Sustainability at Dematic
Sustainability is not a destination, it’s a journey.
It’s a relentless commitment to meaningful change, supported by a business strategy that prioritises thoughtful stewardship of people, planet, and products.
Dematic’s holistic and industry-leading approach to sustainability reflects a continuous pursuit of being an employer of choice, limiting impact on climate change, and enhancing the safety of customers.
We focus on ambitious goals, with achievable plans to get there. Incremental changes lead to dramatic impacts when we build sustainability into every effort. We apply an engineering approach across our organisation — from decreased utility consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across our supply chain to increased engagement with our employees and communities.
We look forward to a more sustainable future by helping our suppliers, partners, and customers reach their goals. We’re grateful that they are on this journey with us.
Download
2023 Sustainability Report
At Dematic, we try to make sustainability a part of every aspect of our business by focusing on people, planet, and products. This report presents highlights of our achievements in 2023 as well as our strategies for continued improvements.
Mike Larsson — President, Dematic, KION Group Executive Board Member“Dematic furthered its dedication to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when our parent company, KION Group, committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Environmental stewardship is no longer a preferable trait; it is now an expectation of our customers when selecting business partners.”
Our sustainability methodology
Sustainability is an underlying principle and a driver of Dematic’s business strategy.
Our core values — integrity, collaboration, courage, and excellence — compel sustainable actions. These values are shared by KION Group, and they are specified in the KION Group Code of Compliance that informs the actions of each member of our company.
KION Group aspires to understand the needs of its customers with material handling solutions specific to their needs. Embracing sustainable business practises naturally aligns with this.
With the support of KION Group, the Dematic approach to sustainability places equal value on people, planet, and products. People (our employees, our suppliers, our partners, our customers) connect through our products to do what’s best for our planet.
Our sustainability methodology is defined as:
People
We strive to be an employer of choice where occupational health and safety is foundational to our culture. We are also committed to making the communities in which we operate better places.
Planet
We limit our effect on climate change through comprehensive footprint stewardship and diligent supplier engagement.
Products
We deliver high-performance products, solutions, and services that are efficient to use and enhance the operations and safety of our customers.
Our sustainability achievements
Our holistic, transparent approach to sustainability places value on people, planet, and products. We identify corresponding targets within these key areas and hold ourselves accountable with measurable results.
82%
Percentage of ISO 45001 health and safety standards achieved
PLATINUM
EcoVadis rating achieved in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. (placing Dematic in the top 1% of companies assessed by EcoVadis)
40%
Reduction in Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) from 2021 to 2022
24%
Reduction of total Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHC emissions since 2020
$273,000+
Investment made in our communities through hands-on, in-kind support and grants
81%
Percentage of ISO 14001 certified Dematic sites
CIRCULARITY
Commitment to complete product lifecycle design with no waste
QUIETER
Protecting workers from the dangers of noise pollution with noise-reduction features and upgrades
GOOGLE CLOUD
Partnering with Google Cloud to help our customers move toward carbon neutrality
70%
Increase in Employee Resource Group (ESG) events from 2021 to 2022 to spark global employee inspiration and engagement
Our sustainability goals
As a proud member of KION Group, our sustainability actions around people, planet, products, and software are aligned with the eight strategic action fields reviewed and approved by the KION Group Executive Board.
Occupational health and safety
- Reduction of accident frequency rate per year (based on the annual upper limit in the long-term of no occupational accidents)
- Health Safety and Environment (HSE) assessment completed across all Dematic locations
Employer attractiveness
- Increase employee satisfaction, measured by an annual global employee survey
- Increase the percentage of women in leadership roles to more than 20%
Climate and energy
- Absolute reduction in GHG emissions in metric tons of CO2e compared with 2021
- Near-term: Scope 1 and 2 by 4.2% per year and Scope 3 by 2.5% per year through 2030
- Long-term: Net zero, Scopes 1, 2, and 3 by 100% by 2050
- A 100% ISO 14001 certification rate (all sites) by 2024
- Increase by 3% annually the share of renewable energy use from 2023 levels
- Decrease by 5% annually the energy intensity of our operations from 2023 levels
Circularity
- Increase by 3% annually the amount of recovered waste from 2023 levels
Environmentally and socially responsible supply chain
- Increase Dematic direct suppliers (based on Tier 1 spend) engaged into our ESG Risk Assessment Programme
Product and solution safety
- 20% of the Dematic solution portfolio targeted to operate under 85 dB(A) by 2027
Product and solution sustainability
- Four products will have lifecycle assessments completed by the end of 2024
- One product will have a Cradle to Cradle® assessment by the end of 2024
- Dematic Sustainability Steering Committee will meet a minimum of three times per year to review goal progress and integrate sustainability into everything we do
- Dematic will continue to evaluate the completeness of our sustainability programmes using the EcoVadis assessment
People
Sustainability starts here
Sustainability starts with our employees and continues with our customers, our business partners, and our communities. From hiring diverse, sustainably minded people and supporting their professional development and community involvement to collaborating with customers in developing new products, we are breaking down barriers and building bridges.
