Sustainability at Kärcher
The concept of sustainability is deeply embedded in the family business of Kärcher. We accept responsibility for the environment, our products, the supply chain, the company, society and our staff. Because we believe that this is how we can make a difference – for the society in which we live. Be the difference!
Sustainability Goals 2025
No emissions, less plastic and more recycling
Sustainability Goals 2025
No emissions, less plastic and more recycling
Packaging that protects the product and the planet
How we optimise our packaging for sustainability.
Packaging that protects the product and the planet
How we optimise our packaging for sustainability.
Bags of help in the war on plastic waste
The organisations One Earth - One Ocean and COMPED are ridding Cambodia's waters of waste. Kärcher supports them.
Bags of help in the war on plastic waste
The organisations One Earth - One Ocean and COMPED are ridding Cambodia's waters of waste. Kärcher supports them.
Our path to a sustainable supply chain
Long-term strategy and targeted measures
Our path to a sustainable supply chain
Long-term strategy and targeted measures
What makes our products sustainable
Aspects of sustainability in focus
What makes our products sustainable
Aspects of sustainability in focus
Finally swapping buckets for schoolbooks
A drinking water project in Burundi
Finally swapping buckets for schoolbooks
A drinking water project in Burundi
"In the preservation of monuments, there is no cleaning for purely aesthetic reasons."
A discussion between experts on the preservation of monuments
"In the preservation of monuments, there is no cleaning for purely aesthetic reasons."
A discussion between experts on the preservation of monuments
Sustainable cleaning agents
From the concept through to series production
Sustainable cleaning agents
From the concept through to series production
Sustainable. From the outset.
A look at the company history
Sustainable. From the outset.
A look at the company history
Cultural sponsorship:
For preserving historical monuments and buildings
Cultural sponsorship:
For preserving historical monuments and buildings
We take responsibility
Sustainable, people-oriented company development is the central focus of our activities. We want to promote values – for our customers, our employees and the company. The reason behind this is our clear commitment to our social responsibility to be a good corporate citizen. And we take this responsibility extremely seriously in all areas of the company. On the one hand, with the continued existence of our company through successful products and an honest and reliable partnership with our customers, employees and suppliers. On the other, by creating attractive working conditions, reducing the ecological footprint of our business activities and making efficient use of resources.
Based on the brand claim, we have coined the motto "Be the difference" for our sustainability communication. This is because we want to make the difference – and be the benchmark in our industry. To achieve that, we have defined clear targets up to 2025: Our global production will be CO₂-neutral as early as 2021. In our products and product packaging, we are increasingly focusing on reducing plastic and utilising sustainable raw materials. We are making sustainability an integral part of the entire supply chain.
Fields of action in our sustainability strategy
Cultural sponsorship
"With its sustainability strategy 2025, Kärcher has set itself the target of concentrating its social commitment on the theme of value retention. One area where this has already proven successful for many years is cultural sponsorship. This involves working to preserve historical monuments and buildings free of charge.
Since 1980, we have cleaned over 150 monuments around the world as part of our restoration work. As well as the colonnades on St. Peter's Square in Rome, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the over 3300-year-old Colossi of Memnon in Luxor, Upper Egypt, and the sculptures of presidents' heads on Mount Rushmore, this list also includes Aachen cathedral and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.
The removal of organic growth and black crusts helps to ensure that the monuments will continue to last for generations to come, as well as enabling restorers to identify and rectify damage more easily. The projects have a lead time of around two years and are always planned and executed in close collaboration with the owners, monument conservationists, restorers and art historians."
Facts and figures
Where there are targets, successes must be measurable. That also applies to sustainability, as it is not enough for a company only to make a promise. We must keep track of the targets set within the strategy and continually monitor our sustainability performance.
Since 2014, we have been recording the implementation of our sustainability targets consistently, uniformly and completely digitally at all production and logistics sites worldwide. This is how we evaluate CO₂ emissions, water and energy consumption, for instance, and analyse the developments in the area of packaging materials.
We also monitor the requirements of environmental legislation and standards, such as the ISO 14001 standard, in a standardised and fully digital manner. Overall, we consequently adhere to over 10,000 regulations and obligations.
When reporting on our key figures, we follow the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Awards
Sustainability Heroes
In 2023, Kärcher received the award in the "Sustainability Innovation for Products" category for its innovative packaging concept made from bio-based material (pea starch). In 2022, we were honoured in the "Social Commitment" category for the "Clean Water for the World" initiative.
