Sustainability Report 2021

Miele Sustainability Report 2021

MANAGEMENT & PROCESSESPRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Contents
FOREWORDMIELE AT A GLANCE
What Miele stands forMiele worldwide
Products
Value chain

MANAGEMENT & PROCESSESPRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Milestones

Sustainability strategy

Development and innovation

Natural resources and materials

HR management

Sustainability management

Product portfolio and quality

Supplier management

Occupational health and safety

Stakeholder engagement

Customer orientationand information

Environmental management

Training and education

Resource efficiency

Diversity and equal
opportunities

FACTS & FIGURES
Key figures
GRI content index

Miele and Covid-19

Disposal and recycling

ABOUT THIS REPORTEnergy and emissions
Logistics and mobility

Social engagement

IMPRINT

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CONTENTS

Table of contents> Reference

Cross reference or external link

[GRI]

Covered GRI indicator2

Miele Sustainability Report 2021

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Foreword from the Executive Board
Dear readers,
The past two years have been marked bysweeping changes. In autumn 2019 – almost
exactly 120 years after the company’s
founding – we launched the biggest growthand innovation initiative in the history of
Miele. The goal of this programme is to guideour independent family-owned company into
the future from a position of strength. Examples include a new organisational structure,a focus on new growth fields and advancesin our digital expertise. Just a few months
later, however, we faced an entirely different
development: the start of the Covid-19
pandemic.
Miele has consistently focused on protecting its employees as the top priority incoping with the challenges the pandemic
has brought. To keep operations up and running as far as possible at the same time,comprehensive protective measures weretaken and maintained rigorously. Large partsof office operations were shifted to remote
work from one day to the next. Almost
all contacts with retailers went digital.
The fact that we were able to conclude
the year 2020 very successfully in economic terms in spite of the circumstancesshows once again that trustworthy brands
and outstanding quality serve as importantanchors, providing stability even – and especially – in times of crisis. But of everything
we are grateful for, the biggest thanks go
to our more than 20,000 employees. Since
the start of the pandemic, they have beenworking under trying conditions, whether
due to loss of earnings from shorter working
hours or from additional stress causedby school and day care closures. As an
expression of our gratitude for everything
they have coped with and all their hard

The Executive Directors from left: Dr Stefan Breit, Dr Reinhard Zinkann,Olaf Bartsch, Dr Markus Miele, Dr Axel Kniehl

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work, all employees worldwide received
a voluntary one-off bonus of 40 percent
of one month’s pay in December 2020.

on this road, we reached carbon neutrality
across all Miele locations in 2021 by acquiringhigh-quality CO 2 compensation certificates.

For the past 120 years, we at Miele havebeen guided by our founders’ maxim “Immer
Besser”, adhering firmly to this idea even or
especially in turbulent times. The past year
was no exception, and we did not let up in ourefforts to reach our sustainability goals. Quite
the opposite, in fact: In October 2020, theExecutive Board adopted a much more ambitious sustainability strategy, defining a new
climate action strategy with ambitious climate
targets in the process. As one of these aims,
we are striving to reduce our CO 2 emissions(Scope 1 and 2) by 50 percent compared to2019 levels by the year 2030. Miele is guided
in these efforts by the central aim of the Paris
Agreement, limiting global warming to significantly below 2°C – or 1.5°C if possible – ascompared to the pre-industrial era. The scientifically based confirmation of our climate
targets through the Science Based Targets
initiative (STBi) in the summer of 2021 has
once again emphasised this. As the first step

If 2020 has taught us one thing, it isthat global crises cannot be resolved bytaking a wait-and-see approach. Instead,they call for decisive action. That is also
true of climate change, which poses awide range of risks to Miele as a company with worldwide value chains.
But climate action is not the only area where
we have set new goals for ourselves. In
terms of our products, too, we plan to further sharpen our focus in the future on not
only durability and efficient use, but also
aspects such as recyclability, repairability
and resource efficiency. At the same time,
we need to explore new market opportunities through business models that areboth innovative and sustainable. And last
but not least, we are further expanding ourwork on digital responsibility in an effort
to strengthen our customers’ trust in ourincreasingly digitally connected products.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Our work on sustainability reflects ourpledge to uphold the ten universal principles of the UN Global Compact, which
we joined back in 2004. This report outlines the progress we have made in the past
two years. We hope you find it inspiring.
Miele & Cie. KG Executive Board
Olaf Bartsch
Executive Director Finances and Administration
Dr Stefan Breit
Executive Director Technology
Dr Axel Kniehl
Executive Director Marketing and SalesDr Markus Miele
Executive Director and Co-Proprietor
Dr Reinhard Zinkann
Executive Director and Co-Proprietor

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Miele ata glance> What Miele stands for> Miele worldwide> Products> Value chain> Milestones

MANAGEMENT & PROCESSESPRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSMiele Sustainability Report 2021

MANAGEMENT & PROCESSESPRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

What Miele stands for
A matter of tradition: products and solutions
that set standards[GRI 102-1/-2/-3/-4/-5/-7/-8/-16/-18, 203-2]
For 120 years, Miele has been synonymouswith high-quality domestic appliances andcommercial machines and is regarded as the
epitome of reliable and long-lasting products. Miele aims to continuously delight its
customers with unparalleled quality, innovative technology, perfect results and timelesselegance, while also playing a pioneeringrole in energy efficiency and environmental
protection. “Immer Besser”, the precedent set by the company founders, sums it
up. The owners and Executive Board feelan obligation towards the employees, customers, suppliers, the environment andsociety. Miele embodies partnership-based
conduct towards its business partners, anem­­ployee-focused corporate culture as wellas continuity of values, goals and leadership. The family-owned company is now in its
fourth generation, with the two founding fami­lies Miele and Zinkann holding 100 percentof the shares. This ensures independence
from the interests of external investors. In
the core domestic appliance business, thecompany focuses on the Miele brand and its
positioning in the premium segment. Digitalproducts and services from the Smart Home
division play an increasingly important role.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

20,944

employees, of which 11,066 inGermany as at 31 December 2020

FACTS & FIGURES

4,5

CONTENTSBILLION EUROS

in turnover
generated by the
Miele Group in 2020.

INNOVATION AND GROWTH INITIATIVE
In 2019, Miele began fundamentally repositioning its organisation. The goal is to further
expand on its leading market position in thepremium segment in domestic and commercial appliances while also safeguarding the
economic efficiency of the entire Miele
Group on a lasting basis. The restructuringof worldwide sales activities is also among
the biggest innovation and growth initiatives
in the company’s history, with the focus
shifting to aspects such as markets withhigh potential, like China and North America.
Beyond that, Miele is also ramping up its
investments in the company’s digital expertise and has established a site in Amsterdam
focusing on digital marketing and digitalsales. To strengthen corporate responsibility
within the organisation, Miele has pooled
together its operational business in eight
independently operating business units(BUs): Laundry, Dishwashing, Cooking,Refrigeration, Professional, Customer
Service, Small Domestic Appliances (SDA)
and the recently created New Growth
Factory. It opens up new fields of businesswith bright prospects for the future.

COMPANY HEADQUARTERS

IMPERIAL-WERKE OHG

Gütersloh has been the headquarters of the Miele Group since 1907.

Subsidiary (100 percent) of Miele & Cie.
KG with plants in Bünde and Arnsberg

EXECUTIVE BOARD

MIELE VENTURE
CAPITAL GMBH

The Executive Board consists of five
Executive Directors with equal voting
rights. These include two Executive
Directors who act as representativesof the families of owners, as well as
three Executive Directors with divisional responsibility who are notassociated with the families.

Subsidiary (100 percent) of
Miele & Cie. KG based in
Güters­loh, focus: start-up funding
for innovative ideas, technologies and business models

YUJIN ROBOT CO., LTD.
MIELE & CIE. KG
Central administration, plants
and subsidiary in Germany

MIELE BETEILIGUNGS-GMBH
International sales subsidiaries
and plants, participations

South Korean company specialising in robotics; Miele isthe majority shareholder

STEELCO S.P.A.
Medical technology manufacturer
and wholly owned subsidiary
based in Treviso, Italy

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50

Miele worldwide
Regionally based, internationally active[GRI 102-1/-4/-6/-7] Miele produces at
14 plants at a total of 13 locations, eight ofwhich are located in Germany. Appliances arealso produced in Austria, Poland, Romania,
the Czech Republic and China. In addition,
Italy’s Steelco and other manufacturing partners also produce for Miele. As a key employer
in these regions, Miele is aware of its responsibilities. A central policy at Miele is therefore
to keep jobs secure at all company locations.
SALES REGIONS
Miele is represented in about 100 countries
with its own sales subsidiaries or importers.
The subsidiaries are also responsible for
implementing the Miele sustainability strategy
internationally. In addition to Germany, theUnited States, Switzerland, Australia, Austria
and the Netherlands are among the countries with the highest turnover. In the courseof its organisational repositioning, Miele has
also reorganised its worldwide sales structures. Germany, Austria and Switzerland
have constituted a single region since 2020.
Two further regions have been establishedfor Europe: Northern and Western Europe
and Southern and Eastern Europe. The new
Asia-Pacific region includes the Asian continent except for China, along with Australia and
New Zealand. The United States, Canada and

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

China are grouped together as Global Focus
Markets. Owing to their significant potential for growth, this area reports directly to
Dr Axel Kniehl, Executive Director Marketingand Sales. In addition, Chile, Mexico andBrazil form the Latin America region.

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

sales and service
subsidiaries
worldwide

PRODUCTION SITES
Gütersloh (DE), Arnsberg (DE), Bielefeld (DE), Bünde (DE),
Euskirchen (DE), Lehrte (DE), Oelde (DE), Warendorf (DE),
Bürmoos (AT), Braşov (RO), Dongguan (CN),Ksawerów (PL), Uničov (CZ)

TURNOVER BY REGION
Share of total turnover in percentage

9

4

10
2020

41

14
22
DACH1)

Northern and Western Europe

Global Focus Markets2), Latin America3),
countries without sales subsidiaries3)
Southern and Eastern Europe
Asia-Pacific

Participations

1) Germany, Austria, Switzerland.
2) US, Canada, China.
3) Share of total turnover less than one percent.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

The products
Leading solutions for domestic
and commercial purposes[GRI 102-2/-6/-7] With more than six million
appliances sold in 2020, Miele is the world’s
leading supplier of premium appliances for
kitchen, laundry and floor care. In addition,
Miele also offers solutions for commercial
applications. In 2020, about 90,500 applianceswere sold for commercial usage, medical
facilities and laboratories alone. The company
has redefined responsibilities for the productsegments as part of its innovation and growth
initiative and grouped them together into thefollowing eight business units.

LAUNDRY• Washing machines• Tumble dryers• Washer dryers

PROFESSIONAL
Dishwashing technology:• Fresh water dishwashers• Tank dishwashers1)
Commercial laundry
technology:

COOKING• Steam ovens/
combination units• Dialog oven
• Cooker hoods• Cookers and ovens/
combination units• Hob units• Microwave ovens1)• Vacuum drawers1)• Warming drawers• Wine conditioning
units1)• Washing machines• Tumble dryers• Washer dryer stacks• Rotary irons• Flatwork irons• Steam ironing systems• Air purifiers
Dental technology:• Washer-disinfectors• Small sterilisers1)
Lab technology:• Lab washers• Large chamberlab washers

6.3 million

domestic appliances andcommercial machines sold byMiele in 2020.

SERVICE• Spare part sales fordomestic appliances• Cleaning anddisinfection devices• Bedpan washers• Small sterilisers1)• Central medical productpreparation (ZSVA/AEMP: Steelco)

DISHWASHING• Dishwashers• Upright vacuum cleaners• Cordless vacuum cleaners• Robotic vacuum cleaners1)• Coffee machines1)• Rotary ironers

REFRIGERATION• Refrigerators and freezers1)

Accessories andsupplies for Miele
commercial devices:

Air purification technology:

Medical technology:• Service

SMALL DOMESTICAPPLIANCESNEW GROWTH FACTORY• MChef gourmetdelivery service• Agrilution vertical
farming specialists• KptnCook recipe app• Otto Wilde Grillers
Accessories and supplies forMiele appliances, including:• Detergents (forwashing machines)• Detergents (for dishwashers)• Appliance maintenance• Tumble dryer fragrance• Vacuum cleaner bags
• Coffee beans• Accessories for cooking
and floor care

• Baskets, inserts andadapters for various
uses (commercial
dishwashing, dental,
medical and lab)
• From the washtub to
substructures, andfrom dosing technology
to cash registers(commercial laundry
technology)• ProCare Tex cleaning
and care products• Components forprocess documentation(dental, lab andmedical)• Process chemicals(commercial)

1) Miele cooperates with manufacturing partners on these appliances.

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The value chain
Keeping the entire life cycle in mind
[GRI 102-9] The Miele value chain extends across product development
and the selection and procurement of raw materials and components
through to production at the Miele plants, transport and sales, and usage
itself. The chain ends with recycling or disposal of the appliances.

PRODUCTDEVELOPMENT

SUPPLY CHAIN

PRODUCTIONSALES & TRANSPORTUSE

RECYCLING &DISPOSALRISKS AND OPPORTUNITIESNew business models
and digital solutions are
helping Miele open up newmarkets. However, this canalso lead to new challenges
regarding sustainability.

Increasingly complex supply
chains and an increasing
scarcity of raw materials
require more supply chaintransparency. However,partnership-based supplier
relationships and a sharedcommitment to respecting
human rights and greater
environmental protection
offer opportunities.

Increasing energy andresource efficiency inproduction is helping offset
higher energy and material
costs. For companies with ahigh level of vertical integration,
the shortage of skilled workers
also presents a risk. It canhave a negative impact on
productivity. Employee
satisfaction is a decisive factor
in meeting this challenge.

Transport-related emissions are at the centreof public debate. In
addition, the number ofregulations is increasing. Logistics must be
made more environmentally friendly.

Shifts in the market
can have a positiveor negative impact on
the demand for sustainable products. The
promotion of sustainable consumption is an
essential opportunity.

Around the world, rawmaterials are becoming
scarcer and their costs
are rising. This requires
comprehensive measuresin order to conserve
natural resources.
Durable and recyclable
products make a positive
contribution, as does
the increased use ofrecycled materials.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Milestones
Sustainable thinking since 1899
1899

1929

1970

1993

2002

Miele is founded witheleven employees.

A company
pension scheme
is introduced.

For the first time,the environmental
data of locations
is recorded.

The quality of
production iscertified (ISO 9001).

The first sustainability
report is published.

1909

1951

1990

1996

2004

The company healthinsurance fundfor employees
is founded.

The corporate
suggestion
scheme is set up.

The Environmental Officefor products is founded.

The first environmental
report is publishedand the environmental
management iscertified (ISO 14001).

Miele joins theUnited Nations
Global Compact
network.

2008

2012

2015

2018

2019

2021

The Miele Code of
Conduct isadopted.

Energy management iscertified (ISO 50001), theDiversity Charter is signed.

The Sustainability Action
Team is founded and Miele
places second in the sustainability report rankings.

Miele employs
more than
20,000 people.

Miele enters thevertical farming segment with Agrilution.

The Miele climate
targets arevalidated by the
Science Based
Targets initiative.

2008

2011

2014

2018

2019

2020

Certificationin accordancewith theSA8000 standard obtained.

Occupationalsafety is certified(OHSAS 18001).

Miele receives the
National German
Sustainability Award.

Miele opens its
nursery at the
Gütersloh location.

The Miele nursery
receives “Haus derkleinen Forscher”
certification.

Miele sets new andambitious goals for itself
as part of the further development and evolution ofits sustainability strategy.
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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSManagement& processes> Sustainability strategy> Sustainability management> Stakeholder engagement> Miele and Covid-19

Since its founding more than
120 years ago, Miele – a familyowned company – has uniquely
stood for a responsible approach
to doing business that is characterised by continuity, integrity
and sense of quality. In light of thegrowing threat posed by climatechange and the increasing scarcity
of resources, Miele’s strategic focus
today lies on the ambitious continued expansion of its sustainability
strategy, which states new targets
for climate action, environmental
protection and other urgent issues.
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Sustainability

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Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

Sustainability strategy
Solutions to key challenges[GRI 102-15/-16] The Miele sustainability
strategy is an integral part of the corporate strategy. It is intended to serve asa model for all employees in their daily
activities. Long-term objectives form theframework to this end. In 2016, Miele therefore set out 15 strategic targets that are
to be achieved by 2025. The company
has already made significant progress on
the path to completion. When it comes toclimate action, for instance, energy consumption continued to fall at all locationsin 2020. At the same time, Miele succeeded in significantly reducing its CO 2
emissions by cutting Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40 percent compared to 2019, toname just one example. When it comes toresource conservation, the company decisively pursued the goal of making Miele
appliances leaders in sustainable productdesign and integrated efficiency, allowing
Miele to further increase the percentage of
products sold with the highest energy efficiency ratings. Customers also continue to
see Miele’s sustainability performance asvery good worldwide, according to studies
such as the 2020 “Grüne Marken desJahres” (Green brands of the year) survey
by the international market research institute YouGov and the magazine stern. In
the study, consumers voted Miele number

one in the category of electronic appliances.
At the same time, Miele is aware that global
challenges such as climate change havegrown even more intense in recent years.
Digitalisation and rising consumer expectations also result in new topics that need
to be addressed. As a result, Miele carried out a large-scale project during thereporting period to ensure an even more
ambitious approach to tackling individual topics of the sustainability strategy.
This is especially true when it comes toclimate action, environmental protection,
the sustainability of Miele products and a
responsible approach to digitalisation.
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT
In the reporting period, Miele launched its
global Design2Excellence > innovation andgrowth initiative to further strengthen thecompany’s competitiveness and future viability on a sustainable basis. The further
development of the Miele sustainability
strategy also counts towards this goal. Miele
is doing justice to the high value of sustainability for the company and the brandthrough very ambitious new targets. At thesame time, sustainability is being anchoredeven more firmly within the organisationand given a higher profile in the way thecompany presents itself, including in
how it communicates with customers.

