Siemens technology drives industrial decarbonization and resource efficiency
Siemens has
a major impact in the area of environmental protection and decarbonization with
customers in industry, infrastructure, transportation and healthcare. The
innovative Siemens offerings sold to customers in fiscal 2024 will, over the
course of their lifetime, avoid around 144 million tons of greenhouse gas
emissions. This is higher than the 121 million tons of emissions the company
generated along its entire value chain (Scope 1, 2 and 3) in fiscal 2024¹.
“Siemens is the right partner
to accelerate the sustainability transformation. We offer our customers
innovations to drive decarbonization, save resources and improve the lives of
people around the world”, said Eva Riesenhuber, Global Head of Sustainability
at Siemens. “Being power users of our own portfolio, we reduced our CO₂e
footprint by 60 percent since 2019, showcasing that it is possible to be more
competitive, more resilient and more sustainable at the same time.”
Decarbonizing Siemens' own operations: intermediate target achieved ahead of schedule
In its own
climate protection efforts, Siemens continues to make significant progress in reducing
CO₂e emissions from its own operations. The extensive investments announced
in fiscal 2022 continue to have an impact, including the electrification of the
vehicle fleet and using Siemens’ own technologies to improve the efficiency and
electrification of production facilities and buildings. Siemens reduced its CO₂e emissions compared to the baseline
year of 2019 by 60 percent, exceeding its intermediate goal – a 55 percent CO₂e
reduction from own operations by 2025 – one year ahead of time. By the end of
fiscal 2030, the company intends to achieve a 90 percent reduction in CO₂e
emissions in its own operation and to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
across the value chain by fiscal 2050. The company's 2030 and 2050 emission
reduction targets were validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
in line with the more ambitious net-zero standard in fiscal 2024, reaffirming
Siemens' commitment to achieve the main goal of the Paris Agreement in the
fight against climate change.
Resource efficiency: new Siemens EcoTech product label and increase of eco design implementation
Siemens is
also making good progress on its goals towards resource efficiency. In fiscal
2024, the company accelerated its ambition of “Robust Eco Design” (RED) in the
areas of hardware, software and services, further strengthening its commitment
to improve the environmental footprint across all offerings. Today, Siemens eco
design standard achievement rate is 54 percent – 13 percent points higher than
in fiscal 2023. In 2024, the Siemens EcoTech label was launched as a key
component of the company’s strategy to promote the circular economy and drive
resource efficiency across industries. It provides customers with comprehensive
insights into the environmental performance of products. In fiscal 2024, more
than 25,000 Siemens products received this recognition for outperforming
markets, standards or predecessor products in three dimensions: sustainable
materials, optimal use, as well as value recovery and circularity.
Governance: developing business practices for the future
Artificial
Intelligence (AI) plays a critical role as an accelerator for addressing global
challenges, including climate change. Siemens is a leader in industrial AI,
using it to improve infrastructure and businesses. At the same time, the
company recognizes the importance of mitigating risks associated with AI.
Siemens is committed to the responsible development and deployment of AI; to
this end, a cross-functional generative AI governance task force to integrate
responsible AI principles into its business processes and portfolio has been
established.
Employability: empowering our people, fostering lifelong learning
In the area
of lifelong learning, the company is continuously improving its offerings
regarding learning opportunities, career development as well as up- and
reskilling to support employability. By fostering a growth mindset and
cultivating an inclusive, empowering culture, Siemens drives sustainable
success for people and business. As part of these efforts, a total of €442
million was invested in lifelong learning and continuing education in fiscal
2024 (fiscal 2023: €416 million). People working at Siemens completed an
average of around 27 digital learning hours per person globally, i.e. four
hours more on average than in fiscal 2023. This means that the company has
exceeded its target of an average of 25 digital learning hours by 2025 one year
ahead of schedule. Continuous learning remains a key
priority to be met year on year, as a growth mindset is critical for people’s growth,
long-term career and, ultimately, business success. In collaboration with
learning partners, anyone working at Siemens worldwide has currently access to
around 180,000 internal and external digital learning offerings, to meet varied
learning preferences and requirements. In addition, Siemens aims to develop the
platform “MyLearning World” and its offerings even further, in particular
through the use of AI.
Equity: 32 percent of Siemens' top managers are female
Siemens has
also achieved progress in promoting equity within the company and raised the
percentage of women in top management roles again. In fiscal 2024, women held
around 32 percent of top management roles. In the baseline year of 2020, this
figure was 23 percent.
DEGREE: 360-degree approach to sustainability
Siemens
defines its targets through the strategic framework DEGREE – tackling
sustainability from every angle. The technology company follows a holistic
approach in six fields of action: decarbonization, ethics, governance, resource efficiency, equity, and employability – with stringent and measurable key performance
indicators.