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Sustainability

MAKING A CONTRIBUTION TO THE FUTURE

Sustainability forms the basis of our activity. To us sustainable corporate success means taking responsibility for our environment, our employees and society, at a product level and along our own delivery chain.

Sustainable
Development Goals

The United Nationsʼ (UNʼs) 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ensure sustainable development in ecological, economic and social areas of activity worldwide. Flender’s sustainability strategy is aligned with those global goals.

As a quality leader in the field of gear units, generators and couplings for global industrial and wind power customers, we directly contribute to three of the 17 SDGs. Our gearboxes power a significant share of global wind turbines, thus achieving more affordable and clean energy for the world (SDG 7), and we also contribute to the infrastructure of tomorrow and incorporate sustainable production processes into our product design (SDG 9 and 12). We offer our employees, regardless of their gender or their origin, numerous training and further-training opportunities and long-term support in line with their personal goals.

"By 2030 Flender will be operating in a 100 % carbon-neutral way. An ambitious yet necessary goal, on which we are focusing our actions"

Andreas Evertz, Flender Group CEO.

We move the world towards a sustainable future

We have started our sustainability journey a few years ago and have implemented several projects since then to map our baseline. In our Sustainability Report we are updating and informing you about our sustainability strategy, initiatives and corresponding progress. We illustrate how we reduce our footprint in terms of carbon, waste, water and materials, and minimize our environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.

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WINNER OF THE 16TH GERMAN SUSTAINABILITY AWARD 2024

Flender was awarded as the winner of the German Sustainability Award in the field of mechanical engineering. We are very honored to be seen as frontrunner in sustainable transformation and thus also as a role model for effective solutions in the industry. Our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has once again been recognized externally. We were able to convince the jury with our significant and remarkable progress. This recognition brings new ambitions as a leading company to accelerate sustainable transformation.

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ECOVADIS RATES FLENDER IN THE TOP 1 PERCENT OF COMPANIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY PERFORMANCE

Flender was awarded the platinum medal by EcoVadis, the world's most renowned provider of sustainability ratings for companies. Having already been awarded the gold medal in our first application in 2022, we have now received the highest possible award. This places us among the top one percent of companies evaluated by EcoVadis. We achieved very good results in the areas of environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. "This excellent rating confirms our very good progress in the right direction. We are pleased with this but are also aware that there is still a long way to go," said Flender Group CEO Andreas Evertz.

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UN GLOBAL COMPACT – JOINING FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES

As part of our commitment to sustainable and responsible business practices, Flender has embedded the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact into strategies and operations. As a participant of the compact, we are committed to respecting human and labour rights, safeguarding the environment, and working against corruption in all its forms. We have joined thousands of other companies globally committed to taking responsible action to create the world we all want. Annually, we will report to the UN Global Compact on our ongoing efforts.

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Committed to reach net-zero emissions

We have started to set net-zero targets aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) criteria to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. In the next months, we will develop near-term and long-term targets in line with the latest climate science to drive forward the goals of the Paris Agreement. The positioned targets will be reviewed and validated by SBTi. We are proud to set a science-based emission reduction target to lessen the impact of the climate change.

Strategy
and organisation

In short, we shall be The Partner of Choice for a Sustainable Future. To ensure that this corporate vision becomes a livable reality, we have set up a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Board. The chairman of the CSR Board is Andreas Evertz, Flender Group CEO.

The CSR Board will make central strategic decisions for the sustainable development of Flender and will set non-financial corporate goals.

ENVIRONMENT
and ENERGY

Our products are making an important contribution to the safeguarding of sustainable energy (UN SDG #7). For more than 40 years Flender, under the brand name Winergy, has been supplying gear units and generators for wind turbines that turn windpower into electrical energy. In this way, with the aid of our gear units and generators, over 115 million households are already being supplied with sustainable electric power.

To ensure a sustainable production process (UN SDG #12) we have taken a large number of measures to reduce energy requirement and have also switched to carbon-neutral electric power. This has already enabled us to reduce the carbon footprint of the remaining energy requirement by about 79 % in the last four years.

Umwelt und Energie

SUPPLIERS
and SUPPLY CHAIN

Our sustainability efforts extend beyond company bounds. All our suppliers join Flender in signing the code of conduct that requires for a collaboration an adherence to strict principles with regard to human rights and environmental protection.

Sustainability aspects are also being increasingly incorporated into our purchasing processes: for example, increased transparency with regard to CO2 emissions. Here we have already carried out an assessment with selected suppliers (UN SDG #12 and 13). Furthermore, we are working with our suppliers to reduce wastage (UN SDG # 12). An example of this is the recyclable packaging project with our supplier Schaeffler (see also "Eco-Friendly Packing System").

SUSTAINABLE
SUPPLY CHAIN

Global partnerships: Flender is also helping to change thinking outside the bounds of the company.

CUSTOMERS
and PRODUCTS

Flender solutions are indispensable in many parts of the world. Our Winergy brand is one of the main suppliers to sustainable energy producers.  So, with our gear units, couplings and generators we are helping wind turbines all over the world turn wind into electric power – a crucial constituent of a reliable infrastructure (UN SDG #9). At the same time, we work to lower the costs of energy generation from wind both now and in future.

Our solutions offer our customers in many very varied branches of industry highest-quality solutions and a comprehensive service and maintenance offering that stands out for its long service life and is foresightedly very sparing with the resources of our planet.

Employees
and society

With an over 100-year-long history and 8,500 employees, we are conscious of our obligations. As a globally operating company, we bear a responsibility for our employees and partners and for the society with which we interact. We are not only known to be a dependable employer, we also engage in a large number of mutually beneficial initiatives. Equality of opportunity, diversity, sponsorship and participation are part of Flender culture. This we practise beyond the bounds of the company and are proud to help achieve the UN SDGs "Education for all" (#4) and "Equality of opportunity" (#5).