First place in the“Grüne Marken desJahres” consumer
study in the electronic
appliances category.

The revised strategy concentrates on threefields of focus: climate action, sustainable products and packaging, and digital
responsibility. These areas are ones inwhich the company can make a significant additional contribution to sustainability.
Moreover, they are of particular relevanceand urgency from a social perspective.
From 2021, the targets and measures in thefields of focus will be further refined andspecified in a sustainability programme.
By drawing up their own sustainability
programmes on the basis of the central
strategy, the business units – along with
relevant central departments such as purchasing, human resources and logistics– will be involved closely in implementing
the enhanced sustainability strategy.
FIELD OF FOCUS: CLIMATE PROTECTION
Containing climate change and adapting
to its impact are among the most pressing
issues of our time. As a family-owned company with worldwide value chains that isaware of its responsibility, Miele attaches
particular importance to this global
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Sustainabilitystrategy
strategy
Sustainability

challenge. That is why the company developed a comprehensive climate action
strategy during the reporting period anddefined ambitious targets to support it. The
strategy was adopted by the Executive Board
in October 2020. At its core is avoiding,
reducing and offsetting CO 2 emissions.
When it comes to the targets, Miele isguided by the Paris Agreement, whichaims to limit global warming to significantly
below 2°C – or 1.5°C if possible – as compared to the pre-industrial era. To ensurethat Miele’s climate targets make an effective contribution to achieving this goal, thecompany joined the internationally recognised > Science Based Targets initiative(STBi) in January 2021. Its membership is
associated with an obligation to pursue ascience-based emissions reduction target.
One of the first interim goals is to achieve
CO 2 neutrality at all locations in 2021 asrelates to the company’s own emissions(Scope 1) and the emissions attributableto energy suppliers (Scope 2). At the sametime, Miele aims to reduce these emissions
by 50 percent compared to 2019 by 2030. To
do so, the company will make investmentswith a focus on improving the > energy efficiency of Miele’s locations and production
plants while expanding the in-house generation of electricity from renewable sources.
In the medium and long term, the goalis also to significantly reduce CO 2 emissions during the use of products, as in thepast, and during the purchasing of goods
and services (Scope 3). A substantial share

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainability management

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

of Miele’s carbon footprint is attributable
to these Scope 3 emissions, making it thekey to > reducing emissions. Despite thevast complexities, Miele is taking a systematic approach to this challenge andsetting itself a goal in accordance withthe requirements of the Science Based
Targets initiative in this area as well.
FIELD OF FOCUS: SUSTAINABLE
PRODUCTS AND PACKAGING
The second field of focus looks at Miele’s
products and the way they are packaged.
As the aim here is to further improve theirsustainability scorecard, the tasks at handinclude closing material cycles through the> use of recyclates or by improving the ability
to repair products, to name just two examples. The latter contributes to the exceptional
durability of Miele products, which has provento be > valuable from an ecological perspective. Increasing resource efficiency isanother item on the agenda. The goal is toensure supply security for Miele in the longterm while preserving reserves of raw materials for future generations. Miele plans to lay
the groundwork for achieving this goal during
product development. With regard to the> packaging used in shipping, a project teamis tasked with continuously reviewing alternative materials so that Miele can continue
switching to more environmentally friendly
solutions. Miele also strives to use recycled
or recyclable materials more often for the
packaging of cleaning and care products. In
addition, the company is working on new sustainable > business models that are designed
to open up additional market opportunities.

In order to achieve
its climate targets,
Miele also opts forgenerating its own
electricity fromrenewable sources.

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FIELD OF FOCUS: DIGITAL RESPONISIBILITY
A wide-ranging and wide-scale commitment todigital responsibility aims to further strengthen
the trust customers have in Miele’s products.
Miele therefore further developed its strategy inthe fields of data protection and information
security in the reporting period. Part of thoseefforts includes drawing up a “digital productpromise” that ensures the ability of consumers
to use the digital functions of Miele products
securely and in the long term.
MATERIALITY[GRI 102-46/-47] Miele performs materiality analyses to determine the focal pointsof the sustainability strategy and reporting.
In the process, the company looks into thepotential impact of its business activities
on sustainable development and gauges
the expectations of external stakeholders
in relation to the company. The most recent
comprehensive > materiality analysis was
performed in 2018. The global reference
framework of the analysis was based on
the sustainability reporting standards of the
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB),
the CDP (formerly known as the Carbon
Disclosure Project) and the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). The analysed
topics were subsequently compiled and presented in accordance with the standards ofthe GRI in a > materiality matrix. The horizontal axis of the materiality matrix presents
the influence of external factors (outside-in),while the vertical axis presents Miele’s
impact (inside-out) on the topic in question.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainability management

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

The relationship between the key topics
and the SDGs is also indicated by the sizeof the circles on the materiality matrix.
As part of the > further development of thesustainability strategy, Miele reviewed the findings of the analysis with regard to their current
relevance and decided that they remained
applicable. The matrix therefore continues
to provide guidance for defining the focal
points of Miele’s sustainability approach.
In this report’s subchapters, Miele describes
how the material topics are managed
and what kind of progress the company
made during the reporting period.

CONTRIBUTION TO
THE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALSIn 2015, the United Nations adopted > 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). They are at the heartof the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs aim to address some of themost urgent global challenges from a sustainability
perspective and reduce extreme poverty. Miele isexpressly committed to the SDGs. The family-owned
company makes a contribution to sustainable develop­
ment through SDGs 7, 8, 9, 12 and 13 in particular.

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Sustainability

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Sustainability management

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Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURES

Miele and Covid-19

1.0
very high

MATERIALITY MATRIX

10

5+6

Inside-out (Miele’s impact)

0.5
medium

0.75
high

8

4

19

28

15

27

26

2

1

24+25

20

9

17+18
12

14
22

30

7

11

21

1
2
3
4

Management & processes
Compliance
Sustainability management
Corporate digital responsibility
Dialogue and communication

5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Products & services
Resource-efficient products
Consumption-optimised products
Product conformity
Digital products and services
Recyclability of products
Durability of products
Resource-efficient packaging
Use of recyclates
Handling old appliances
Repairability
Sustainable innovations
Sharing models

17
18
19
20
21
22
23

Supply & production
Energy efficiency at sites
Renewable energies
Origin of resources and supply security
Supplier management
Resource efficiency at the sites
Logistics and mobility
Biodiversity

24
25
26
27
28
29

Employees & society
Diversity and equal opportunity
Occupational safety
Work-life balance
Health management
Training and education
Social engagement

3

13

16
23

29

Outside-in (External expectations)
0.5
medium

0.75
high

1.0
very highSDG-relevanceIndirect or no
relevance to an SDG

CONTENTS

Directly relevant
to an SDG

Direct relevanceto several SDGs

30 Climate protection

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MANAGEMENT & PROCESSES

Sustainability strategy

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainabilitymanagement
management
Sustainability

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

Sustainability management
A focus on people and the environment[GRI 102-11] Sustainability management at Miele
is based on the precautionary principle: thecompany thoroughly reviews the potential
negative effects that its business activities might
have on people and the environment at an earlystage, and takes measures to prevent or reducethese effects. This applies equally to the production of Miele appliances and to their use anddisposal, and also includes the company’s
supply chain. Miele manages issues such as theconservation of resources, human rights,
occupational safety and climate protection
through an effective organisational structureusing certified management systems. Compliance management ensures that applicable laws
and Miele’s own guidelines are always observed.
SYSTEMATIC SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT[GRI 102-18/-20] Sustainability is ultimately the
responsibility of the five-member Executive
Board. The Board specifies the strategic
direction, adopts objectives and defines
indicators for measuring progress. The Miele> sustainability strategy was further developedin the reporting period and was significantly
tightened, particularly in the fields of focus ofclimate action, sustainable products andpackaging, and digital responsibility. The
Technical Product Management and Environmental Office (TPE), which used to be

responsible for advancing the sustainability
strategy in close cooperation with the Executive Board, was expanded and renamed
Corporate Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs(SRA) in 2021. Its renaming is an importantsignal within the company as to the importantrole of sustainability today and in the future.

SUSTAINABILITY ORGANISATION
Central sustainability management committees

Executive Board

Along with many other departments, TPE wasalso responsible for implementing and monitoring the sustainability strategy. The
department heads at the company’s headquarters and the heads of the business units, aswell as the heads of the sales regions and theheads of the sales subsidiaries, are responsible
for ensuring that the objectives are achieved.
Miele performs a systematic comparison of theobjectives and key figures on sustainability
performance on an annual basis.
CENTRAL MANAGEMENTCOMMITTEE ENHANCED[GRI 102-18/-20] The Sustainability Committee
was the key sustainability management
governing body at Miele until the end of 2020.
In December 2020, the committee wasmerged with the newly established Sustainability Board, which will make decisions
regarding important operational and product-related sustainability topics with a

Sustainability Board
controls and decides

Initiatives develop overarchingsolutions for focus topics

Corporate Sustainability (SRA)
initiates and organises

Business units, specialist areas at
headquarters and sales subsidiaries
draw up their own sustainability
programmes on the basis of the central
strategy and implement measures16

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potential for conflict going forward. By
reorganising the central Sustainability Committee, Miele is working towards one of themain targets of the enhanced sustainability
strategy: anchoring sustainability even more
firmly throughout the company.
Unlike in the past with the Sustainability
Committee, the entire Miele Executive Boardis accordingly represented on the new
Sustainability Board, where it comes into
contact with the heads and representativesof all relevant areas. The heads of the business units also belong to the Sustainability
Board.
During its existence, the Sustainability
Committee met at regular intervals, mostrecently convening four times in 2019. The
committee dealt with the latest regulatory
developments and discussed the resulting
requirements for Miele. Examples include the
EU regulation on energy consumption
labelling, the European Strategy for Plastics
and Germany’s National Action Plan for
Business and Human Rights. Due to thefurther development of the sustainability
strategy, the Sustainability Committee did not
hold any official meetings in 2020. Instead,the Executive Board and the relevant areas
were involved in the development process at
different intervals. The committee also
helped to oversee the process of implementing the sustainability strategy at plantlevel. Responsibility for doing so was handed
over to the Sustainability Board in December
2020. To this end, the heads of the business
units, specialist areas and the sales organisations report to the Sustainability Board.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainabilitymanagement
management
Sustainability

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder engagement

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL GUIDELINESAND STANDARDS[GRI 102-12/-16] A variety of principles andinternational guidelines to which Miele iscommitted form the basis for sustainability
management:• Corporate philosophy: prescribed principles,for example from the areas of quality andproduct safety, environmental protection,energy management, employee and customer orientation, or regarding specificsustainability aspects. These principles
apply to all employees.
• Ethical guidelines for purchasing: These areapplicable to all employees who work inprocurement. Fair, transparent and partnership-based cooperation with suppliers isalways paramount.
• Code of conduct for all employees witheleven mandatory rules, including issues
such as human rights, anti-corruption andadherence to competition and antitrust law,as well as compliance• Ten > principles of the United Nations (UN)Global Compact on human rights, labour
standards, environmental protection andanti-corruption• The > SA8000 standard for fair working
conditions and the recognition of labour
rights: based on the conventions of theInternational Labour Organization, theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights andthe UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19• Code of conduct of the > German Electricaland Electronic Manufacturers’ Association(ZVEI) for socially responsible corporate
management• Code of conduct of the European Committee of Domestic Equipment
Manufacturers > APPLiA (formerly CECED)for corporate social responsibility• Code of conduct as part of the Associationfor Supply Chain Management, Procurementand Logistics (BME) > compliance initiative
to reduce compliance risks in the supply
chain

certificate for social standards is valid until
25 July 2022. The employees who areresponsible for the individual areas of the
management system report regularly on
their progress to the Executive Board.
In addition, the relevant departments at thelocations in Gütersloh and Bielefeld have also
been certified according to the ISO 13485
standard for quality management of medical products. The certifications in line with
the SA8000 social standard will be successively renewed for all locations by July 2022.

• > Diversity Charter: corporate initiative topromote diversity in companies• The Country Risk Classification of theamfori Business Social Compliance Initiative(amfori BSCI)INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMTO ENSURE A UNIFIED STRUCTURE
In order to continually improve sustainability
management, Miele uses an integrated management system for quality, environmental
protection, energy, occupational safety andsocial protection. It combines all the tools andstandards for adhering to various sustainability requirements (see > table). The integrated
management system is regularly reviewed ininternal and external audits. The latest certificate for quality, environmental protection,energy management and occupational healthand safety was issued on 15 December 2020
and is valid until 14 December 2023. The

90

internal and external audits
were conducted as part ofquality management in 2020.

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainabilitymanagement
management
Sustainability

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Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Overview

PRODUCTION SITES

Products

Gütersloh

Washing machines, washer dryers,electronic components, foundry

Arnsberg

Cooker hoods

Bielefeld

Dishwashers for domestic and commercial
purposes, washer-disinfectors, vacuum cleaners

Bünde

Steam ovens, hob units, warming drawers

Euskirchen

Electric motors, cable feels, fans

LehrteLaundry machines, rotary ironers

Oelde

Cookers, ovens, Dialog oven

Warendorf

Plastic parts

Bürmoos (Austria)

Metal componentsBraşov (Romania)

Electronic components

Dongguan (China)

Vacuum cleaners

Uničov (Czech Republic)

Washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers

Ksawerów1) (Poland)

Production

Tools and standards

ISO 9001 (Quality),
ISO 14001 (Environment),
ISO 45001 (Occupational safety),
SA8000 (Social standard)

ISO 50001 (Energy)1) The new location in Ksawerów gained
certification in May 2021.

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainabilitymanagement
management
Sustainability

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder engagement

Customers

Miele Success System
MES

Strategy

Miele
Product
Development
SystemIMNU 2.0

Miele
Value Creation
SystemMWS

Miele
quality
management
systemMiele Quality
Core Processes

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

sional Business Unit. The certification of theEuropean company locations involves a matrix
certification procedure. The Dongguan
location plans and organises its certification
independently, but remains closely interlinked
with the Miele management system and the
MES. In all cases, external auditors check theprocesses that are relevant to the certification.
In 2020, 29 external integrated management
system audits were performed. That figure
stood at 36 in 2019. No non-conformities were
found in either year.
INTERNAL PROGRESS REVIEW

THE MIELE SUCCESS SYSTEM
The integrated management system is interconnected with the Miele Success System(MES) in many places. Consisting of four
elements, the MES standardises and optimises
processes. The proprietary IMNU 2.0 productdevelopment system, for example, allows Miele
to maintain an overview of all key development
aspects, from pre-development to series
maturity. IMNU 2.0 includes an > environmental
checklist. In the Miele Value Creation System(MWS), on the other hand, resource conservation is anchored as a central design principle,with defined targets for considerations such as
the durability of operating materials or the
allocation of resources. Moreover, the Quality

Core Processes (Q-KP) help to ensure functional production processes that are free of
disruption and keep errors to a minimum. With
the aid of Material Group Management (MGM),
Miele reviews sustainability aspects, among
other things, throughout the entire procurement process as part of targeted supplieraudits and other tools.
AUDITS BY AN EXTERNAL PARTNER[GRI 412-1] The central quality management at
the company headquarters in Gütersloh plans
and manages all external auditing and certification procedures at all locations. The
management system for medical products isorganised and coordinated by the Profes-

CONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

Miele Material Group Management MGM

Employees

FACTS & FIGURES[GRI 412-1/-2] In addition to external auditing,Miele operates an internal auditing process.
As a self-monitoring system, it allows Miele

to detect non-conformities at an early stage
and take corrective action. Internal auditors
review the integrated management system,
as well as all associated areas. They workthrough specific questions about the various
processes and standards, and also examine
the extent to which the legal and certification requirements, as well as those of Miele
customers, are fulfilled. During the process,they note positive aspects, along with areas
for improvement, non-conformities and otherobservations. In addition, the internal auditors arrange for improvement measures andmonitor them during the next audit. Auditors with qualifications and experience thatare relevant to the task guarantee that theaudit is carried out appropriately. In the business year 2020, 61 internal audits took
place. One audit found a non-conformity

1

0

2020

2020

60

29

EXTERNAL AUDITSINTERNAL AUDITSof the integrated
management systemof the integrated
management system

No significant nonconformities foundNo significant nonconformities foundSignificant nonconformities foundSignificant nonconformities found19

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relating to an overdue check of inspection
and measuring equipment, which was performed without delay. In 2019, 98 audits
took place, identifying two non-conformities
related to energy management and occupational health and safety. In response, Miele
took both immediate and long-term measures.
SUCCESSFUL RISK MANAGEMENT[GRI 102-11/-15] As a global company, Miele
is exposed to a wide range of different risks.
At the same time, developments in thecompany’s environment offer many opportunities for its business activities.
Identifying and assessing non-financial risks
plays a pivotal role in risk management at
Miele. The company performs careful analysis to identify the areas along the value
chain where negative effects on people andthe environment could occur. In addition,
Miele checks to see where rising sustainability requirements for the company could
negatively impact its business development.
Risk management uses a two-level system at
Miele that is composed of central representatives for risk management and decentralised
risk managers within the company’s operating units. The central risk management
team coordinates the overall process ofidentifying and assessing risks by potential
loss and probability of occurrence. It is also
responsible for taking appropriate risk
management measures. The decentralised
risk managers report regularly on the risks
they identify and take measures to avoid andmitigate them.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainabilitymanagement
management
Sustainability

