Our sustainability achievements 2015-2020

These are examples of energy efficient products launched.

• Line 6000 professional tumble dryer, which achieves over 60% energy savings compared with normal driers while providing the shortest drying times on the market.
• SoftWater Technology, available in our  the AEG 9000 Series washing machines, prevents fading and keeps fabrics soft and in-shape while reducing the environmental impact of laundry.

Electrolux is a member of U4E, a public-private partnership led by the United Nations Environment Program to promote high-efficiency appliances and equipment.

We have made progress on incorporating recycled plastic into our products since 2015 and used 6,800 metric tons in 2020. Despite not meeting our 20,000 metric ton target, we have raised our future ambition since we see large potential to increase the use of recycled plastic in the coming years.

Our progress on phasing out high-impact greenhouse gases has been tracked through our 50% CO₂ reduction target. We have made significant progress but eliminating such gases is not currently technically possible.

Following several years of advocacy in the US, spearheaded by Electrolux and the North American industry organization AHAM, the US safety standards were revised in 2018 to allow producers of consumer refrigerators and freezers to transition away from Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) to more eco-friendly hydrocarbon refrigerants. This has enabled the development of new energy efficient products in our ‘cold products’ category that are part of new automated production processes. 

UN Cool Coalition initiative – Electrolux will replace all high-impact greenhouse gases in all appliances with more sustainable alternatives by 2023 at the latest.

Electrolux improved its energy efficiency per product by 11.5% compared to 2015. The energy management program has contributed to over SEK 700m annually in reduced energy costs. The program includes the monthly follow up on actions, fulfilment of targets and sharing best practice. In addition, all plants are certified according to our energy, water and climate scheme with grades from bronze to platinum. In 2020, 75% of our plants reached Gold or Platinum level.

Between 2015 and 2020, we reduced water consumption by 25% in our plants in water-stressed areas.   We used the WWF Water Risk Filter to help identify which of our plants were located in water-scarce areas and formulated targets for those plants. Processes were established to share water management best practices, report monthly on water performance indicators and conduct water mapping. We have also established closed loop systems at our plants to recycle process water, and harvest rainwater.

Integration of the safety program is an ongoing process. Since 2015, three new manufacturing sites have been acquired and the safety program has been successfully integrated.

The Electrolux Code of Conduct was created and launched to crystallize our key ethical principles. This process also required the company to identify key areas in its business, enshrining them in 15 mandatory Group Policies.

All employees are required to sign-off on the Code of Conduct periodically and take an e-learning on the Code. In addition, mandatory trainings for all employees have been rolled out for the Anti-corruption policy, Anti-trust policy and our Workplace policy. Online training modules have been complemented by webinars and face-to-face training on various Code of Conduct related topics.

Electrolux launched a Group Directive and developed training for employees appointed to handle complaints raised through the Electrolux Ethics Helpline or other channels. Information campaigns for employees have been conducted to build trust in the helpline and our Code of Conduct. The helpline was launched in additional countries, such as France, Belgium, Luxemburg and Austria.

The latest Employee Engagement Survey (EES) showed increased trust in the ethics helpline - from 76% in 2018 to 77% in 2019. 

We identified successful project models, which we began replicating, scaling up and developing.

The Food Foundation and the Feed the Planet partnership support projects that do one or more of the following:
- Education on sustainable cooking and eating habits.
- Professional culinary training for the unemployed.
- Sustainability education in the culinary field.
- Support people in need. 

Key highlights between 2015 and 2020 were:

- 117 million in viewership.

- Over 40,000 kids, consumers and professionals engaged and inspired in sustainable eating habits.

- 1,808 people in the culinary field trained in sustainability.

- The equivalent of 1.4 million meals provided to people in need.

We have developed a supplier screening methodology to promote and drive sustainability performance. The tool was fully integrated into our processes and new Purchasing organization in 2020. 

Between 2015 and 2020 absolute CO₂ emissions reduced by 17% from land and sea transport and CO₂ efficiency were improved by 11% and 23% respectively.

We implemented a scorecard to assess our logistics suppliers in Brazil, North America and Europe to ensure the most sustainable alternatives.  

Collaborating with logistics suppliers included pilot projects to test biofuels and electric trucks. Electrolux started working with other shippers to better align purchasing and logistics.

We have been very active in the BSR Clean Cargo initiative, which aims to improve the environmental performance of marine container transport.  

Overall, we reduced our CO₂ emissions by 39% between 2005 and 2020.  

Product use 
Between 2005 and 2020, we have focused on product efficiency in our main categories as the use phase of our products is our largest source of lifecycle emissions. Although our ambitious targets were not met, we have continuously improved the efficiency of our products every year, despite it being increasingly difficult to achieve improvements due to technological limitations.  

High impact greenhouse gases 
Significant progress has been made in phasing out high-impact greenhouse gases from our air conditioners, yet completely eliminating such gases is not currently technically possible. Despite delays in our re-engineering investments in the US, they will enable us to totally replace HFCs from our refrigerator category when complete.  

Manufacturing 
Although accounting for a small portion of our total lifecycle emissions, Electrolux has reduced the energy use per product by 45% since 2005.  

Transport 
Logistics account for a small proportion of the overall lifecycle emissions. Electrolux has reduced approximately 100,000 tons CO2 compared to the estimated 2005 baseline. In the last five years CO2 efficiency improved by 23% in sea transportation and by more than 11% in land transportation.