The STIHL Group has published its first sustainability report, detailing the company's sustainability strategy and activities. The title of the report, "Acting for Tomorrow," reflects the philosophy by which the business has been guided since its founding over 95 years ago.
In 2021, STIHL developed a sustainability strategy with the goal of enhancing its previous sustainability policy, consolidating its efforts to date, and significantly stepping up its ongoing activities. The family owned business has set itself ambitious targets in three focal areas - ecosystems, circularity, and care - for the time between now and 2030. STIHL's goal in doing so is to become climate-neutral and resource-efficient while acting fairly, as it has done in the past, to continue making it easier for people to work in and with nature. Part of the company's aim in doing so is to make a measurable contribution to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dr. Nikolas Stihl, the grandson of company founder Andreas Stihl and Chairman of STIHL's Advisory and Supervisory Boards, says: "As a business rooted in forestry, we have traditionally had a deep connection with the natural world. Since our livelihood depends on nature, everything we do has always been focused on people, nature, and their power to grow. That is what drives us - and that is what we want to keep driving."
In focus: ecosystems, circularity, care
Dr. Michael Prochaska - Executive Board Member for Human Resources and Legal Affairs, and the man in charge of sustainability at STIHL - explains the objectives behind the new sustainability strategy: "We want to keep the STIHL Group ready for the future. We think in generations rather than quarters. That is why we want to incorporate sustainability in all of our decision-making processes. Only by doing so can we help the whole of STIHL advance while strengthening our ability to compete." As part of its sustainability strategy, STIHL is committed to protecting ecosystems, which includes systematic and consistent steps to mitigate climate change. STIHL supports the target defined in the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and adopted a climate strategy to this end in 2020. The STIHL locations in Germany have been climate neutral through compensation since 2021, with the international production companies following suit this year. The international sales companies are set to do the same in 2023. In the long term, the goal is to reduce the CO2 emissions that arise throughout the product life cycle, from the purchasing of raw materials to manufacturing and use. STIHL is also committed to preserving and promoting biodiversity when designing its product range, acting as a partner to local communities, and fostering the diversity of habitats and wildlife at STIHL locations. To support circularity, STIHL is working to give its products and packaging a second life as part of a concept based on the principles "repair, reuse, refurbish, and recycle." The famed durability and repairability of STIHL products, with their many readily available spare parts, has been helping contribute to this goal for decades now. The Group is also dedicated to good working conditions for everyone who works directly or indirectly for STIHL.
The STIHL Sustainability Report is available online at https://sustainabilityreport.stihl.com/2021
It outlines the sustainability strategy and targets, as well as the STIHL Group's activities in 2021. The report covers STIHL's locations in Germany (founding company and its eight plants, along with the distribution center in Dieburg) and all of its international production companies. The STIHL Sustainability Report was prepared in accordance with the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).