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder engagement

SUSTAINABILITY: KEY CHALLENGES[GRI 102-11/-15, 201-2] The greatest sustainability risks for Miele lie in the procurement of
raw materials and intermediate goods, aswell as in climate change.
As a manufacturing company, Miele isdependent on the availability of certain raw
materials. However, the consumption oflimited natural resources continues to rise
constantly worldwide. A potential scarcity of
raw materials is therefore a significant
sustainability risk for Miele. The adverse
effects on the environment that are associated with the extraction and processing of
raw materials – as well as the later use anddisposal of the products – pose a problem,as they could lead to the loss of biodiversity
and increasing soil degradation, to name justa few examples. Such effects also have a
direct impact on the financial situation ofcompanies, for instance in the form of risingmaterial costs. Against this backdrop, Miele
is developing a variety of approaches toreduce the need for primary raw materials
and conserve natural resources in theprocess.
The principle of circularity (circular economy)
is also of growing importance. Due to a lackof regulations and legal precedence, however, its implementation is complicated. With
its durable and > recyclable products, Mieleis already making a positive contribution toresource conservation today. The greater useof recyclates and the manufacturing ofparticularly energy- and > resource-efficient
products help to meet key sustainability

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

targets related to the creation of a circular
economy.
Miele expects the trend towards increasingly
complex supply chains to gain strength, which
will make it even more difficult to create transparency and avoid bottlenecks in the supply of raw
materials and components. Such developments
will also further complicate compliance andmonitoring with regard to environmental andsocial standards along the supply chain.
The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly
exacerbated the complexity of the supply chain
and the resulting difficulties. Despite thesechallenges, Miele is committed to labour andhuman rights standards along the supply chain,
as well as to compliance with the principles ofsustainable corporate management. To thisend, the company performs regular > supplieraudits and requests certifications from its
business partners in order to mitigate supply
chain risks. At the same time, the company
maintains supplier relationships based on a
spirit of partnership and works with its suppliers
to navigate the wide-ranging requirements. Thispartnership-based approach ensures transparency and increases reliability.
Climate change is a further material sustainability risk for companies. The scientificcommunity almost unanimously expects global
average temperatures to rise by 2.5 to four
degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial
levels by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions
are not drastically curbed. Extreme heat waves
and rising sea levels already threaten natural
resource ecosystems today, with a loss of prosperity (including water and food shortages) a

potential reality in the long term. For companies
like Miele, such effects could lead to temporary or lasting interruptions in supply chains, oreven the loss of locations. Besides the direct
impact, climate change could also be associated with indirect risks due to factors suchas regulatory requirements and changes incustomer behaviour. Moreover, liability risks
in connection with claims for compensation
could become a burden. In light of these dangers and the challenges for humanity as awhole, Miele supports the 1.5-degree targetof the United Nations and has joined the Science Based Targets initiative in order to develop> science-based climate targets. The company
is focused on durability, as well as energyand resource efficiency. Special emphasis isplaced on the utilisation phase of its appliances, in which the environmental and climate
impact is particularly pronounced in relation tothe overall effect of Miele’s activities. More efficient, lower-CO2 logistics is another focal point.
Miele plans to conduct a climate impact
assessment to enable it to reliably evaluate theeffect of climate change on its own businessactivities, as well as the resulting economic
consequences. In the reporting period, Miele
initially concentrated on identifying and prioritising further measures to reduce CO2
emissions and improve data transparency.
Since January 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic
has meant new sustainability risks for Miele,
particularly in the field of occupational healthand safety. > Various measures have been
introduced at all locations to protect thecompany and its employees from infection with
Covid-19.
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EFFECTIVE COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT[GRI 102-16/-17, 206-1] Fair and cooperative
conduct vis-à-vis all internal and external
partners is part of the corporate culture at Miele.
Employees worldwide are obliged to abide by
the law at all times, and to comply with internal
guidelines, as well as self-imposed ethical andsocial standards. The Miele Code of Conduct
was introduced in 2008 as a reflection of thisobligation. It was most recently reviewed andupdated in 2020. The Code, which is available
on the Miele intranet, contains provisions on how
to prevent bribery and corruption, as well as
policies on proper conduct in relation to conflictsof interest, donations and sponsoring. It mandates strict adherence to competition andantitrust legislation. In the reporting period, as in
the years before it, there were no antitrust
proceedings against Miele. > The Code of
Conduct is based on the corporate philosophy,
the ethical guidelines for procurement, theprinciples of the UN Global Compact, theSA8000 social standard and the APPLiA Codeof Conduct (formerly CECED). Since 2011, Miele
has been a member of the > BME complianceinitiative, thereby underscoring its obligation to
introduce processes for compliance andsustainable business practices at the company
and implement them in its own supply chain.
Compliance with individual aspects of the Codeof Conduct, such as receiving and offering gifts,
or how to deal with conflicts of interest, arereviewed in internal audits. In the event ofviolations, the company will agree on corrective
measures. As a rule, however, it is the responsibility of the functional managers to put
appropriate guidelines in place to ensure that

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainabilitymanagement
management
Sustainability

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

4,122 people worldwide have taken part in
the training programme on the Code of
Conduct, 409 of them during the reporting
period.

RAISING EMPLOYEES’ AWARENESS
OF COMPLIANCE

Since the end of 2016, employees at all
locations involved in issues relating tocompetition and antitrust law are obliged touse this self-learning software on thesubject of competition and antitrust legislation. The programme ends with a test.
Records are kept on whether tests werepassed. There is also a legal management
system for the areas of environmental
protection, energy and occupational healthand safety, and an information management
software system addressing product-related
regulation worldwide.

4,122
employees participatedin the online compliancetraining programme.

CONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

their employees’ tasks are always carried out incompliance with applicable laws, internal rules
and the self-imposed ethical and social
standards.

[GRI 102-17, 205-2, 412-2] It is mandatory forrelevant groups of employees to participate
in an online compliance training programmeon the Miele Code of Conduct. This includes
managers, as well as employees for whom
the contents of the Miele Code of Conduct
and the issue of compliance are particularly
important. Such members of staff work
primarily in the purchasing, internal audit,
sales/field sales and specialist sales departments or as customer services. New
employees are automatically informed thatthey have to complete the programme. The
programme is also open to all interested
employees from other areas. To date,

FACTS & FIGURES

upon starting work or entering into a relationship with the company. If appropriate,
suspicions are passed on to the central
Auditing department for evaluation andreview. The entire process can be handledanonymously upon request. No notifications
relating to sustainability aspects were madeto the ombudsperson during the reporting
period. There were no instances of contracts
with business partners being terminated or
failing to be extended due to corruptionrelated violations.

OMBUDSPERSON AS A POINT OF CONTACT IF
SUSPICIONS ARISE[GRI 102-17, 205-3, 419-1] Since 2010,
employees have been able to turn to an
external, independent ombudsperson – or totheir supervisor, HR management, internal
audit, the works council or the Executive
Board – if they suspect corruption, fraud ortheft within Miele’s sphere of influence. This
option can also be used to report topics
pertaining to human rights or data protection
aspects. Employees, suppliers and third
parties all over the world can take advantageof this service. The ombudsperson is additionally available to provide advice on
individual questions. All employees
throughout the world, and all suppliers inGermany, are informed about the existenceof the ombudsperson and their contact data21

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Sustainability management

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Stakeholder
engagement
Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

Stakeholder engagement
Dialogue on an equal footing[GRI 102-40/-42] Miele’s products and production processes have different impacts on
people and the environment. At the same time,
the success and reputation of the company
is also strongly influenced by the perceptions, expectations, needs and decisions of its
stakeholders. That is why Miele participatesin > ongoing dialogue with all relevant stakeholder groups, including employees, customers
and business partners, as well as associations and interest groups, scientists andresearchers, the general public, policymakers
and legislators. Continuous stakeholder dialogue helps the company to identify important
trends and new developments, as well as risks
and opportunities, at an early stage, and also
to achieve common sustainability objectives.
STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT[GRI 102-42/-43] Stakeholder dialogue
takes place on many different levels at Miele.
> Corporate Sustainability and Regulatory
Affairs (SRA), formerly known as the Technical
Product Management and Environmental Office(TPE), plays a pivotal role in this respect. It
maintains numerous contacts with experts andother stakeholders and is active in associations,conferences and dialogue forums at EU level,
which enables it to help shape policy dialogue.
Other areas of the company also maintain close

contact with the stakeholders that are relevant
for them. Corporate communications speaks
to media representatives and the public, whilecustomer service and marketing are in contact with customers and business partners.
Experts from the specialist departments, suchas energy management or purchasing, as wellas members of the Executive Board, take partin conferences, working groups and dialogue
forums. Visitors to the Miele locations also givethe company valuable feedback. At international
locations, the dialogue is generally the responsibility of the sales subsidiaries, in consultation
with the appropriate specialist departments
at the company headquarters if necessary.
On account of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was
not possible to involve stakeholders in theusual manner in the reporting year. Visits to
Miele’s sites were more or less impossible,
and most events with external participants
had to be cancelled. Alternatively, a selection of digital exchange formats were offered.
STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS ON
OUR SUSTAINABILITY WORK
Following the materiality process in 2018,
stakeholder interviews with various opinion
leaders and decision-makers were conducted
in 2019. The goal was to gain deeper insights

WIDESPREAD EMPLOYEEPARTICIPATION
Knowing the requirements of stakeholders is of tremendous importance for the further development of the> sustainability strategy, which is intended to serve inparticular as a model for employees in their daily activities. For this reason, Miele values a consistentunderstanding of sustainability that is anchoredthroughout the company. More than 100 employees got
involved through a variety of workshops, video conferences and a wide-scale kick-off event, creating a broad
basis for the upcoming transformation processes.

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into strategic topics and identify specific areasof action and overlaps. The company talked
to representatives of Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation
and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)and the consumer advocacy association Verbraucher Initiative e. V. Miele employees werealso able to access an interview with climate
researcher Mojib Latif on the intranet. With
over 2,000 views, the echo was positive.
VALUABLE FEEDBACK FROM CUSTOMERS[GRI 102-43] Miele also conducts brand positioning surveys several times a year. In thesesurveys, customers are asked a variety of questions, including how well they believe Miele ismeeting its ecological duties and what they
think of the company’s commitment to sustainability. Between 2019 and the first quarterof 2021, Miele Brand Health Tracking, which is
responsible for brand development, analysedsome 54,000 interviews in 15 European countries. In the interviews, customers were asked toevaluate the sustainability efforts of nine companies from the industry. Miele took second place,just behind the top-ranked business and with asubstantial lead over the third-placed company.
These results confirm that Miele’s sustainability performance is > perceived positively.
POLITICAL INTERESTS[GRI 102-13] As a domestic appliance manufacturer, Miele is influenced by politicaldecisions and legal requirements. The corresponding guidelines and measures on
issues such as the energy label, ecolog-

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

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SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder
engagement
Stakeholder engagement

ical design, hazardous substances and thecircular economy have been drawn up primarily at a European level in recent years.
Member states also draw up their own sustainability-related regulations that have an
influence on Miele. Miele contributes its expertise to the debate surrounding the objectives
and implementation of the guidelines throughvarious > national and international committees, commissions and associations. Topics
such as national restrictions on substancesand programmes for improving resource
and material efficiency have also been discussed in the process. In the reporting period,
the discussions also centred on the digitalisation of products and services, as well as
related questions regarding consumer protection and the company’s responsibility.
[GRI 102-13/-14] Miele maintains a continuous dialogue with political representatives
who work at regional, national or European
level. In its dealings with these representatives,the company argues that effective regulation
for the environment, society and customers
should be beneficial and should be realisablewith as little additional bureaucratic effort as
possible. To avoid distortions of competition,
proposed legislation should also always be
accompanied by a sound impact assessmentthat takes all potential market and environmental effects of the regulation into accountand ensures transparency in terms of its implementation. Since the end of 2015, Miele has
been registered in the public transparency register for interest groups in Brussels to provide
an insight into which representatives of the
EU Commission, EU Parliament and the European Council are in direct contact with Miele.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

WORK WITH ASSOCIATIONSIn addition to advocating for certain politicalinterests, company representatives are also
involved in the work of national and international
associations. One of the executive directors,
Dr Markus Miele or Dr Reinhard Zinkann, is represented on each of the boards of the German
Central Association of the Electrical and Electronics Industry ZVEI, the German Brands
Association, the Stifterverband für die Deutsche
Wissenschaft (Donors’ association for the promotion of humanities and sciences) and – ata regional level – the Chamber of Commerceand Industry and the trade association. Many
members of staff are active on association andstandardisation committees. Their tasks involve
supporting the development of regulations
and standards with their expertise while representing Miele’s interests to the outside world.
Miele actively works with associations throughrepresentatives of its sales subsidiaries in otherEU member states and outside Europe as well.
The company representatives then share theinformation they have gained on topics such as
proposed legislation with the company itself.

For years, Miele has supported > FORUMWASCHEN as part of various different projects in order to sensitise consumers andother members of society to more sustainable washing, dishwashing and cleaning in
the household. FORUM WASCHEN offers
experts from government authorities, federal ministries, research institutes, unions
and manufacturers of detergents and household appliances, as well as technical colleges,
environmental organisations, universities andconsumer associations, a platform where they
can share their knowledge. It also contributes
to the public debate surrounding sustainability
through conferences, special events and exhibitions. In addition to practical input throughpresentations and lectures by experts, Miele
supports the platform financially, for example
by organising an annual multipliers’ meeting.

BENEFITING FROM PRACTICAL DIALOGUE[GRI 102-44] Miele also actively engages in dialogue with environmentalists. For example, thecompany has been in regular contact with Environmental Action Germany (DUH) for several
years now. As a result, the company engaged indialogue regarding refrigerator disposal. Miele
vehemently denies one organisation’s accusations of improper conduct in this area and haspresented a large number of audits and reviewsof the disposal facilities to back up its rebuttal.
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engagement
Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT[GRI 102-40/-43, 413-1] Overview

FORM OF DIALOGUE
Employees

Customers

Dealers

Suppliers andservice providers

Associations andinterest groups

Regular• Works council• Employee reviews• Corporate suggestion scheme• Employee survey• Complaints officeContinuous• Miele Customer Service and sales talks• Customer hotline• Usability tests for various product groups in the test studio• Brand positioning surveys
Continuous• Dialogue with dealers and project partners in the areaof domestic appliances and commercial equipment,
particularly concerning customer requirements

Several times a year
• Common working groups• Discussions with Miele’s purchasing department• Dialogue in the context of audits and training• Product innovation workshops
Regular• Membership and active participation in national and international
associations and interest groups, such as the > ZVEI or APPLiA• Conference participation• Participation in EU public consultations

Subjects (selection) and measures• All employee needs> Employees & society• All customer needs, e.g. regarding appliances in use and on sustainability criteria> Products & services > Employees & society > Supply chain & production• Product quality and durability• Consumption efficiency• Dealing with own employees as well as work practices> Products & services > Employees & society > Supply chain & production• Implementing environmental and social standards in the supply chain• Environmental protection throughout the product life cycle, in particular for energy efficiency• Common solutions for the implementation of directives, e.g. threshold value requirements> Products & services > Supply chain & production• Sector-specific regulations in the fields of energy, safety, substances and materials, thecircular economy, resource and material efficiency, disposal, digital products and services> Products & services

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MANAGEMENT & PROCESSES

Sustainability strategy

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainability management

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder
engagement
Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Science andresearch

Policymakers andlegislators

As required• Dialogue with non-governmental organisations(NGOs) on relevant topics in the sector• Collaboration with scientific institutions such as the universities inBielefeld, Paderborn and Munich, as well as scientific institutions
and multiple the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft institutes• Commissioning of studies on specialist topics• Exchange with sustainability institutes

Continuous• Dialogue at national and European level by participatingin committees, working groups and conferences• International dialogue with the sales subsidiaries, which inturn are represented in working groups and committees• Personal exchange at a regional level

CONTENTS

Miele and Covid-19

FORM OF DIALOGUE
Non-governmental organisations

FACTS & FIGURES

Subjects (selection) and measures• Energy and water consumption of the appliances, waste water contamination, disposal of refrigerators• Compliance with labour and human rights> Supply chain & production > Products & services• Investigating ways to make washing machines and tumble dryers more energy-efficient• Life cycle assessments/studies> Products & services

•
•
•
•
•

Energy efficiency and resource conservation
Occupational safety and product safety
Corporate digital responsibility
Compliance
Digitalisation and industry 4.0> Management & processes

Society/public/media• Sustainability communication and the publication of asustainability report• Dialogue on sustainability topics with media, thescientific community, customers and others• All topics

Local
communities

As required• Exchange with the citizens at the locations in direct contact and at events• Social engagement at the locations• Maintaining local jobs
• Cultural engagement> Employees & society

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainability management

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and
Miele
andCovid-19
Covid-19

