Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility

Sustainability is measurable

It’s no secret: the only world we have is this one. We all share the responsibility for making it a place worth living in – for future generations as well as our own. We consider it our duty to lead the way – by setting an example, and as a trailblazer. Sustainable business management is not just a fad, but a necessity that is deeply embedded in our business model. Our motto is: sustainability is measurable! We can only improve something if we can measure it.

33.1%

CO2 emissions saved in 2023
as compared to 2022

341,000 kg

CO2 emissions compensated via TravelPerk

28

Charging points at Kistler sites

CO2-neutral by 2030

Our efforts to achieve sustainability focus on reducing greenhouse gas as the top priority. Kistler has set itself specific targets for this purpose: the entire Group is set to become CO2-neutral by 2030, and its six largest production sites in Germany should achieve carbon neutrality as early as next year - with overall emissions already reduced by half. On the path to these targets, Kistler reduced its total emissions by around 1,100 metric tons of CO2 in 2023.

How are these to be achieved? And what else is Kistler doing in terms of sustainability? Franziska Kunz, our Sustainability & CSR Manager, explains the answers in this interview:

Franziska Kunz, Sustainability & CSR-Manager of the Kistler Group

“Kistler aligns itself with the established ESG categories: Environment, Social, and Governance. We undertook a materiality assessment to define twelve sustainability topics that Kistler is able to influence. They can be linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We record key indicators and define measures in these areas. Our main focus is on the Environment category, because that’s where we have the most leverage."

Franziska Kunz, Head of Production Center Meerane (DE) und Sustainability & CSR Manager der Kistler Gruppe

Find out more about our measures and projects in the area of sustainability

Added value for customers and partners

Electromechanical joining systems (servo presses) from Kistler enhance precision and sustainability in industrial production.

Energy and efficiency advantages thanks to electromechanical joining systems

Electromechanical joining systems from Kistler are significantly more energy-efficient than pneumatic and hydraulic systems. According to a study by the Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, energy savings of as much as 93 percent can be achieved with these systems. This also means that CO2 emissions can be cut by up to 2.6 metric tons per year and system.

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Added value for the environment and the climate

Renewable energies pave the way to the future

How much energy is consumed? This is not the only question that arises with regard to energy. It’s also relevant to ask how the energy is generated, and with what resources. Renewable energy sources play a key part in making our activities as environment-compatible as possible. The optimal solution is to produce our own electricity wherever that option is available.

For the Kistler Group, one of the main keys to sustainability is the use of renewable energies.

Electricity taken from renewable sources

We accord the highest priority to promoting the use of alternative energies. All six of our production sites in Germany have already been using electricity taken exclusively from renewable sources since 2022. Our other German sites completed the switch to electricity from renewable sources by the end of 2023. Green electricity certificates have been obtained for them, and also for our branches in Switzerland, China, Japan, the USA, and Slovakia.

Sustainability project at Kistler in Straubenhardt: A photovoltaic system was installed here at the beginning of 2023.

Photovoltaic system covers electricity demand

Production of our own electricity is another important step along the Kistler Group’s path to a sustainable energy future. A photovoltaic system on the roof of Kistler Straubenhardt GmbH with output of 57 kWp was able to start operating here in mid-February 2023. This means that the site is able to cover around 40 percent of its annual electricity demand from its own generation, and can also feed almost 18,000 kWh into the grid.

Modernizing buildings and processes

Kistler is making targeted investments to continuously improve energy and resource efficiency. Infrastructure upgrades and digitalization measures helped our company to make further advances in sustainability during 2023.

Kistler relocated its Bratislava (SK) site to premises in the new ‘Einpark’ commercial building. ‘Einpark’ is the country’s greenest building,

Kistler Bratislava: relocating to the country’s greenest building

In June 2023, Kistler relocated its Bratislava (SK) site to premises in the new 'Einpark' commercial building. 'Einpark' is the first building in Slovakia to be awarded the LEED Platinum Certificate - so it is likely the country's greenest building, and one of the most sustainable structures in the world. We have implemented a collaborative space concept. As well as the Innovative Office award, we also won the BIG SEE Interior Design award.

