiple spray types, the first pull-out kitchen faucet, and the first wall bar to hold a hand-held shower.The company holds more than 18,500 active property rights. The Hansgrohe Group stands for long-lasting quality products and for responsibility towards people and the environment. Sustainable production of resource-conserving products is central to the company’s business activities around the globe. With 34 subsidiaries and 20 sales offices supplying products in 152 countries, the globally active company in the sanitary industry is a reliable partner to its customers in all regions of the world. The Hansgrohe Group, its brands and products have won numerous awards, including more than 700 design prizes since 1974. The products of the Hansgrohe Group are found worldwide: on renowned cruise ships, in luxurious 5-star and boutique hotels, in international metropolitan cities, in extraordinary spas, exclusive bathrooms of lodges and luxury villas, public facilities, as well as in countless private homes. The Group’s high quality standards are ensured by seven wholly-owned production facilities: four in Germany, one each in France, the United States and China. In 2021, the Hansgrohe Group generated a turnover of EUR 1.365 billion. It employs around 5,400 people worldwide, about 60 percent of whom work in Germany.