Miele and Covid-19
Focus on preventing infection

The Covid-19 pandemic was associatedwith a variety of challenges for Miele as wellin the reporting period. Miele responded
quickly in early 2020 and launched a comprehensive set of measures, including asignificant expansion of remote working
opportunities, the introduction of exclusive hygiene concepts, transparent
communication for all employees and specific guidance for managers. > Protecting
employees and third parties from infection was the top priority at all times during
the development of appropriate strategies.
COORDINATED APPROACH
In February 2020, Miele set up a coronavirus coordination team consisting of seniorstaff from HR, purchasing, logistics, IT, facility
management, communication and the company medical service. This central committee
also includes employees who coordinate theapproach at the sales subsidiaries and theplants. The team defines necessary measuresand recommends them to the Miele locations.
The people in charge locally are responsible for their implementation in accordancewith the statutory requirements. In Germany,
those requirements include the protective
measures adopted by federal and state governments. At the same time, the coronavirus

coordination team monitors and discusses
the latest infection figures. Local crisis
teams, which are overseen by the appropriate management staff at the locations,have been set up to round out the efforts.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
The family-owned company quickly developed and implemented its > own hygiene
concepts. In some cases, these concepts
were ahead of the official measures or went
beyond them. The technical conditions
for mobile working were enhanced significantly in a short space of time in order toenable a large portion of the workforce towork from home. In addition, buildings weremodified by adding automated opening
mechanisms to doors and setting up separating walls and hand sanitizer dispensers,
to name just a few examples. Miele advocated for wearing face masks before it
became commonplace to do so and for
replacing face-to-face meetings with virtual
conferences, events and business travel.
Moreover, occupational health and safety
officers partnered with the company medical service to provide advice on events. The
company also introduced an occupancy concept for offices and meeting rooms to ensure

40

AirControl air purifiers
were set up at the
Gütersloh location.

the necessary physical distancing. In production, employees were newly divided into shiftgroups, and break times were staggered. To
ensure sufficient fresh air in enclosed spaces,
Miele developed concepts for ventilation systems. A total of 40 mobile Miele > AirControl
air purifiers were also set up at the Gütersloh
location alone in meeting, training and breakrooms, as well as at the site’s company childday-care centre. The Gütersloh facility management team provided those responsible forfacility management at Miele’s German locations with a central source of knowledge andadvice about the concept and other measures. The cafeterias at the locations were
subject to strict hygiene requirements in linewith the latest official protective measures.
The company also offered more flexible
working hours in order to ease the burden
on parents, who faced particularly daunting
challenges during the pandemic due to theclosures of day-care centres and schools.
Parents also had the option of taking additional time off to take care of their children.
The family-owned company started offering
testing options at the plant in Gütersloh and atother Miele production sites at an early stage
in order to supplement the public health system’s efforts to identify cases of Covid-19.
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Sustainability strategy

Despite increased precautionary and protective measures, multiple cases of Covid-19
occurred among employees at the Miele plantin Euskirchen at the end of February 2021.
As a consequence, the employees affected
and the people they had been in contact withentered into quarantine. Regular manufacturing
operations at the location were suspended
until the isolation period had ended.
COMMUNICATION AND SUPPORT
Keeping employees up to date at all times
and offering them support options has beenof the essence throughout the Covid-19
pandemic. For example, Miele informed
employees and managers of the latest
developments and necessary measures atthe locations by e-mail on a regular basis
during the reporting period. Employees
without personal intranet and company
e-mail access had the option to receive
important information through a messenger service on their smartphones. Miele
also set up a Corona Information Centeron the intranet with comprehensive information and an FAQ section. All membersof the workforce are invited to contact thecorona­v irus coordination team directly ifthey have any additional questions. Recommended courses of action were provided
specifically for management staff on topics
such as how to handle suspected cases.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Sustainability management

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Stakeholder engagement

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Miele and
Miele
andCovid-19
Covid-19

pandemic, the company faced increased> challenges in this respect during thereporting period. At times, it was not possible to obtain the usual volume of parts fromsuppliers, and the closure of retail stores cut
off the personal connection to customers.
In addition, production was interrupted
at all plants due to the pandemic-related
shortening of working hours in early 2020
– and again a year later due to Covid-19
infections at the Euskirchen plant. Nevertheless, Miele succeeded in keeping supply
risks to a minimum by responding early.

Miele offered earlytesting for employees
at some locations todetermine the numberof Covid-19 infections.

ENSURING SUPPLY SECURITY
Miele’s goal is to supply customers withpremium appliances for household and commercial use at all times. Due to the Covid-19
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Product portfolio and quality

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Customer orientation and information

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

Products &services> Development and innovation> Product portfolio and quality> Customer orientation and information> Disposal and recycling

Miele stands for durable productsthat offer the utmost in performanceand state-of-the-art convenience
while also protecting and conserving
the natural world and its resources.
One focal point of the sustainability
strategy is to continue to improvethe environmental impact of products and packaging, making themmore sustainable. The agenda
includes topics such as repairability and the development of new,sustainable business models.
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Customer orientation and information

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

Development and innovation
Meeting the highest standards

Miele’s goal is for its products to offer robust
benefits to customers while also having as
little adverse environmental impact as possible. Featuring timelessly elegant > design
they are also crafted to be intuitive and as
accessible as possible for all users. The
company bases its product development activities on sustainability criteria of its own thatexceed the legal specifications. There are various areas of focus here, including durability,> recyclability, repairability and the energy andresource efficiency of appliances in real-worlduse. The aim is to always offer the all-roundbest appliance on the market. The company
works on this in close > dialogue with consumers, suppliers and further partners fromthe industrial and research sectors and fromassociations. Miele also focuses on cooperation when developing innovative new businessmodels relating to sustainability, for example
by working with partners such as start-ups.
NEW BUSINESS MODELS AND
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS[GRI 203-2] Miele advances numerous projects with promising start-ups in fields suchas the smart home, customer support, digitalmarketing and industry 4.0. Forms of cooperation range from joint development projects andmanagement support to direct capital invest-

ment. All of Miele’s involvement in emerging
companies to support the traditional line ofbusiness takes place under the Miele Venture Capital umbrella. As one example, Miele
holds a stake in Plant Jammer, a Danish company. The Plant Jammer app helps consumers
use leftover foods creatively. Another example
is KptnCook, a Berlin-based start-up that alsooffers an app having to do with food – from individual recipe inspiration and shopping rightup to the finished dish. MChef, based in theGerman city of Bielefeld, lets customers place
online orders for gourmet dishes already plated
on high-quality reusable crockery and preparethem conveniently in the Miele Dialog oven, with
options for other oven models starting in 2021.

5.5%

of total turnover is invested inresearch and development.

Miele Operations & Payment Solutions, a wholly
owned Miele subsidiary founded in 2019,
developed the appWash concept for shared useof Miele washing machines and tumble dryers,
including online reservations and cashless
payment. The idea of using appWash to make iteasier and more flexible to use and manage
appliances provided centrally – in larger apartment complexes or student housing, for example– arose in the smart home area of expertise.

company W&H was launched. Miele and W&H
plan to align their product portfolios in the
future, each of them incorporating machinesfrom the other partner into its own range. For
Miele, that means adding four new tabletop
sterilisers from W&H to its product selection. In
turn, the washer-disinfectors that W&H now
offers come from the Miele plant in Bielefeld.

The Miele Professional division also relies onpartnerships. During the reporting period, astrategic alliance with the medical technology[GRI 203-2] Under the “pay-per-use” model,
customers only pay for individual units of
output rather than buying an appliance. In the

RENTING INSTEAD OF BUYING

case of a washing machine, for example, onewash cycle would constitute one unit ofoutput. Studies suggest that a pay-per-use
approach could promote sustainable consumption, not only raising users’ awarenessof efficient use of energy and other resources,
but also delivering possible financial savings.
After all, someone who pays for each wash
cycle is more likely to wait until they haveenough laundry to make up a full load insteadof running the machine half-empty. In the
Netherlands, Miele has been offering aleasing service for washing machines since2016. The service involves billing users on thebasis of their actual use. The low-cost leasing
model allows even price-conscious households such as groups of flatmates toconserve resources by using high-quality,
efficient appliances. Miele works with
Bundles, another start-up, to offer the programme. When users terminate the leasing
contract, the appliance is returned to Bundles
and prepared for the next user.
EFFICIENT SYSTEM SOLUTIONS
Miele offers its customers more than simply
high-performance domestic and commercial
appliances – it increasingly also offers themcomplete system solutions. These include theappliance itself, useful accessories, the right29

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Customer orientation and information

cleaning agents, smart control and dosing
functions and tailor-made service options.
Among other things, Miele washing machinesand dishwashers are capable of using sensor
data to dispense exactly the right amount ofdetergent. The TwinDos washing machine
dosing function unlocks outstanding cleaning
results when used with UltraPhase 1 and 2
detergents while also actively helping to protect the environment. As a result, the machineuses only as much detergent as needed,> conserving resources. TwinDos, like the
AutoDos function in dishwashers, also allows
for smart inventory management, including
convenient ordering of replacement suppliesof cleaning products via the Miele app (formerly the Miele@mobile app). For commercial
machines, Miele offers cleaning agents
under the ProCare brand, also in combination with resource-efficient automatic dosing.
Hygiene products are another businesssegment where Miele offers system solutions.
The Professional Business Unit offers facilities
such as hotels, nursing homes and medical
practices a wide range of system solutions forcleaning and disinfecting crockery, cutlery
and instruments. Miele washer-disinfectors
and sterilisers process instruments efficiently
and safely while also minimising wear andensuring that they retain their value. If amachine needs service, Miele medical
product technicians travel to the site within
24 hours to quickly find a solution. Beyond
that, Miele advises business customers on
the cost-effective use of efficient washingmachines, tumble dryers and dishwashers inshared facilities such as utility rooms or
employee kitchenettes.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

Miele also offers convenient system solutionsin the coffee preparation segment. Dependingon the model, coffee machines from Mielefeature automatic cleaning and descaling
functions for which Miele offers special
cartridges. This ensures efficient cleaning,which in turn contributes to the durability ofthe product. There are also a number of Miele
coffee blends available. The coffee is certified
fair trade and organic.
CONNECTING DOMESTIC APPLIANCES
Miele is a leading provider when it comesto connecting domestic appliances. Under
the “Miele@home” category, the company
carries more than 700 different domestic
appliance versions with connectivity capability worldwide as part of its portfolio. These
appliances revolutionise operation and offer
customers added benefits through increased
flexibility, convenience, quality of life and> security. Miele created the Smart Home
area of expertise in 2017 to serve as a home
for all its expertise in this field and drive further advances in connectivity. The company
also founded a subsidiary called Miele Venture
Capital, which invests in innovative start-ups.
Connected systems already make runninga household energy-efficient, secure andconvenient. For example, domestic appliances can also be controlled conveniently
using Amazon’s Alexa voice-activated assistant. Miele customers can use this function
to get information about their appliances’operating status, control them using voicecommands or get explanations of features.
New machines, languages and expertise

FRESH-PICKED SALAD AND
HERBS FROM THE PLANTCUBE
Miele entered the vertical farming segment in 2019 with
the newly created New Growth Factory Business Unit.
“Vertical farming” is the futuristic term used by researchers
for multistorey greenhouses designed to grow food in acompact form close to where it is needed, such as in urban
centres. The Plantcube from the Miele subsidiary Agrilution brings this revolutionary concept home. The fully
automated cabinet-style greenhouse is no larger than astandard refrigerator and offers perfect conditions for
growing salad, herbs and microgreens – seedlings harvested after just a few days of growth so that they areespecially flavourful and rich in nutrients. Growing foodthis way takes minimal effort, and the harvest is freeof pesticides and other environmental influences.

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Customer orientation and information

relating to Miele products have been added
to Alexa on an ongoing basis since 2017.
Connectivity is increasingly unlocking
new application scenarios that bring further advantages in terms of sustainability.
Washing assistants integrated into the Mieleapp provide information on particularly
energy-efficient appliance cycles, for example.
The AddLoad feature makes it possible
to add laundry items that were inadver­
tently left out to a load in progress without
having to restart the cycle. AddLoad is displayed on the machine itself and in the Mieleapp. This lets users see whether it is possible to add laundry to the washing machine,
and if so until when, even from a distance.
In a smart home, appliances from different
manufacturers and product categories haveto be able to communicate and interact witheach other. To accommodate this need,
Miele offers an open interface that canbe used to integrate Miele@home devices
into cross-manufacturer systems and platforms. This enables the use of base functions
such as start/stop and checking machine
status. To drive further advances in compatibility and interoperability beyond that,
Miele is involved in the > EEBus Initiative and> CENELEC, the European Committee forElectrotechnical Standardization. The goalof these alliances is to establish common
standards in electrotechnical areas and forintelligent energy management. The company
also tests the interoperability of connected
domestic appliances and other building
technology components in projects thatreceive national and international funding.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

MEASURES TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
in each phase of the product life cycle

Production
Environmental and energy management
Product development
Achievement of the best energy
efficiency classes

Use of the optimal technology1)
Avoidance of critical substances

Consideration of stakeholder requirements
Material selection targets the use of secondary
raw materials and high recyclability andtherefore high resource efficiency.

Transport and logistics
Short distances
Transport bundling
Efficient utilisation of freight space
Use of low-emission means of transport

Usage phase
DisposalLow consumption
Compliance with legislation (WEEE, RoHS)
Excellent durability
Commitment to optimising recycling
processes/increasing recycling rates

Qualified maintenance and repair service

1) Taking into account all circumstances and giving due consideration to quality and commercial aspects.

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700

Miele domestic appliances and over
100 commercial machines featured
connectivity capability in 2020.

Miele offers a remote maintenance function
for connected machines to handle software
updates that may be necessary. Available
updates can be downloaded and installed on
the machine in question remotely if the customer wishes. Starting in 2021, Miele offers
users of its premium ovens the ability to purchase additional applications and configure
them individually, initially limited to Denmark as a pilot market. These include theSmart Food ID and Smart Browning Control
functions, which use cameras to determine food status inside the oven, followed by
preparation using automatic programmes.
Remote updates make it possible to equipthese kinds of Miele appliances with new
applications even after years of use.
DIGITAL MANAGEMENT FOR
COMMERCIAL MACHINESThe MielePro@mobile app lets commercial customers access their machines froma mobile device as well. In 2018, the company also launched a way for them to use theapp to control multiple machines simultaneously and order replacement detergents. The
app provides information on machine status
and sends a signal when detergent is running low. MielePro@mobile is now available
in six countries, enabling intelligent connectivity for Miele ProfiLine dishwashers as wellas washing machines and tumble dryers in
the > Little Giants model series. The Miele
portfolio currently encompasses over 100
commercial machines with connectivity capability that can be linked using the mobile app.
Miele created the Smart Home Professional
unit in 2019 to focus on digital innovation
management in the commercial solution segment. Smart Home Professional operates
the Miele MOVE platform for the company’s
consumers, giving them a source for digitalsolutions from Miele Professional. Commercial users can also visit the platform for awide range of digital services across different
machines to support their day-to-day work.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

CONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

This has been a demonstrable success with
the KM 7897 FL induction hob, for example.
The system automatically recognises thepots and pans placed on the hob, along withchanges in position, and adjusts the heat distribution accordingly. The hob received theprestigious iF Design Award and > iF Gold
Award 2020 for its easy and intuitive use.
The aim of Miele’s product development
activities is to reduce the complexity whichpeople face in everyday life and to ensurethat no one is excluded by applying a consistent design to all appliances in one
product group and using a universal operating logic. The technical term for this is“universal design” or “design for all”. Because
design is also intended to encourage users
to increase their use of the ECO functions
to conserve energy and resources, Miele iscareful to offer functions that users perceive
as helpful and relevant and are happy to use.
Specifically, the goal here is to use positive
experiences to create a good feeling, solidifying sensible user behaviour and achieving
the utmost in customer satisfaction.

DESIGN
Miele’s design philosophy encompasses elegance and aesthetics alongside intuitive,
self-explanatory and accessible handlinggeared towards the needs of all customers.
Accordingly, demographic change in industrialised nations has already been a key
focus for Miele product development forsome time. Right from the development of
its appliances, the company takes care toensure that they are easy to use regardlessof the user’s age or physical capabilities.

FACTS & FIGURES

UNIVERSAL DESIGN[GRI 203-2] The rules of universal design
ensure that the following performance characteristics are incorporated: broad usability,
flexibility, simple and intuitive handling, sensory
perception of information, fault tolerance,
minimum physical effort, convenience andaccessibility.
Internal guidelines such as the Miele Ergonomic Index and the Haptics Guideline form

the basis for product design at Miele that has
been optimised for ergonomics appeal to thesense of touch.
The company aims to make using Miele
domestic appliances possible even for thevisually impaired. The Miele W1 Guideline,
launched in 2017, is the only washing machineon the market that can be retrofitted to allow
people with impaired or no vision to operate it.
The standard version of this model also offers
easy and intuitive use for all users.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND
ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST
Miele always optimises existing products
and develops new ones in keeping with legal
requirements and in line with its own stan­dards that go beyond what is required bylaw. For example, the company also fulfils the EU-wide Ecodesign Directive, which
was revised during the reporting period. This
directive on automatic washing machines
and washer dryers, for example, sets specificrequirements for manufacturers of products like washing machines and their washingand rinsing functions. These specifications,which address aspects such as energy efficiency, will take effect by stages. Lawmakers
have also stipulated repairability requirements
to ensure that consumers have the option ofobtaining repairs, thereby making it possible
to use machines for longer. Producers like
Miele are required to provide certain replacement parts for seven or ten years, dependingon the product and target group, for example.
The requirements took effect in March 2021 forthe product categories of washing machines,
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washer-dryers, dishwashers and refrigerators,
with further domestic appliances to follow.
In order to keep all the key aspects in mind frompre-development to series maturity, Miele works
with its in-house IMNU 2.0 product development
system. Part of this system is the environmental
checklist. It supports development projects withguidelines that show areas of focus that would
make sense from an environmental standpoint. The environmental checklist also includes
Miele-specific requirements for environmental
design, repairability and packaging materials, aswell as material specifications relating to things
like the use of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), plasticisers or recycled plastics.
These requirements go beyond the legal stipulations on the use of chemicals. Another elementof the product development system is an international digital rights registry, which provides
information on the various legal requirements that apply to machine development andmakes it possible to keep these in mind ona country-specific and product-specific basis.
Miele also develops scenarios for individual
product categories that make it possible to systematically analyse and regularly review trends
and likely developments, including in the context
of sustainability. In order to integrate sustainability aspects into the product development
process right from the start, Miele also produces corresponding life cycle assessments
for relevant technological modifications.
DIALOGUE FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS[GRI 102-43] Cooperation shortens thepath to success, which is why extensive

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

dialogue is especially important to Miele.
Various Miele departments and external partners work hand in hand during the productdevelopment process: The Design Center,marketing and market research teams
pinpoint > customer needs, analyse thepotential for improving existing appliancesand machines and assess the prospects for
new products. Designers and developers
devote themselves to ideas and concepts.
The toolshop, prefabrication and assemblyareas cooperate closely with suppliers rightfrom the early phases of development.
Employees themselves also frequently supply
valuable impetus for lasting improvements.
In addition to the corporate suggestion
scheme, which was rebranded > “Idee M”
in 2018, Miele provides employees at many
locations with GO IDEA, a database-driven
ideas platform. The platform was introduced at the Gütersloh production plant
for what is now the Laundry Business Unit
in 2015 and later adopted in the Cooking,
Small Domestic Appliances and Professional Business Units as well. There arealso idea scouts for the various productsegments who work on idea development, manage the decision-making process
through a committee and keep employees
abreast of new ideas and activities.
Supplier expertise is highly sought after,
especially when new materials or the challenging field of electromechanics are involved.
Regular product innovation workshops held
jointly with suppliers help to identify issues
that could impact quality early on. External
dialogue also contributes to taking future

HYGIENICALLY CLEAN
LAUNDRY –SCIENTIFI­CALLYCONFIRMED
It all started with a suggestion on the GO IDEA idea
platform, which was scientifically reviewed in 2020. The
result: certain Miele washing machines eliminate morethan 99.9 percent of possible viruses from laundry. Thiswas proven for models with automatic dosing and the“Cotton Hygiene 60°C” cycle as well as the extra“AllergoWash”. The Institute for Integrative Hygiene andVirology confirmed the machines’ high effectiveness atfighting viruses with its Virus Hygiene seal in gold.