How we achieve our goals
Everything we do is human-centred. Our people improve the lives of our customers, make our communities more vibrant, and create more rewarding workplaces. Providing our people with the support they need allows them to make those good things happen.
We consistently look for ways to improve safety and prevent accidents. In 2019, we began ISO 45001 certification on health and safety throughout our organisation. We aim to achieve 100% certification by end of 2024 and closed 2023 with 100% of all major factory and business work locations certified — up from 82% in 2022. We are currently integrating remaining secondary locations into existing certified work locations.
Our behaviour-based safety process starts with a foundation of the Dematic Life Saving Rules — eight rules to focus every employee on situational awareness, respect for potential hazards, and risk avoidance. We connect with every employee through Ready, Safe + Sound engagement and feedback, training and mentoring, and rewards.
Our efforts extend to the mental health aspects of safety culture. Our Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs), accredited Dematic employees, provide support, consultation, and guidance for fellow employees seeking help. MFHAs are an initial touch points for psychological safety and mental health issues and can suggest further help from therapists or physicians when appropriate.
DeAnn Hargis — Global Sustainability Director, EHS Management“Sustainability at Dematic is an essential part of our business strategy. Our focus is on employee success, our planet’s future, and innovative products and solutions that create value for our customers.”
Planet
Ensuring a Greener Tomorrow
Dematic remains committed to protecting our planet by mitigating our environmental impact — as well as the impact of our partners and customers. In every aspect of business, we are striving to make measurable differences through personal accountability, innovative processes, sustainable materials, and more environmentally friendly products and solutions. Through these actions, Dematic aims to deliver on our promise of positive environmental stewardship.
How we achieve our goals
We strive to make measurable differences through emphasising personal accountability, developing innovative processes, sourcing sustainable materials, and developing environmentally friendly products and solutions. Together with our suppliers and customers, we’re delivering on our promise to be responsible stewards of the environment.
We align our product and operations goals with the sustainability strategy of our parent company, KION Group, to decrease the environmental impact of our operations. As part of our climate and energy action field, we plan to decrease carbon emissions in Scope 1, 2, and 3 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through climate change mitigation.
Will Weatherford — Senior Vice President, Environmental, Health, Safety & Sustainability“Ready, Safe + Sound is intended to foster an even stronger and sustainable safety culture at Dematic — one where we feel a personal ownership for safety and belief that attaining zero injuries is achievable.”
Products
Sustainably driven customer solutions
Dematic products and solutions are recognised worldwide for their safety, reliability, and efficiency. And we continue to look for opportunities to make improvements. From collaborating with our customers to encouraging tactical training and improved energy efficiency, we are developing products and solutions with sustainability in mind — for our good of our customers and the planet.
How we achieve our goals
We develop and deliver sustainable solutions that power the future of commerce. As a global leader in intelligent automation, our focus is squarely set on helping our customers achieve their performance and sustainability goals through collaboration — their goals are the foundation of our goals.
We are developing a fully sustainability-focused portfolio, one that supports 100% of new developments evaluated by uniform global standards that measure sustainability performance.
We are analysing the environmental performance through the full lifecycle of strategic products. This Cradle to Cradle approach ensures products are intentionally designed and produced for recycling (upcycling) at the end of their life. It also leads to data-based improvements we can apply to existing products and solutions.
Schaefer Arnould — Director Vice President, Systems Research & Development“The starting point for energy efficiency optimisation should be at the solution level for logistics ecosystems to maximise the benefits for a more sustainable future.”
Download our Sustainability Reports and related policies below
Report
Sustainability Report 2023
Report
Sustainability Report 2022
Report
Sustainability Report 2021
Policy