German Sustainability Award (2022)
Kärcher is one of the winners of the German Sustainability Award 2022. The independent jury selected Kärcher as the winner in the category "Transformation Field - Resources".
"audit berufundfamilie" (workandfamily audit) certificate
Since December 2013, Kärcher has been certified as a family-friendly company. The certificate is a mark of companies who are particularly committed to further developing family-friendly measures at the workplace.
Corporate Culture Award (2018)
In 2018, we won the Corporate Culture Award in the "Best Story" category for our corporate culture. The award is presented to companies who impress with their outstanding cultural work and the corporate culture they successfully bring to life.
German CSR prize (2014)
Kärcher received the sought-after prize in the category of "Cultural engagement as an expression of the social responsibility of companies" for cleaning the listed Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin for the purposes of restoration.
Sustainable. From the outset.
Taking on responsibility – that was an essential part of the corporate culture at Kärcher from the beginning. Alfred Kärcher and his wife were guided by the insight that sustained economic success is only possible by taking social issues into consideration.
In 1939, when the incipient company relocated to Winnenden, Alfred Kärcher built his own waste water treatment plant on company premises. In 1940, he founded the Alfred Kärcher foundation for employees in need, which produced toys to give employees' children as Christmas presents from 1943 to 1948.
This was followed by many other milestones. These included the first large-scale cleaning project of the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, the commissioning of the company's own photovoltaic systems on the company premises, the publication of the Kärcher Code of Conduct, research projects for energy-efficient production, the introduction of a global energy management system and the first product parts made of recycled plastic in series production.
Initiatives and cooperations
Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
Kärcher has committed to set near-term company-wide emission reductions in line with climate science with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The initiative helps companies to set targets in alignment to the 1,5°C target of the Paris Agreement.
Charta der Vielfalt (Diversity Charter)
The Diversity Charter is a corporate initiative to promote diversity in companies and institutions. Kärcher joined in 2022. Together with the initiative, other companies and the Stifterverband, Kärcher has cdeveloped a procedure for the strategic development of diversity and inclusion in organisations – the "Diversity Compass".
One Earth – One Ocean e.V.
We collaborate with the One Earth One Ocean (OEOO) environmental organisation to reduce the pollution caused by ocean plastic. As part of this cooperation, we support beach clean-up campaigns and the technical innovations from OEOO.
Climate Alliance Baden-Württemberg
Our participation in Baden-Württemberg's climate alliance means that we have committed to lower real CO₂ emissions and more efficient energy consumption. We will achieve this goal thanks to measures such as installing photovoltaic systems, integrating sustainable heating systems and introducing sustainable transport routes.
Alliance for Development and Climate
Kärcher is an official supporter of the Alliance for Development and Climate, which was started by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The aim is the simultaneous promotion of development and climate protection.
Partner of the "Blue Competence" sustainability initiative
Blue Competence is an initiative of the VDMA for promoting and communication of sustainable solutions for the Mechanical Engineering Industry. By using the trademark “Blue Competence”, we commit ourselves to these twelve Sustainability Guidelines of the Mechanical Engineering Industry.
Signing of the Paris Pledge for Action
At the start of 2016, we signed the Paris Pledge for Action alongside several hundred other companies. By doing so, we were committing to global climate protection with the aim of limiting global warming to below 2 °C.
Clean Water for the World
Water conservation is becoming ever more significant in our global responsibility for the environment. Together with the Global Nature Fund, we launched the "Clean Water for the World" initiative in 2012.
Cooperation partner of SOS Kinderdorf
As a cooperation partner, we have been supporting SOS Children's Villages facilities from China to Peru with cleaning technology, expertise and also financial aid since 2011.
Cooperation partner of NABU
The German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) is committed to specific objectives relating to conservation in Germany and abroad, such as the protection of rivers, seas, forests or individual species.
Cooperation partner of Europa Minigärtner
The "Europa Minigärtner" (Europe's Mini-Gardeners) initiative helps to increase the awareness of young people aged between nine and eleven of the nature that can be found in gardens and topics and activities associated with gardening.
Cooperation partner of "Clowns mit Herz" in Rems-Murr
Clowns mit Herz (Clowns with a Heart) visits people suffering from illness and people in need of care in children's homes, retirement homes and care homes in the Rems-Murr region, in order to promote their recovery and mental well-being. As one of the founding members, we have been supporting the voluntary association since 2014.
Cooperation partner of the Samariterstiftung
As a charitable foundation, the Samariterstiftung (Samaritan Foundation) runs 60 homes and facilities for the elderly, people with disabilities and for social psychiatry care.