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customer requirements into account earlyon during product development. With thisin mind, Miele engages in regular dialogue
with further interest groups and expert partners, such as the Oeko-Institut Freiburg.
TOGETHER AGAINST MICROPLASTICS
Miele has watched closely and responded
as public discussion surrounding the harmful
global environmental impacts of plastic hassurged in recent years. One area of special
concern here is microplastics (tiny plastic
particles and fibres with a diameter of lessthan 5 millimetres). This subject is especially relevant to Miele, as microplastics canalso enter the environment during washing,when they are released from clothing into thewaste water system. From there, microplastics can find their way into the food chain
and be consumed by humans, posing ahealth risk. Miele has been researching
how to prevent or at least sharply reduce
microplastics in suds for some time now.
Miele washing machines themselves alreadymake a significant contribution towards thisaim. Specially designed honeycomb drums
and adapted washing programmes handle
clothing gently, minimising fibre abrasion.
Pre-treatment of fabrics by the textile manufacturer offers great potential for reducing
microplastics. Filter technologies in washingmachines could also help, but economically efficient use of filters is not possible
with current technologies. To come up
with further solutions, Miele participated in the TextileMission joint research
project funded by the German Federal Min-

istry of Education and Research, which
involved representatives of industry, theresearch sector and environmental associations. The project focused in particularon solutions in the areas of textile production and waste water treatment technologythat looked at different stages of the textile production chain and life cycle.
CUSTOMER NEEDS AND FUTURE SCENARIOS[GRI 102-43/-44] Miele market research has
been conducting customer and satisfaction
surveys in Germany and many other countries
for over 30 years. As a result, it receives morethan 250,000 consumer opinions every year
from across the globe. Miele mines these for
informative findings on market perception, purchasing decisions and user behaviour. Miele
also works in cooperation with national andinternational market research institutes suchas GfK to ensure that its product development
activities are conducted on a firm footing.
Direct contact with consumers is an integral
part of the work done by Miele designers. At
the Gütersloh site, for example, Miele has its
own test studio which is used to perform us­­ability tests. Here, a representative selection of
consumers is given the opportunity to extensively test new domestic appliances. Working
with consumer associations is another important factor. For example, Miele development
teams work closely with the German Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted todesign accessible products. They also develop
future scenarios based on trend analyses,
user models and the latest user experience(UX) methods, as well as observations and

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surveys. These scenarios help the company
identify the needs of tomorrow early on andaddress them in its development activities.
Together with other companies that doresearch, Miele crafts visions of a digitalised
and more sustainable life. Toward this aim,
Miele Smart Home teamed up with Z_Punkt andthe architecture firm Graft in early 2020 tolaunch the > FuturePIX initiative. In cooperation
with further companies, two workshops havebeen held to develop an initial shared image ofurban space in Europe for the year 2030. The
initiative aims to combine the expertise of thevarious participating companies to assess thechanges that are on the horizon for people’s
living environments and use this as a source of
insight for corporate strategies, new businesssegments and lines of business for participating
stakeholders.
During the reporting period, Miele also worked on
innovative solutions for its own processes. These
activities focused on the digital transformation ofcustomer service, with customers’ possible future
expectations as one area of analysis.

Over 30 yearsof Miele market research

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Product
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andquality
quality
Product portfolio

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Customer orientation and information

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

Product portfolio and quality
Long service life, low consumption

From day one, the core of the Miele productphilosophy has been to offer its customers
products of exceptional quality and witha particularly long service life. As a company focused on sustainability, Miele
also pays great attention to energy efficiency. More than three-quarters of theenergy that domestic and commercial
appliances need from development to disposal is consumed during the > usage
phase. Miele adopts a holistic approachhere too. In addition to energy demand,
water consumption and the use of chemicals such as detergents also play a majorrole in relation to potential conservation.
All Miele appliances are designed withmaximum efficiency in mind under realconditions. For example, they feature a range
of > consumption-reducing functions. Additional potential for conserving resources is
opened up by connectivity and incorporation
into smart home concepts. In this process,Miele makes sure that low consumption does
not come at the expense of practical benefit– for example with respect to programme
duration, > noise levels and the results
achieved when cooking, cleaning, washingand vacuuming.

ENERGY LABEL REFORM
During the reporting period, the company’s areas of focus included the > reformof the energy label and providing associated > information to customers. The new
EU product label is intended to help consumers purchase energy-efficient large
domestic appliances. A revised scale from
A to G – which initially applies to washingmachines, washer-dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers and wine storage units– has been in effect since 1 March 2021. The
previous A+++, A++ and A+ classes havebeen eliminated. Beyond that, more-realistic
methods of measuring energy consumption and determining the label class wereintroduced in some areas. The new legis­
lation was specifically drafted to ensure thatfew products, if any, are assigned to thehighest label classes for some time to come.
Because new calculation methods wereapplied, the old scale and the new one are
not comparable. For example, refrigeratorsand freezers that previously fell within the oldlabelling scheme’s most efficient classes, from
A+++ to A, may now be rated C to F, evenwith no change in energy consumption.

REDUCTION IN ENERGY CONSUMPTION[GRI 302-5] of domestic appliances since 2000 in the business year 2020

Tumble dryers-72 %Washing machines-72 %Refrigerators without a freezer compartment 1)-54 %Refrigerators with a freezer compartment1)-53 %Cookers and ovens-49 %Dishwashers-44 %Freezers 1)-43 %Comparison of the most energy-efficient Miele appliances available on the market in 2020 withthe most energy-efficient Miele appliances from 2000 (basis: Energy Label until 2020).
1) Including 150 l of usable capacity.

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portfolioand
andquality
quality
Product portfolio

For greater transparency, manufacturers arealso required to enter their machines’ information in a database. The > European Product
Database for Energy Labelling (EPREL)
allows anyone who is interested to accessthis data, either directly online or via a QR
code printed on a machine’s energy label.
WASHING MACHINES[GRI 302-5] In the business year 2020, all Miele
washing machines sold in the EU fell within
what was then the best energy label class,
A+++. Beyond that, the proportion of washingmachines that consume at least 10 percent
less energy than is required to be included in
the best energy efficiency class (dependingon the model) has increased significantly inrecent years. The figure stood at 82 percent
in the business year 2020 (2019: 72 percent).
Under the energy label requirements that tookeffect in March 2021, almost all front loader
models are rated for the new best energy efficiency class, A, thanks to their innovative, highly
efficient technology. The only model to come100%of Miele washing machines sold in2020 reach the highest efficiency
class available on the market.

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Customer orientation and informationin second best, with a B rating, is the entry-level
model with a load capacity of 7 kilogrammes.
Top loaders fall in energy efficiency class C.
Miele systematically develops its domestic andcommercial appliances further by giving consideration to the entire product life cycle. As the scopefor achieving further improvements in efficiency
is getting smaller and smaller, the need for smart
solutions is high. For this reason, Miele introduced
the SingleWash programme in 2018. This programme improves the environmental performanceof the washing machines when a very light load
is used. Unfortunately, light loads are becoming
more and more common in daily life, previously
resulting in high energy demands. By using thisprogramme, the washing machine uses 60 percent
less energy and 51 percent less water comparedwith conventional automatic load detection. In
addition, the cycle is also reduced by 59 percent.
Some Miele household models even offer an additional connection for hot water, rain or well water.
Using solar-heated hot water, for example, makes
it possible to reduce electricity consumption by
a further 35 percent compared to the use of cold
tap water. The new Little Giants commercial model
series introduced in early 2019 includes washingmachines and tumble dryers that use as much as
22 percent less water and 28 percent less electricity compared with the previous generation.
Washing machine operation is continuously being
adjusted to reflect customers’ current needs andrequirements. The large M Touch user interface is
as intuitive, easy and quick to use as a smartphone. The white script on black background thatis typical of Miele appliances is also highly legible.
The size of the touch display also contributes toease of handling.

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

CURRENT EU ENERGY CONSUMPTION LABELLING – ON THE PRODUCTAppliance

Energy label
added

ENERGY EFFICIENCYCLASSES

Ovens;
ovens with steam cookers

2015

A+++ bis D

2015

A++ to E: until
31 December 2019
A+++ to D: since
1 January 2020

2011

A+++ to D

since 1 March 2021

A to G

2011

A+++ to D

since 1 March 2021

A to G

2011

A+++ to D

since 1 March 2021

A to G

2011

A+++ to D

since 1 March 2021

A to G

1996

A to G – combined
washing and drying

from 1 March 2021

2 x A to G – one scaleeach for washing andcontinuous washingand drying

2013

A+++ to D

Cooker hoods

Dishwashers

Refrigerators and freezers

Wine storage units

Washing machines

Washer dryers

Tumble dryers

36Miele Sustainability Report 2021

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Product portfolio

WASHER DRYERS[GRI 302-5] Miele also offers consumer washer
dryers, which can combine washing anddrying in a single appliance. Since washer
dryers are frequently used for washingalone, the new label has two parts.
All Miele washer dryers have the highest
energy efficiency rating, A, for their wash
cycles. That is true of both the old energy
label and the new one. The washing anddrying programme achieves energy efficiency
class D under the new labelling scheme.
TUMBLE DRYERS[GRI 302-5] In the case of tumble dryers, thepercentage of appliances with the previous
best energy efficiency rating, A+++, rose significantly in the reporting period, from 52 percent
in 2019 to 59 percent in 2020. The fact thatthe particularly efficient heat pump technology
has been introduced onto the market playeda crucial role in this. Thanks to further technological developments, the new top model “T1
Passion” surpassed the limit value of A+++by 10 percent. The EcoDry technology withparticularly effective filter system and maintenance-free heat exchanger ensures low energy
consumption and short drying times on a longterm basis. The shift to R290 refrigerant also
marks a big step forward in moving toward atumble dryer range without chlorofluorocarbons. Seventy-six percent of the tumble dryers
with heat pump sold in Europe in 2020 werealready equipped with this climate-friendlier
refrigerant. In 2020, the Miele heat pump tumble
dryer TEB 155 WP emerged the only winner in

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Customer orientation and information

testing by Stiftung Warentest (tested 09/2020).
It was the only model to earn the highest ratingof “excellent”, putting it well ahead of the second-ranked contender. The Miele appliancestood out from the rest in the testing criteria ofdrying, handling and environmental properties
in particular. The new Little Giants commercial tumble dryer generation also includes amodel featuring heat pump technology.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURES

Disposal and recycling

grammes using just 2 litres of water to rinse
and the Eco programme lowering the figure
still further, to 1.8 litres. This represents asaving of 17 and 25 percent, respectively,
over the previous generation. The other threemodels in this series use 8 to 17 percent
less water. This is achieved through optimised water routing and redesigned sprayarms. Because the system uses less water,
it also needs less energy and detergent.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY CATEGORYFOR EACH PRODUCT GROUP
Calendar year 2020, as a percentage1)

Washing machines
100
Dishwashers

DISHWASHERS[GRI 302-5] Miele introduced the G 7000 series
back in 2018. Its AutoDos system with integrated PowerDisk dispenses the detergent
according to the programme selected or – inautomatic mode – according to the level ofdirt. This makes cleaning particularly efficientas overdosing of detergent is prevented. Further refinements were also made in mobile> control via app for greater convenience andease. In some countries, Amazon’s voice assistant > Alexa is also available for this purpose.
This means that customers can, for example,
start and stop their dishwasher from anywhere,check fill levels or order detergent online.
In all, the percentage of dishwashers with theprevious best energy efficiency rating rose during
the reporting period, climbing from 44 percent in2019 to 51 percent in 2020.
Miele launched the new generation ofunder-countertop tank dishwashers in the
PTD 70x model series during the reporting
period for superior efficiency in professional dishwashing applications. The narrowglass cleaning model in particular is much
more resource-efficient, with standard pro-

CONTENTSVACUUM CLEANERS[GRI 302-5] Since 2017, the Ecodesign Regulation for Vacuum Cleaners has restricted
the power of vacuum cleaners to a maximum of 900 watts and placed higher
demands on dust suction and noise reduction. At the heart of the Miele vacuum
cleaner is a highly efficient fan with up to
25 percent better effectiveness than its predecessor. Together with various > applianceoptimisations and appropriate accessories, such as the fine dust Miele HyClean
3D Efficiency dustbag, this fan ensures thecleaning performance is constantly highwith significantly lower energy consumption.
Efficient floorheads also play an important role here, as they can achieve top-classcleaning results even with low wattage andlow power settings. Vacuum cleaners with
EcoTeQ floorheads made up 17 percent of
those sold in the EU in 2020. The high performance capacity of these machines with
550 watts has also been confirmed by
testing institutes. In early 2021, Stiftung
Warentest named a model from the EcoLine
series (550 watts) the winner in its test,with the top mark of 2.0 (tested 02/2021).

51

32

16

Refrigerators and freezers
27

67

24

Tumble dryers
59

32

6 2

Electric cookers and ovens
0.5

99.5
A+++

A+

B

A++

A

C

1) This information relates to the domestic appliances sold in 2020
with classifications according to the old energy label scale.

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SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONRESOURCE-CONSERVING DESIGN

Customer orientation and information

APPLIANCES ANDFEATURES[GRI 302-5] Miele constantly strives to reduce consumption of resourcesby its domestic appliances and commercial machines. Beyond that,many Miele appliances are equipped with a range of functions and features that allow users to tap into further potential for savings.

EcoFeedback(dishwashers)

FlexiTimer with
EcoStart/SmartStart(dishwashers)

How it works

Influence factors

With the EcoFeedback function, users
have the current consumption valuesof their dishwasher under control.
Even before the cycle starts, theyreceive a forecast on the water andelectricity consumption for the selected programme. They can therefore
find out at a glance, for example, thata programme operating at a longer
cycle time or lower temperature
will require less energy. At the endof the programme, the appliancedisplays the actual consumption
in kilowatt-hours and litres.

Proportion of
dishwashers soldwith EcoFeedback
function as a percent­age of total sales:
2020: 35%

Start selection for times at which
the electricity tariff is the lowest.

Proportion of dish­washers sold with
FlexiTimer as a per­cen­tage of total sales:
2020: 35%

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

How it works

Influence factors

SolarSave(dishwashers)

Wash programme where warm water
already available in the household(from a solar thermal system, for example) is used. The programme uses
only the heat provided by the incomingwater supply. The electricity consumption is reduced to 0.05 kWh per cycle.

Proportion of dish­washers sold with
SolarSave as a percentage of total sales:
2020: 35%

Residual heatutilisation (ovens)

Five minutes before the endof the cooking time, only
existing heat is used.

Expansion in the
product range
Percentage of cookers/
ovens with residual
heat use in the 2020
calendar year: 37%

Induction(hobs & CombiSets)

30% less energy used to heat up
compared with conventional systems.

Proportion of hob units
sold with induction
technology as a percentage of total sales:
2020: 56%

LED spotlights (cooker
hoods, refrigeratorsand freezers)

Almost all halogen spot lights inearlier models have now been
replaced with electricity-saving
and long-lasting LED bulbs.

Proportion of cooker
hoods sold with LED
spotlights as a percentage of total sales:
2020: 99.8%

ECO motor(cooker hoods)

The DC motor saves 70% compared with conventional motors.

Proportion of cooker
hoods sold with ECO
motor as a percentage
of total sales:
2020: 17.5%

ECO FUNCTIONS AND FEATURESAPPLIANCES ANDFEATURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

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portfolioand
andquality
quality
Product portfolio

How it works

Influence factors

Con@ctivity(cooker hoods)

The automatic function
Con@ctivity 3.0 allows the values
selected at the hob to be captured
and communicated via Wi-Fi to
the control of the cooker hood.

50% of all hobs andhoods in the entire
product range feature
wireless connectivity.

