BSH continues to increase sales of super-efficient appliances

Europe's leading home appliance manufacturer sets clear sustainability targets for its value chain

Munich, June 29th, 2012 (bsh) – According to the 2011 Sustainability Report published today by BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, the company set another record in 2011, selling 3.5 million super-efficient home appliances. 28 percent of all appliances sold by BSH in Europe are now super-efficient models. The total number of super-efficient models sold exceeded last year's sales by around 12 percent. To continue on this successful path, Europe's leading home appliance manufacturer has set itself clear targets: By 2015 the company wants to raise the share of super-efficient models sold in Europe to 35 percent.

To make its progress in the areas of energy efficiency and climate protection measurable and transparent, BSH started consolidating its most efficient models in a Super Efficiency Portfolio in 2009 and had the numbers confirmed by external auditors. The portfolio features only the most efficient models in their class available on the market and is adjusted each year. "With our Super Efficiency Portfolio we are leading the way in the sector and are hence making a substantial contribution to climate protection. This is the yardstick by which we want to be measured," says Dr. Peter Böhm, Corporate Sustainability Officer at BSH. Over their average duration of use, the appliances in the 2011 Super Efficiency Portfolio alone will save about 1.9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. This corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of about 525,000 German households.

In its 20th Sustainability Report, the home appliance manufacturer presents its sustainability strategy under the motto "Top performance. With responsibility." and shows the Group's developments in 2011. The central topics are sustainable corporate governance, products and customers, employees, as well as the environment and the society. "As a globally active company, we face major challenges. With energy-efficient appliances and a responsible management approach we want to be the trailblazer in the home appliance sector and contribute to sustainable development in all the regions in which we operate," says Dr. Kurt-Ludwig Gutberlet, BSH CEO. "Our core objective is to manage our profits in such a way that they support our business in the long term."

BSH assumes responsibility not only for its products, but also in production, for its employees and in its business relationships and has set ambitious targets. For example, by 2015 the Group wants to reduce the resource consumption in production and administration by 25 percent. With innovative traffic concepts and by increasingly shifting the transportation of its goods from road to rail, BSH was able to reduce its CO2 emissions by eleven percent last year. To ensure that the company can attract, develop and retain the best talent, BSH has also embedded talent management and diversity in its sustainability strategy. In the spring of 2012, BSH won the CRF Institute's "Top Employer" award in Germany for the sixth consecutive year – and for the first time in Poland and the Netherlands.