Sustainability in office automation

Kistler has also taken further steps towards sustainability in office automation. Since February 2024, all employees throughout the EMEA region, the USA and Asia have had access to DocuSign. DocuSign enables electronic signing of documents that require a signature for business purposes but are not subject to any statutory formal requirements. By the end of March 2024, this already enabled us to save 3,332 sheets of paper and 300 kilograms of CO2. Digital invoice processing also allows us to save paper and resources.

Promoting alternative mobility solutions

Our employees’ journeys to and from work, business trips, or transportation of goods from our production facilities to our customers: mobility in all its forms accounts for a large share of the Kistler Group’s CO2 emissions. We have set ourselves the goal of making further reductions to emissions from transportation and traffic.

Kistler is gradually switching its vehicle pool and company car fleet over to models with electric drives.

E-mobility at the workplace

We are gradually switching our vehicle pool and company car fleet over to models with electric drives. Four electric pool vehicles are already in use at the Winterthur site. We are planning to procure two more. Meanwhile, the expansion of charging stations is progressing: a total of 28 charging points have been brought into operation at locations in Germany, Switzerland and the USA, including five hyper-chargers. At our German sites in Sindelfingen, Lorch and Karlsruhe as well as at Novi (USA), we already enable our employees to charge private vehicles at commercial electricity prices. Business customers can charge vehicles at no cost.

Compensation for air travel and overnight hotel stays

Compensation for business trips

We introduced a CO2 compensation program within the EMEA region via the TravelPerk platform in February 2024. The CO2 emissions generated by every business trip booked via TravelPerk are calculated automatically and compensated by certified offset projects. Since we introduced TravelPerk, we have offset 342 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

Cycling to work

Every year since 2008 our employees in Switzerland participate in the 'Bike to work' challenge. Over 80 colleagues took part in 2024. Together, they covered 31,784 kilometers on their bikes – equivalent to CO2 savings of 4,577 kilograms. Over 300 colleagues in Germany can take advantage of the company bike leasing offer from BusinessBike. This makes Kistler one of southern Germany's most active companies in this regard.

Added value for people and society

Sindelfingen is Kistler's largest site in Germany. This pant features a modern working environment where employees perform divers roles ranging from produktion, sales and service to development and support functions.

A global network that benefits everyone

We are convinced: Given that we are an international company with 60 locations across the globe, it’s not enough for us to visit one another now and then, or to communicate on screen. To understand and respect one another across cultures and to work on shared tasks, people have to know each other. Through its Management Exchange Program, Kistler aims to bring markets around the globe closer together. The first participants are enthusiastic.

At the traditional country estate Castello La Leccia in Tuscany, sustainability becomes a tangible experience.

Project Earth – no ordinary Leadership Training program

It enables selected Kistler employees to come to a traditional country estate in Tuscany, where they gain an understanding of sustainability and experience it hands-on. They spend a whole week working intensively in the vineyards and olive groves of Castello La Leccia. In parallel with this work, the group explores topics such as leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, intercultural understanding and self-reflection in the adjacent training center. A total of 125 employees took part in Project Earth from 2019 until 2023.

Among other things, Kistler offers a wide range of health events and exercise classes, such as Health Day and participation in sporting events.

Healthy at the workplace

Employees’ qualifications contribute to our company’s success – but they are not the only
factors: their motivation and long-term health are equally important. To provide support in these key respects, Kistler offers a wide range of counseling services and continued training opportunities, health-related events and exercise classes. To complement these activities, we have been offering courses on psychological safety since 2024. Teams are successful if and when members can talk openly about mistakes and uncertainties. This creates trust and responsibility, and yields better results.

Social and community engagement

We are passionately committed to acting responsibly and to promoting harmonious social and communal coexistence. The Kistler Group supports selected individuals and institutions with initiatives and partnerships as well as donations in kind and in cash. In most cases, this support has continued for many years.

With the support of our practical trainers at Kistler in Switzerland and at three locations in Southern and Central Germany, we train talented people in various areas.

Fostering young talents

Since 2024, the Kistler Group’s sites at Meerane and Chemnitz in the German state of Saxony have partnered with potential.akademie eG, a registered co-operative society that aims to support young people in the difficult phase of career and study orientation. Its motto: ‘Talent factory on the move’. On the basis of selected test procedures, certified mentors work together with young talents to assess their strengths and the resultant potential career paths and professional aspirations. Internships at any of some 200 partner companies enable the young people to get a taste of everyday working life in a protected setting – a win-win situation for everyone.