Eco mode(coffee machines)

In Eco mode, the machine does notheat up until beverage preparation isstarted. This energy-saving function
is part of the default factory settings.

Present in allmachines.

EcoFeedback(washing machines)

See Dishwashers

Percentage of
washing machines
sold with EcoFeed­back in the 2020
calendar year: 14%

TwinDos(washing machines)

Integrated, automatic detergent dosing
system: TwinDos dispenses two
Miele detergents, UltraPhase 1 (basedetergent against fats and proteins)and UltraPhase 2 (detergent booster
with bleach to fight stubborn stains
and germs), separately at the righttimes and in the proper proportions. The independent Oeko-Institut
confirmed in 2013 that TwinDos
saves up to 30% of detergent.

The portfolio has
been expanded
further. In the 2020
calendar year, 27%of washing machines
sold had TwinDos.

Some models can be operated using
hot water or service or process water.
The appliances are equipped with twowater connections for this purpose.

The use of an existing
hot water supply
can result in energy
savings of up to 35%.

Hot water usage(washing machines)

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Customer orientation and information

APPLIANCES ANDFEATURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

How it works

Influence factors

EcoFeedback(tumble dryers)

See Dishwashers

Percentage of tumble
dryers sold with EcoFeedback in calendar
year 2020: 13%

Heat pump(tumble dryers)

In tumble dryers, the heat pump is
responsible for both heating andcooling the air in the dryer. Thissystem represents significant energy
savings over conventional dryers,which use two systems for this andrequire more energy as a result.

Percentage of models
with heat pump in
calendar year 2020:92% (all models
with A++/A+++)

EcoTeQ floorhead(vacuum cleaners)

Efficient floorheads which achieve
perfect cleaning results evenwith the lowest power setting.

Percentage ofvacuums soldEU-wide with EcoTeQ
floorhead in calendar
year 2020: 17%

Miele also provides customers with information on the most energy-efficient use of its products, for example in the operating instructions or through consultations on site with dealers.
All programmes and functions undergo continuous improvement to reduce consumption andachieve superior efficiency in real-world use.

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and research confirm that this is also worthwhile from an ecological perspective (> UBA
2016, > Öko-Institut 2015, > Öko-Institut 2018).

5,600

programme cycles is what a Miele
dishwasher must deliver during testing.

DURABILITY: ENVIRONMENTALLYBENEFICIAL PRODUCT SERVICE LIFE
Miele is the only manufacturer in the industry
that tests its products to last up to 20 years.
The requirements that appliances must satisfy in these tests are defined in a separate
plant standard. For washing machines andwasher dryers for household use, Miele
assumes five programme cycles a week, or
5,000 over 20 years. Commercial machines
also undergo service life testing. For example,
Miele calculates two programme cycles per
day for cleaning and disinfection devices in
the PG 85 series, which works out to morethan 15,000 hours of operation over 20 years.
This exceptional durability of Miele products is the result of sturdy construction, theuse of high-quality materials and demanding
load and endurance tests. Various surveys

MIELE APPLIANCES REMAIN A PARTOF THE HOME FOR LONGER
In order to benefit from the ecological advantages of durability, however, the appliances
must be used by consumers for long enough.
In fact, Miele domestic appliances are used in
the home for longer than appliances from othermanufacturers before they are either sold on or
replaced due to a defect. This has been repeatedly confirmed in several studies in the past.
In a survey, Stiftung Warentest discovered thatusers of Miele tumble dryers mentioned relatively few issues and faults compared withcompetitor products, even with appliances as
old as 20 years or more (tested 09/2018).
Customer satisfaction is a factor that is not to
be underestimated when it comes to ensuringthat domestic appliances are used for as longas possible. If a domestic appliance does its
job reliably and delivers the results, user convenience, energy efficiency and design that
customers ask for, a functioning appliance willvery rarely be replaced early. As a result, key
tasks for product development activities at Miele
include > timeless design, good repairability andthe ability to update control software to the latest
version later on. The current brand loyalty confirms the success of this strategy. According
to Stiftung Warentest, more than 70 percent ofpeople who use a Miele washing machine or
tumble dryer would opt for a Miele applianceagain. More than 77 percent would “definitely”
recommend Miele tumble dryers (test 04/2018).

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

NEW SOFTWARE FOR OLDER APPLIANCESGENTLE TREATMENT OF TEXTILES AND CROCKERY

The increasing importance of softwarein domestic appliances offers the opportunity to improve functions over the longutilisation phase of Miele appliances or toadapt them to new requirements. Thanks
to standardised diagnostic support from
authorised Miele service partners, software improvements can be installed notjust on new appliances, but also on thosethat have already been produced.
The company also introduced a remote maintenance function in 2020, which has alreadymade it possible to optimise or expand thesoftware in domestic appliances in many
countries around the world from a distance.

Durability in the broader sense of the word
also includes the gentle treatment of textiles
and the care of valuable cutlery and crockeryin the dishwasher. In the case of washingmachines, shorter programme durations, forexample, protect the laundry and extend thelife of the garments. Special detergents canalso extend the life span of products. With
this in mind, Miele introduced process chemicals that are especially gentle on materials in
its ProCare series during the reporting period.
These phosphate-free, microplastic-free products for commercial dishwashers and washingmachines carry the EU Ecolabel. This seal of
quality is used for products and services thatare more ecofriendly than standard products.

GOOD REPAIRABILITYPRODUCT SAFETY: EXTENSIVE TESTING

Miele domestic appliances are renowned fortheir reliability. Nevertheless, over the courseof a long appliance life, faults may occur that
require the assistance of the service team.
In order to keep customer costs low in suchcases, the appliances are designed to be“repair-friendly”. This means that as little
effort as possible should be required to repair
or replace a component. As Miele assumes aservice life of up to 20 years for its products,
its supply of spare parts is organised generously. Around 70,000 different original Miele
spare parts are therefore permanently heldin stock at the central warehouse in Gütersloh. From there, they are then dispatched as
required to locations all over the world andare available for many years after production of the particular appliance has ceased.

[GRI 416-1] As a general rule, all Miele products are extensively tested with respect tohealth and safety risks to the consumer.
Compliance with product safety aspects is
tested and certified by independent bodies
such as VDE, DEKRA or TÜV, and the products are certified accordingly. In addition tolaws and standards, in-house Miele standards apply in certain areas, and in somecases have significantly more stringent
requirements with respect to product safety.
Extensive tests and service life inspections also contribute to product safety as do
findings from customer service callouts.
In an industry comparison, Miele achieves avery high level of vertical integration of up to
50 percent depending on the product. This40

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helps the company to differentiate the corecomponents from the competition, strongly
influencing the quality of these components,
and therefore also enhancing product safety.
Ensuring product safety is also a process thatinvolves several areas, as Corporate Regulatory Affairs (SRA), the design/development
departments and Quality Management all workin close cooperation with each other. Certain
sources of faults are carefully identified andassessed using targeted, global market monitoring, customer service feedback, productrecalls, or spare parts sales (field monitoring).
Influences from modified user behaviour canalso be identified in this way. An additional factor
is preventive quality work, which accompanies
new products as early as the product development phase with the aid of test series and cantherefore have an influence at an early stage.
MEETING HIGH HYGIENE STANDARDS
Miele’s professional commercial laundry appliances offer special programmes to suit theparticular hygiene requirements of establishments such as retirement homes, hospitals or
hotels. The same is true of fresh water commercial dishwashers, which meet significantly
higher hygiene standards than models with atank system, as fresh water is used for eachrinse cycle. They also offer special programmeswith high final rinse temperatures (up to morethan 93°C) and long temperature holding times.
This combination of high temperatures and longholding times produces particularly hygienic
cleaning results. The hygiene requirements inthe medical technology sector are even higher.
As a certified medical product manufacturer,
Miele meets all statutory hygiene standards of

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Customer orientation and information

spare parts are kept in stock
up to 15 years after production of
the particular appliance series.

the countries where the products are distributed. For example, this includes the full andreproducible documentation of each individual
batch of sterile products as a matter of course.
A new series of CUBE-X sterilisers available sinceautumn 2019 offers processes that meet particularly stringent hygiene standards for various
loads, such as hollow medical instruments usedin settings such as dentists’ offices. These products do not require maintenance until five years
or 4,000 cycles into their service life – much later
than comparable devices from competitors.
In addition, Miele launched the Miele AirControl air purifier series on the market in January
2021. These machines filter all of the air ina room up to 200 square meters in size six
times an hour, using five levels of filtration totrap floating particles, viruses, bacteria andmould. The air purifiers are especially suitablefor use in meeting rooms, childcare facilities, classrooms and retail outlets. When usedin tandem with other hygiene measures, they
can help to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

CONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

STRICT STANDARDS FORPOLLUTANT-FREE PRODUCTS

70,000FACTS & FIGURES[GRI 102-11] As a matter of principle, Miele
avoids the use of critical substances, wherever possible. Before any substances areused, Miele establishes whether they are
considered critical by experts, and whether
there are reasons to avoid them relating
to the environment and/or human health.
To this end, the use of critical substancesis restricted by specifications that apply
throughout the company, such as Miele’s own
company standards. Compliance with relevant legal standards is second nature toMiele. Such standards include, for example,
the EU chemicals regulation (REACH)
and the EU directive on the restriction of
the use of certain hazardous substances(RoHS). Compliance is monitored throughanalysis of products and components.
EMISSIONS AND INDOOR CLIMATE
Miele appliances are optimised in every conceivable way so that emissions like noise, odours
and moisture are also kept to a minimum. For
example, Miele dishwashers and cooker hoods
are among the quietest products on the market.
Even in open-plan kitchens, the operating
noises are not regarded as a nuisance. Anotheradvantage of this is that dishwashers, forexample, can be operated outside of electricity
peaks and at off-peak tariffs, where applicable.

of moisture into the ambient air. This is advantageous both in terms of energy efficiency andfor health reasons, as excessive air humidity
can lead to mould formation in rooms without
sufficient ventilation. During the cold wintermonths, however, ventilating indoor spaces
results in significant heat loss, which can only
be addressed by turning up the heat and thus
using more energy. Miele cooker hoods andovens are equipped with filters or catalysers(depending on the model for ovens) to minimise odours while also preventing greasy
vapours from entering the ambient air. Miele’s
goal is to curb emissions in floor care as well,which is why Miele vacuum cleaners havemulti-stage filtration systems. Depending on themodel, examples include HEPA filters, which
trap microscopic particles and allergens.
Thanks to their sustainable properties, Miele
machines were selected for a very special project in Denmark. Miele is a standard equipment
provider involved in designing Denmark’s very
first “green city”. Between now and 2024, sustainable housing and work space is being
created in Copenhagen’s Carlsberg district.
The Gütersloh-based manufacturer is supplying some 15,000 domestic appliances
for the project, in which sustainability takes
centre stage across every area of domestic
life, from timeless design and carbon neutrality
to the long life spans of Miele appliances.

Miele tumble dryers operate highly efficiently
and produce the lowest condensate losses
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Product portfolio and quality

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Customerand information
information
Customerorientation
orientation and

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

Customer orientation and information
Ensuring maximum customer satisfaction

For Miele, meeting the expectations of its
customers when it comes to products andservices – and even exceeding them where
possible – is of the utmost importance.
Long-term partnerships with retailers are one
important factor in this. Miele appliances are
sold in Germany, Europe and abroad throughauthorised dealers and by Miele itself. The
company uses this approach to ensure highquality when it comes to marketing as well.
In 2020, Miele supplied over 12,500 authorised dealers in Germany. These dealers
adopt the same high demands for quality
in terms of presentation, range of products
and services, consultation skills and customer services. Miele and its partners apply
the same standards in e-commerce as well.
As sustainability is becoming increasingly
important to consumers, Miele provides
transparent information on the sustainable design and use of its products.
GROWING INTEREST IN SUSTAINABILITY[GRI 417-1/-2] In many countries, Miele
is registering a growing interest in sustainability among customers, especiallywith respect to consumption. Efficiency
values for electricity, water and gas havebecome a key argument when it comesto making decisions to purchase, as feed-back from dealers and customer surveys
show. Miele uses various channels ofcommunication to inform its customers
about sustainability, including information provided on the product (EU energy
consumption labelling), operating instructions, product brochures and consultations
with dealers and in showrooms around theworld, as well as international trade fairs.
Corporate communications and the company website also contain information onsustainability aspects. Information on theproper > disposal and > safe operation ofmachines is prominently featured in various
locations. Incorrect or inadequate information on this subject could have negative
consequences for people and the environment. Miele uses the Sustainability Report,
for example, to report on matters such aswhere the components of its products comefrom and whether recycled materials areused. Communication about sustainability
reaches customers, together with information about the good reputation of the Miele
brand. In representative studies conductedby the Miele market research team from2019 to the first quarter of 2021, the majorityof the approximately 54,000 respon­d ents
in 15 European countries confirmed that
Miele supports a sustainable lifestyle.

Over

12,500authorised dealers for Miele
domestic appliances andcommercial machines

There were no relevant incidents of
non-compliance with regulations or rules ofconduct relating to product and service
information and labelling during thereporting period.
EXTENDED WARRANTIESAVAILABLE
From material defects to manufacturing
errors, Miele’s two-year manufacturer
warranty means > repairs are free ofcharge for customers. For added peaceof mind, customers can extend the warranty to five or ten years as long as it
has not yet expired. Miele teamed up
with an insurance partner in 2018 tooffer an extended warranty service, providing full coverage for appliances thatare already out of warranty, where theextended warranty is expiring soon orthat are already ten years old or more.
The “Miele Service Zertifikat Plus”
package comes with a monthly fee.
This is one way Miele is doing its partto extend the period of application of
its appliances and thereby conserve
resources. The service has been very
well received by customers, with over
25,000 contracts concluded in 2020 –about 1,000 more than the previous year.
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AFTER-SALES CUSTOMER SERVICE
Miele employs approximately 2,500 service technicians who regularly undergo
rigorous training and complete their service calls with the help of extensively
equipped service vans. The “first-callcompletion rate” (percentage of service
requests complete after the first servicecall) for Miele Service is 80 to 85 percent globally. In Germany, a rate of over
90 percent has already been achieved.
DETAILED CONTINGENCY PLANS
FOR RECALL CAMPAIGNS[GRI 416-2] Despite Miele’s high quality
standards, recall campaigns may become
necessary in certain very rare instances.
Detailed contingency plans are in place for
this, with the names of the persons responsible for taking prompt action. Experiencesfrom such recalls are thoroughly analysedand considered for future developments.
There were no recall campaigns during thereporting period.
VIRTUAL INTERIOR PLANNING
Many people would like to plan and decorate their household individually and consider
vari­ous options as quickly, realistically andeasily as possible. As a result, Miele isincreasingly focusing on digital presentationand planning for various product configurations and providing the necessary data
for them to do so. Virtual reality is increasingly important in the visualisation of kitchen
designs at kitchen and furniture stores.

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Customerand information
information
Customerorientation
orientation and

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

It allows customers to see what “their” kitchenwould look like in advance. Solutions likethis one are mainly offered and promoted by
kitchen design software manufacturers.
SENSITIVE HANDLING OF CUSTOMER DATA[GRI 418-1] Miele views protecting the> Miele@home infrastructure and secure
handling of customer data as extremely
important. Trust in Miele must also be
secured, even in an interconnected world.
With this in mind, the company takes awhole host of precautions, utilises stateof-the-art encryption methods and works
tirelessly in conjunction with external specialists to make further improvements tothe security architecture. In addition to
the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Miele privacy policy,
rolled out in 2018, sets out rules on handling of digital data, especially customer
data. There were no substantiated complaints regarding data protection or privacy
infringements among customers in thereporting period. There were also no casesof data theft or loss of customer data.
The collection, storage, processing anduse of all personal customer data are performed according to data protection rules.

GUIDE D’ENTRETIEN MIELES I NOS A P PA REILS DURENT A US S I LONGTEMP S ,C’ES T A US S I GRÂ CE À VOUS .

CARE TIPS FOR LONGAPPLIANCE LIFE
Miele appliances are known for their superior durability
and reliability. But even high-quality products require
proper care – something that could help to avoid some
service cases. In France, Miele launched a campaign on
this topic. The campaign included a brochure containing
care tips, information at retail locations (via QR codes, forexample) and online tutorials on social media. The durability and repairability of domestic appliances are viewed
as very important in France. As a result, the campaign
generated a very positive response and will be continued.

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Customerand information
information
Customerorientation
orientation and

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposal and recycling

AWARDS FOR QUALITY AND SERVICE
Various awards repeatedly confirm the reliability of Miele’s appliances andcustomer service. These include the following from the reporting period:• At the Domestic Appliance Awards
organised by the consultancy firm Kantar,
Miele received top marks in the category of customer satisfaction in 2019
across all the markets studied (Germany,
France, the UK, Italy and Spain) andacross all product categories. In 2020,
participating consumers also chose
Miele as the most trustworthy brand.
• In the “Kundenmonitor Deutschland”
survey by Service Barometer AG, Miele’s
customer service has ranked first in
the domestic appliance sector for over
25 years straight – as it did once again
in the most recent edition in 2019. Miele
outperforms the industry average forsatisfaction with customer service,intention to refer others and image.
• In the “Beste Verbraucherservices”[Best consumer services] customer
satisfaction rankings by WirtschaftsWoche (19/2019), Miele placed firstin the “Elektrogroßgeräte” [Largeelectrical appliances] category.
• Miele Austria was chosen as the best
employer by Xing in 2020, in cooperation with Statista, kununu and trend
magazine. This result is based on an
anonymous online survey of employees,
trend readers and members of the

Xing and kununu career networks
conducted in the autumn of 2019.

various product categories and continuous five-star ratings for reliability.

• In 2020, Miele received the “KVA
Service Award” from the Austrian
Association for Customer Service.
This marks the 17th time that thecompany has been among the winners after 19 competitions in all.

• In 2020, Miele won the “Top Brand”
awards announced by New Zealand magazine Consumer in multiple
product categories. These awards are
based on numerous product tests andpositive ratings from customers for
product reliability and satisfaction.

• In Austria, Miele was also named“Kunden-Champion” [Customer Champion] several times over in 2020. This
status reflects the results of the“Branchenmonitor 2020” [Industry
Monitor 2020] study by Gesellschaft
für Verbraucherstudien (ÖGVS), thelargest Austrian ranking in the field ofcustomer satisfaction. According to
the rankings, Miele is also the industry
champion for 2020 in the washingmachine, coffee machine and refrigerator manufacturer (after-sales support)
categories – once again confirming
the company’s high service quality.
• To mark its ten-year anniversary in
2020, the Australian consumer comparison portal Canstar Blue named themost important winning brands of thelast decade. During that period, Miele
received the most customer satisfaction
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Disposalandrecycling
recycling
Disposal andDisposal and recycling
Environmentally responsible treatment of old appliances

Once a Miele product reaches the end of
its typical long useful life, the next step is tosend it for recycling or for further disposal
via a return system. This is why Miele actively
works on continuously improving the returnsystems. The company’s special focus here
is on the areas of logistics and protecting theenvironment. Miele also engages with consumers in particular through various channels,
initiatives and campaigns, sharing information on how to properly return old appliancesfor environmentally responsible disposal.
FURTHER ENHANCING RECYCLABILITY
Making sure an appliance is recyclable
down the line is a factor as early as during> product development. For example, Miele
works with waste management companies and operators of treatment plants tostudy the potential effects on disposal or initial treatment and recycling of appliances atthe end of a product’s life. Both domestic
and commercial appliances from Miele arecharacterised by a very high level of recyclability. This is achieved through various
means, including careful selection of materials and bonding techniques. For example,
the company is careful to use plastics of thesame type frequently in order to make recycling easier or even possible in the first place.

To facilitate disassembly and separation,
the number of different material types andscrew varieties is also kept to a minimum.
Wherever it may be possible and practicalwithout affecting quality, Miele investigates
whether secondary or alternative, more recyclable materials can be used. One importantarea is packaging for cleaning and care products. Miele has the recyclability of some ofits plastic packaging tested and assessed byexternal institutes. Experts from Miele andwaste management companies also jointly
conduct practical tests on selected packaging
types to ensure that the materials used areeasy to separate and then sort for recycling.
In December 2019, Miele specialists visited adisposal partner in Porta Westfalica, Germany.
While there, they discussed current topics inthe field of packaging and took a guided tourof the sorting facility for lightweight packaging materials. The group was especiallyinterested in the opportunity to see a special technology used to separate multilayer
packages via near-infrared spectroscopy.
CLOSING THE LOOP[GRI 301-2] In May 2018, the European
Council adopted a circular economy
package that has shaped development

and production activities at Miele to a significant degree since then. It includes
changes in multiple waste-specific directives, including for packaging, and has now
been incorporated into many laws at thenational level. It also makes possible further steps towards achieving a fully circular
economy. Miele supports these plans andhas implemented various projects to recycle
components from old Miele appliances
Miele is also increasingly focusing on circularmodels to boost the use of recycled andrecyclable materials. The product categoryof vacuum cleaners and accessories offers
one example. In 2020, the company began
producing one brush, two heads and one
dusting brush from post-consumer recycledplastic. This means the plastic was previously used by consumers and then recycled.
At the same time, the family-owned company supports different projects aimed atpromoting the circular economy. One ofthem is the WEEE-Harz project, which isreceiving funding from the German Federal
Ministry of Education and Research. The project is studying how a sustainable circular
economy for electrical appliances can be
developed in Germany’s Harz region. Miele
also began working with other producers

and stakeholders in the disposal industry in
the Dialogforum effiziente Kreislaufwirtschaft(Efficient Circular Economy Dialogue Forum)in 2020 to help further improve the information system for efficient recycling.
RESPONSIBLE RETURNS AND DISPOSAL[GRI 301-3] Throughout the world, Miele
strives to ensure that its materials are recycled in an environmentally friendly manneralong the entire waste management chain,and support the fight against illegal trade
involving waste electrical appliances.
In the EU, the return and recycling of waste
electrical and electronic equipment is regulated by the WEEE Directive (Waste Electricaland Electronic Equipment Directive). The
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act(ElektroG) transposes the provisions of the
WEEE Directive into German law. The body incharge of its implementation is the German
national register for waste electric equipment(known as stiftung ear). Among other things,
it is responsible for registering manufacturers, coordinating the provision ofcollection containers by manufacturers andarranging to pick up old appliances attransfer points set up by municipalities. Miele
partners with waste management companies
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THE JOURNEY OF OLD APPLIANCES
The return and disposal of old appliances in private households in Germany

Old appliances inprivate households

Distributor/dealer
Mandatory return fromsales area of 400 m2
or voluntary return

Local/public waste
disposal authority
collection point

Individual marketingby public waste
disposal authority(opt-in)

Manufacturer
Voluntary individual orcollective return systems

Manufacturer
Mandatory return as per
assignment by stiftung ear1)

Certified initial
treatment facilities

Preparation for reuse

Recycling1) The German national register for waste electric equipment (stiftung ear) is the “clearing house for manufacturers”, which
also performs the sovereign duties entrusted to it by the German Environment Agency.

Disposal

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposalandrecycling
recycling
Disposal andto pick up and properly dispose of thequantities of waste equipment that stiftungear has assigned to the company throughout
Germany. A particular focus is placed on theenvironmentally friendly disposal of> refrigeration equipment. In other EU
countries, Miele uses similar – and in somecases state-run – return and recycling
systems, such as Recupel in Belgium,
Eco-systèmes in France and UFH in Austria.
Outside the EU, Miele makes use of theestablished disposal systems already inplace. The “E-Waste Recycling” associationis responsible for collecting and disposing ofold electronics in Russia. It was founded bymanufacturers in 2017 and has since developed disposal standards and an audit system
to monitor recycling companies.
Beyond that, Miele also works on the further development and harmonization of
disposal standards. For example, the company participated in May 2020 in a workshop
as part of the European Commission’s study
on > quality standards for the treatment ofwaste electrical and electronic equipment.
Miele was also involved in the developmentof the EN 50614:2020 standard, publishedin 2020. This standard sets out uniform
requirements for preparing to reuse waste
electrical and electronic equipment. The
goal is to ensure that it is possible to reuseappliances that are still usable or their components, even within the waste management
regime itself. Across all of Miele’s activities inthis area, the overarching goal is to ensure
product safety for consumers while establishing uniform competitive conditions andstandards for the stakeholders involved.
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RETURNS OF OLD APPLIANCES[GRI 301-3] In Germany, the ElektroG (2015,
amended in 2021) requires manufacturers,
local authorities, brick-and-mortar dealers andonline distributors with a sales area or storage/
dispatch area of 400 square metres or moreto accept the return of old appliances. Miele
offers to accept returns of old appliances of thesame type when a new appliance is purchased
online as well. Beyond that, small applianceswith external dimensions of less than 25 centimetres can be returned free of charge,
whether or not a new one is purchased. In
cooperation with the return service provider
WEEE Return, small appliances returned toMiele are handled and recycled properly.

> Miele dealers are also important partners.
When buying a new appliance, customers
can state whether they would like to havethe dealer dispose of the old one. When the
new product is delivered, the dealer takes
the registered old appliance and delivers
it either to a municipal collection point or
directly to initial handling and recycling.
The quantities that have been taken backand disposed of by manufacturers via
stiftung ear have continued to rise sharply
over the past few years, from just under
80,000 pickups in 2018 to over 90,000
in 2020. The increase is likely due to theeffects of the expanded scope of the law(open scope) and other trends, such as
the shift towards battery-powered appliances and devices. Increased consumerpurchasing power and an uptick in private domestic appliance disposal due to

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Customer orientation and information

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposalandrecycling
recycling
Disposal andthe Covid-19 pandemic may also be factors here. The total return requirement forproviders in the appliance categories/collection groups is calculated based on thequantities brought into circulation. In the2020 calendar year, Miele accepted returnsof more than 12,350 tonnes of old appliances in the relevant categories acrossGermany on instructions from stiftung ear.
RECLAIMED PACKAGING[GRI 301-3] As part of its legal obligations, Miele also ensures that packaging is
reclaimed in Germany. In keeping with anindustry solution developed by manufacturers of domestic appliances and of kitchen
furnishings and accessories, the company
has transport packaging materials pickedup and disposed of properly by a shareddisposal service provider and its subcontractors. Sales packaging and outer packaging,which typically constitutes waste after theappliances are used by customers, are collected in Germany via the “dual system”.
Miele engages in dialogue on this point with
waste management companies and recycling
and environmental technology engineering
companies to identify potential ways toimprove the recyclability of its packaging.

POLLUTANTS DURING DISPOSAL

Annual package disposal activities give rise
to greenhouse gas emissions by waste management companies, which are offset byclimate action projects. For the businessyear 2019, Miele’s partner offset 512 tonnesof CO2 equivalents in the transportation
packaging segment, and the relevant emission reduction certificates were retired.

[GRI 305-6/-7, 416-1] The aim of proper disposal is to make substances that carryhealth risks or are harmful to the environment as innocuous as possible. One exampleof this type of pollutant involves refrigerants
and insulants such as chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs). CFCs are multiple times > more
harmful to the environment than CO2.

Miele is working with experts
to make packaging evenmore recyclable by design.

Older refrigeration equipment, including
refrigerators, often still contains CFCs. The
law requires manufacturers to recover CFCs
to the greatest extent possible at the disposal stage. Miele meets these obligations
as part of a manufacturing consortium which
includes its specialised service providers.
The DIN EN 50625-2-3 standard and TS
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companies and also apply to participating
subcontractors. The methods and treatment
facilities involved, along with their operators, are also subject to stringent permitting
requirements and checks by supervisory
authorities in Germany. Miele also participates in joint external audits via a consortiumof manufacturers and obligates its disposal
service providers to undergo audits of theirtreatment facilities for refrigeration equipment by a research institution approved toperform this kind of testing. The double audit
system means that each treatment facility
undergoes an average of four audits a year.
The audit process includes various escalation levels in case any deviations fromthe standards are found. Immediate measures can often remedy any problems. In thecase of critical deviations, the last resort isto halt deliveries to the facility in question
until a subsequent audit has been performed
and the necessary measures have been
accepted by the testing body. Recycling facilities are also subject to regular leakproofing
tests (100-device test under the German
Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control (TA Luft)) and 1,000-device performance
tests. Facility operators are additionallyrequired to perform checks of their own.
RAISING CONSUMER AWARENESS OF
RETURNS OF OLD APPLIANCES[GRI 417-1] It is not uncommon for electrical and electronic devices to be collected
and resold illegally, for example in street
campaigns, without the appropriate permits. This undermines the importance of theproper disposal of hazardous substances

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Customer orientation and informationand has negative consequences for theenvironment. Consumers also share in the
responsibility for making it difficult to collect waste illegally. As a result, Miele helps
its customers to dispose responsibly of oldappliances and transport packaging by providing information in the appliance operating
instructions and on the > miele-website. In
2020, the company also participated in theGermany-wide > “Plan E” consumer information campaign organized by stiftungear. This campaign aims to raise awareness among consumers of how to properly
return old appliances. The sales subsidiary
in India operates an e-waste initiative to raisecustomers’ awareness of environmentally
responsible recycling of old appliances andbuild a recycling supply chain to handle theseproducts. Other sales subsidiaries offer discounts on new products. In the United ArabEmirates, for instance, consumers received a
discount in 2019 when purchasing a vacuum
cleaner if they returned their old vacuum
cleaner – no matter the brand – to Miele.
DISPOSAL OF MATERIALS[GRI 417-1] New products, too, are tested
with a view to their future disposal. Particularattention is paid to insulation materials, which
help to lower the energy consumed by refrigerators. For example, the process of breaking
down vacuum insulated panels (VIPs) can giverise to particulates, which could cause problems at the recycling plants if disposal is not
carried out properly and the exhaust system
is not designed correctly. However, researchcarried out by the European home appliance trade association APPLiA (previously

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Disposalandrecycling
recycling
Disposal andknown as CECED) showed that if the plants
are adequately impermeable and the filter
systems are appropriate, then operations
should run without any notable problems.
TRANSPARENT LABELLING[GRI 417-1] The manufacturers organizedwithin > APPLiA support waste management companies in doing their jobs properly.
With this goal in mind, they have drafted
codes of conduct on “end of life” labellingof appliances that contain VIPs and thosecontaining fluorinated greenhouse gases,
with Miele participating in a committee role.
These voluntary pledges call for standardised labelling on the back of refrigerators,
among other points. This is intended tomake it possible to identify critical insulationmaterials and refrigerants, optimising environmentally responsible disposal. APPLiAand DIGITALEUROPE also operate the> I4R online information platform (Information for Recyclers). This website provides
waste management companies and otherinterested parties with recycling informationfor various types of appliance directly fromthe manufacturer, including information on
hazardous substances and components.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Supply chain& production> Natural resources and materials> Supplier management> Environmental management> Resource efficiency> Energy and emissions> Logistics and mobility

Carbon-neutral production, reducing
emissions, improving energy efficiency
and expanding renewable energy generation are the cornerstones of theMiele climate action strategy. The
company is also committed to preventative environmental protection andupholding human rights along the entire
value chain. Miele maintains fair andcooperative relationships with its suppliers while setting and maintaining
high social and ecological standards.
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Naturalresourcesandandmaterials
materials

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SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental management

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

Natural resources and materials
Efficient use of resources

It takes natural resources and materials fromall over the world to produce Miele appliances,from stainless steel for washing machines toplastic granulate for vacuum cleaners andglass ceramics for hobs. By the time these
items arrive at the Miele locations, they havealready undergone a multitude of process
steps. Different sustainability considerations apply to these upstream value creation
stages, depending on the material. Many natural resources are only available in limited
supply, even though demand is rising aroundthe world. As resources become scarcer as aresult, long-term availability and supply security are becoming increasingly important andposing more and more of a challenge.
Miele is rising to this challenge. The> efficient use of materials and responsible handling of natural resources are
key objectives and have been a firm fixture of the Miele strategy for years.
In addition, Miele places great value on making
the origins of materials and resources clear.
Miele carries out regular checks to ensurethat its direct suppliers are complying with> environmental and social standards.
Hotspot analysis is carried out for individualcomponents as and when necessary, suchas if certain ecological or social risks are suspected in the natural resources supply chain.
The various life cycle phases of the component are investigated with regard to specificsustainability issues. Despite Miele’s extensive efforts in this regard, it is currently notpossible for the company to ensure complete traceability of all materials, given
the globalised procurement markets andcomplex supply chains. However, direct suppliers are contractually obliged to confirm
to Miele that their upstream suppliers are
asked to comply with SA8000 standards.

In the business year 2020, Miele used
a total of 127,238 tonnes of raw materials (2019: 122,510 tonnes). The majorityof these were metals (85 percent) in theform of iron and non-ferrous metals, steel
and steel alloys. Apart from metals, Miele’s
other main raw material is plastic granulate(15 percent). The company also uses auxiliary and operating materials such as paints
and oils, as well as electronic components.

USE OF RESOURCES AND MATERIALS

Miele appliances already contain a high proportion of recyclable materials and secondary
raw materials – i.e. raw materials which havealready undergone a recycling process. The
aim is to make even more efficient use ofresources and ensure that as many materials as possible are reused, which is why
Miele checks that all of its materials are suitable for use in a > closed recycling loop.

[GRI 102-9, 301-1/2] Miele obtains raw materials such as stainless steel or plastic granulate,
as well as components such as hoses and ballbearings, to manufacture its products. Entire
products such as refrigerators, automatic coffee
machines or microwave ovens are also supplied by > external manufacturing partners inaccordance with Miele’s specifications.
In the business year 2020, Miele obtainedmaterials, components and domestic appliances with a value of around EUR 1.6 billion(2019: EUR 1.8 billion) from other companies, including manufacturing materials
with a value of around EUR 1.2 billion.

RAW MATERIALS USED
in tonnes 2020

18,641

TOTAL
127,238

108,597

USE OF RECYCLABLE AND
REUSABLE MATERIAL

This is an area that can give rise to conflicting objectives. Using composite materials,
for example, can save on resources, but
can also lead to problems further down theline when materials have to be separated
for recycling. Furthermore, not every material that can be easily recycled satisfies Miele’s

MetalsPlastic granulaterequirements in relation to quality, durability
and performance. Miele carefully weighs up
the advantages and disadvantages of eachmaterial in order to maximise resource efficiency without compromising on quality.
CORRECTLY USING RECYCLED PLASTICS[GRI 301-2] Plastics are an important component in many domestic appliances,50

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including vacuum cleaner casings, detergent drawers or the panels of washingmachines, tumble dryers and dishwashers.
Miele is always on the lookout for solutions involving > recycled materials so as
to reduce the consumption of primary raw
materials in this area too. Integrating recycled plastics into product development andproduction is a time-consuming and complex process. For example, the plastic has
to suit the design of the respective appliance and pass durability tests. It is therefore
very difficult to implement such a process into a pre-existing appliance series.
In the long term, the aim is to expand
the use of recycled materials wherever product characteristics allow for
it and without undermining quality. In
2019, Miele committed to increasing thevolume of plastic recyclates it uses to up
to 7,500 tonnes by 2025. This figure currently stands at roughly 194 tonnes.
One of the areas where Miele already uses
plastic recyclates is in its vacuum cleaner
cable rewind systems. Additional production processes will be adjusted in thenext few years. Recyclates are to be usedin components or accessories for otherproduct groups in addition to vacuum
cleaner accessories in the near future.
Pilot projects are currently under way.
Each specific application has the potential for the use of hundreds of kilogramsof recyclate – or even several tonnes. In
2020, Miele stepped up its efforts to coordinate with recyclate manufacturers andlooked into material quality and durability.

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental management

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

Energy and emissions

203,678 t
of appliances produced in 2020

SAFE CLEANING AND CARE PRODUCTS
PACKAGING: TESTING ALTERNATIVES,
REDUCING WEIGHTThe packaging of Miele domestic appliances must be robust enough to withstandthe weight of the products. Stable materials such as solid wood, cardboard, plastic
moulded parts made from expanded polystyrene (EPS) and polyethylene films are used inpackaging, minimising damage during transport, storage and handling. A project teamis tasked with continuously reviewing alternative packaging materials so that Miele canswitch to more environmentally friendly solutions in the long term. The most importantcriteria in this regard are high packaging standards (product safety and low weight) and thesmallest possible environmental footprint.
In the business year 2020, the proportion of packaging weight in relation to
all appliances produced by Miele was
9 percent (2019: 9.2 percent).

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

year. Miele Caps are small capsules providing accurate and economical dosing ofspecial detergent. This example of recycled packaging is set to be the first of many.

HIGH PROPORTION OFRECYCLED METAL[GRI 301-2] Stainless steel is a hugely important resource to Miele and can be recycled to alarge extent, which is why Miele explicitly welcomes efforts from its suppliers to process
the highest possible proportion of recycled
stainless steel while maintaining consistentquality. However, this proportion is set by the
supplier and can vary for economic and technological reasons for which Miele cannot beheld responsible. As an example, it may be
the case that recycled metals are no longer
offered on the market at the required quality.

FACTS & FIGURES

Miele is the only household appliance manufacturer to offer a broad range of care andcleaning products which are perfectly alignedwith machines and programme cycles. These
products ensure top-class results and help
customers use the right amounts to suit thedegree of soiling. The demands on productpackaging are high, for example with respect
to durability, temperature resistance, protection against light and product safety. Products
are sent from Germany to all four cornersof the world and need to withstand not only
the transport itself, but also the changing climates they are exposed to, which is why they
are almost always packaged in polypropylene.
This plastic meets these requirements perfectly
and also has solid environmental characteristics, as it can be fully recycled. In addition, thecleaning products are extremely concentrated
to reduce the amount of packaging required.
The lids on Miele Caps laundry care capsules
have been made from recycled plastic since this

ENSURING SUPPLY SECURITY
Resources, materials and components
must be available at the right time, in plentiful supply and at top standards of quality
in order for Miele to use them in a suitable manner. Miele has integrated early
warning indicators for supply security
into its > supplier management system
to ensure that this is the case. The indicators have been used since 2016 foraround 1,500 suppliers, who together
account for more than 80 percentof the total purchasing volume.
These indicators make it possible for Miele
to identify potential risks which might
jeopardise supply security at an earlystage. Miele uses a software solution torecord various hazards such as forces ofnature (for example earthquakes, floods)
or political risks. This process takes into
account both country-specific and geographical risks, as well as supplier-relatedrisks such as creditworthiness. Preventative measures, such as putting raw
materials into storage at the supplier’s
premises, are taken as soon as a possible gap in supplies becomes apparent.
As resources become ever scarcer, theincreasing use of > recycled materials is
also helping to ensure the supply of necessary raw materials in the long term.
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Supplier management
management

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Environmental management

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

Supplier management
Fair partnership with high standards

Miele demands a lot from its suppliers in termsof quality and performance, but it also expects
them to comply with high social and ecological standards. At the same time, Miele
also understands that these requirements
must be economically viable for suppliers.
The aim is to establish long-term business
relationships shaped by fairness, trust andcollaboration, something that often begins
in the area of > product development.
Miele is constantly optimising its supplier management system and adapting it to changing
conditions. By doing so, Miele ensures consistently high product quality and long-term> supply security, as well as compliancewith the latest sustainability requirements.
The new German Supply Chain Act will require
certain companies to ensure that human rights
are respected in their supply chains from 2023.
Under current legislation, the following aspects
are considered relevant risk areas: forced
labour, child labour, discrimination, prohibition of freedom of association and problematic
employment and working conditions. Miele has
drawn on independent bodies to analyse theserisk areas at its suppliers since 2004 and within
the scope of official > SA8000 certification since2008. Suppliers are also contractually obliged
to comply with the same duties of care.

PROCUREMENT CONCEPTWITH A LOCAL FOCUS[GRI 204-1] Miele products are mainly
produced in Germany and other European countries; 84 percent of deliveries
to Miele plants – based on purchasing
volume – come from Europe. This, coupled with > optimised transport logistics
and the bundling of goods flows, saveson transport costs and reduces transport-related CO 2 emissions.
Local procurement is particularly important to the plants in China and the Czech
Republic due to their distance from the othermanufacturing locations. Since opening, thenew plant in Poland has also looked to procure materials, including washing machine
doors and lids and packaging, from the local
region in order to minimise transportation.
The Uničov plant in the Czech Republic also
procures its packaging materials locally.
SUPPLY SECURITY DURING A CRISISThe Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the supply situation within
the supply chain in 2020. In China, supply
chains returned to normality relatively
quickly. Italy, where Miele procures compo-

84%

of deliveries to Miele
plants – based onpurchasing volume –come from Europe.

nents from over 150 suppliers, proved to be
the greatest challenge. In spite of the crisis,
Miele was able to successfully avert supply
risks and run its fleet of lorries at maximum capacity. However, issues continue
to plague the entire industry when it comesto procuring certain goods, including electronic components and steel from India.
Miele does not expect the situation to normalise again until 2022 at the earliest.
Miele continues to expand its supply
chain with the aim of implementing a dualsourcing strategy that will allow it to avoid
any future supply bottlenecks in similar situations. Dual sourcing involves
procuring goods from two independent
suppliers to ensure supply security even
if one supplier is > unable to deliver.
SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT: CHECKINGSUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA[GRI 308-2, 412-1, 414-2] Miele manages the selection of new suppliers andmonitors existing suppliers with the aidof a comprehensive supplier management system. The system not only focuseson aspects such as supply availability,
quality and price, it also checks compliance with Miele’s sustainability criteria.
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Compliance with > environmental,> social and economic sustainability criteria
is monitored and verified several times overthe course of a business relationship.
At the beginning of the > selection process,prospective suppliers must submit aself-declaration. Manufacturing suppliers are
asked > to update their information every year.
Furthermore, > audits are carried out on a regular basis. Most audits took place on site in
2019, whereas audits had to be carried out
online in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental management

Resource efficiency

SELECTING NEW SUPPLIERS

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

SUSTAINABLE SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT
Multi-stage process

Short audit

Selection

Check of potential suppliers
by Quality Management andPurchasing with regard to theirperformance and compliancewith aspects of sustainability

Selection process for identifying
the ideal source of supply basedon cost, quality, supply andsustainability requirementsfrom Purchasing and, whereapplicable, Quality Management,
Design/Development, etc.

Registration
Supplier self-assessment with query
regarding sustainability criteria
Update requested once a year

SUSTAINABLE SUPPLIER MANAGEMENT
Miele’s supplier management system ismade up of six systematically interconnected elements (see diagram). It is basedon material sustainability criteria and isadjusted to changing circumstances on
an ongoing basis. Miele helps its purchasers and plants assess new suppliers
by providing local support through its
International Purchasing Offices (IPO) in
Eastern Europe and Asia. More employees
achieved SA8000 audit qualification in thereporting period, with the number of auditors in China, for example, rising to seven.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Criteria:
Quality and costs
Delivery capacity and security
SA8000 and social aspects
Environmental management and climate protection
Compliance and competition law
Prevention of corruption

Process audit/subject audit
in line with SA8000
Standard report
Standard request by
Purchasing during
discussions with seriesproduction suppliers

Evaluation
Ongoing evaluation of
production material suppliers

Detailed assessment of supplier
before start of series production andduring series production if applicable,with regard to performance, supply
availability and sustainability aspects[GRI 308-1, 414-1] Suppliers’ performanceand supply availability are crucial factors when it comes to awarding contracts.
Alongside criteria such as technical equipment and standardised, stable processes,
Miele’s Purchasing department also checks
whether potential suppliers meet the social
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standards and environmental requirements
defined by Miele. All suppliers, irrespective of location, are required to submit aself-declaration regarding compliance withstandardised sustainability requirements
The self-declaration covers a number ofareas, including certification, standards
and additional employee-related issues,
as well as compliance, prevention of corruption, environmental management andclimate action. The material group managers in Purchasing check whether the
self-declarations are complete and plausible. In the event of non-compliance, thepotential supplier is given the opportunity to
implement the necessary corrective measures within a reasonable amount of timeand restore compliance with requirements.
If this does not happen, Miele will not consider entering into a business relationship.
Before taking on a new manufacturing material supplier, a brief audit is carried out onsite to assess compliance with process
quality and sustainability standards. If Miele
identifies non-conformities but feels thatthe supplier would otherwise be a usefulpartner, it works together with the supplierto find a solution. If there is no improvement,
Miele blocks the applicant. Brief audits
were performed online for the first time in2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
REGULAR MONITORING AND PROCESSAUDITS OF ACTIVE SUPPLIERS

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental management

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

Energy and emissions

key tool in this process is a supplier portal
which prompts the registered suppliers to
update their self-declaration online every year.

157

trained process
auditors

Process audits are carried out for all suppliers who provide materials for a productseries to ensure their performance andsupply availability. These audits take place
before production starts and while it isongoing. Sustainability criteria are also monitored as part of these process audits. As
at 31 December 2020, Miele had over 157
trained and active process auditors who conducted 90 internal and external audits in 2020.
COMPLIANCE WITH SA8000 CRITERIA[GRI 407-1, 408-1, 409-1] Miele places particular emphasis on social standards. All of
Miele’s suppliers worldwide must commit tocomplying with the following criteria within
their own organisation in accordance with
SA8000, an internationally recognised social
standard, and must also monitor compliance on the part of their own suppliers:• Ban on child labour• Ban on forced or compulsory labour• Health and safety in the workplace• The right to freedom of association and collective bargaining• Ban on discrimination

Once Miele begins a supplier relationship, it
regularly monitors the supplier’s compliancewith the required sustainability standards. A

FACTS & FIGURES• Ban on disciplinary measures (in thesense of physical punishment, mental

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobilityor physical coercion or verbal abuse, as
well as severe or inhumane punishment)• Adherence to legislation and industry
standards on working hours• Adherence to payment legislation
Staff in the Purchasing department carryout a general risk classification for all suppliers on the basis of the SA8000 criteria.
Suppliers are classified as low, medium orhigh risk depending on the country and theindustry. There are only a small number ofhigh-risk suppliers. Miele monitors these
suppliers continuously and ensures that
staff from the Purchasing department conduct annual assessments, including bymeans of SA8000 audits. Any suspicionsthat standards have been violated triggera multi-stage > escalation process.
Miele revised its risk classification systemin the reporting period and for the first time
added a country risk component, which
has been developed by the amfori BusinessSocial Compliance Initiative (BSCI). Thiscountry classification covers the above criteria of the SA8000 social standard inaccordance with the BSCI code. Classifying country risk is aimed at helping
companies to better identify potentialsocial risks in connection with their procurement markets. This external instrument
based on an independent database is apractical addition to Miele’s risk classification system. Any discrepancies between
Miele’s risk classification and the country
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justified, explained and reviewed within
the scope of an external SA8000 audit.
In addition to the criteria based on SA8000,
Miele requires its suppliers to provide
information about which forms of employee
participation the company has implemented
and whether it has taken measures toensure occupational health and safety andprovide employees with additional
training and support.
ASSESSMENT OF ECOLOGICALSTANDARDS[GRI 308-1] As part of its efforts to maintain ecological standards, Miele checks
whether suppliers have implemented anenvironmental management system in linewith standards such as ISO 14001, forexample. The central supplier assessment
system also includes information on whether
the supplier uses resources in a sustainable manner. Environmental requirements
for materials and components are continually adjusted to comply with the applicablelegislation (such as the German Hazardous
Materials Ordinance) and Miele’s internal
regulations. To this end, Miele has its own
company standard, which limits the use ofcertain substances in materials and components. Suppliers of manufacturing materials
are only awarded contracts if they can confirm compliance with this company standard.
CORRUPTION PREVENTION AND COMPLIANCE
Miele includes corruption prevention and compliance as part of its economic sustainability

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental management

criteria. The criteria are based on the principlesof the Global Compact of the United Nations(UN) and other > international guidelines.
Staff in the Purchasing department must adhere
to the > ethical guidelines for purchasing. Fair,transparent and partnership-based cooperation with suppliers is always paramount.
The suppliers must state whether their company participates in international orindustry-­related > compliance initiatives andwhether they take measures to prevent corruption – for example, by providing an
ombuds­person for employees or considering
the Transparency International Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI) when selecting their
upstream suppliers.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

If investigations into a supplier reveal abnormalities, the supplier may still be able tocontinue working with Miele depending on
its subsequent development and improvement. However, the supplier in question mustdraw up an action plan in collaboration with
Miele’s Purchasing and Quality Management
departments and rectify the non-conformities in full within the specified period.
Abnormalities were determined in relation
to one supplier during the reporting period.
The supplier in question was inspectedaccording to the escalation plan and successfully implemented the measures agreed
with Miele to rectify the issues. No suppliers were blocked in the reporting period.

Miele itself gives suppliers the opportunity tocontact a specially appointed> ombudsperson. The ombudsperson acts as
an independent contact person to employees,
business partners and third parties should any
suspicions of corruption or theft arise. Contact
details for the ombudsperson are included inevery Miele order.
ESCALATION PROCESS IN THE CASE
OF SUSPECTED VIOLATIONS[GRI 407-1, 408-1, 409-1] Suspicions or evidence that a supplier is violating SA8000
criteria or environmental standards triggers a multi-stage escalation process, which
can culminate in the supplier being struck off
the approved list and blocked for the future.
Serious violations will generally lead to absolute and immediate termination of the contract.
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management
Environmental management

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

Environmental management
Preventative approach[GRI 102-11] Miele’s environmental management concept includes both operational
environmental protection and its energy
management system. The company isworking to continuously reduce the environmental impact caused at its sites by
waste water, waste and emissions, as wellas energy-intensive processes and logistics. It manufactures all of its products ina resource-friendly manner, using as little
energy as possible. Miele takes great precautions here, ensuring that environmental
protection is considered at an early stage
when planning systems and processes.

business year, with progress being measured on the basis of the results of individual
reviews conducted at the various Miele
plants. These results are then used to set
new objectives. The internal reviews are supplemented by external monitoring audits.

CERTIFIED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

European sites are recertified in accor­
dance with ISO 50001 every three years.
The energy management system at European sites was recertified at the end of 2020.

Miele uses an > integrated management
system to manage operational environmental protection throughout the company.
The environmental management system,
which is certified according to ISO 14001
at all Miele production locations worldwide, is an important component of theintegrated management system. It contains
guidelines on how to deal with materials,
water, waste and emissions. Miele also
manages and monitors its environmental
performance with the help of environmental
performance indicators. The management
system is reviewed at the beginning of each

Miele’s ISO 50001-certified > energy
management system at all European production sites is another component of
the integrated management system. Thissystem helps the sites identify potential for further energy savings andintroduce corresponding measures.

The new washing machine plant in Ksawerów,
Poland, commenced operations in September 2019 and achieved ISO 50001
certification in May 2021. The energy management system at the Dongguan locationin China is also based on ISO 50001.
Management staff from different production sites regularly liaise on best practices.
Miele reviews its energy management systemannually by means of internal audits carried

918,000 €was invested by Miele inenvironmental protection measuresat its manufacturing sites in 2020.

out by five specially trained employees. The
audits performed in the business years 2019and 2020 did not find any non-conformities and only made recommendations for
optimising individual process descriptions.
Management has already begun implementing the improvements, which included
coordinating the process of defining key
performance indicators, as well as re­­designing and simplifying energy reports.
These audits ensure that Miele fulfils thenational implementation of the 2015 Energy
Efficiency Directive (EED), which requires
companies to carry out an energy audit
every four years. DIN EN 16247-1 energy
audits are also performed at relevant sales
subsidiaries.
Energy management meetings took
place online in 2020 due to the Covid-19
pandemic. As a result, the number of
meetings increased to four, with shorter
intervals between meetings and more
up-to-date discussions, which proved
to be particularly advantageous withregard to the implementation of theambitious new > sustainability strategy.
In future, Miele plans to hold bothonline and in-person meetings
depending on the subject matter.
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8.7

million €current expenses forenvironmental protection at
manufacturing plants (2020)

COOPERATION BETWEEN ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Miele’s environmental management is divided
into two areas – operational environmental
protection and energy management – in accor­
dance with the requirements of the ISO 14001
and ISO 50001 standards. Each area has its
own responsible officers at the Miele headquarters and at the individual plants. All of
the plant officers report to the headquarters in Gütersloh. Information is shared
between plants on a continuous basis, with
operational environmental protection andenergy management teams usually meeting
twice a year at one of the German sites.
These meetings are used to discuss individual
efficiency projects, to provide information aboutchanges in the legal framework and for further
training. Representatives from other European

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental
management
Environmental management

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

plants and from Dongguan in China also regularly attend the workshops in Germany. Theenergy management team is also organised
as an > internal efficiency network. The network groups also organised meetings online
in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
[GRI 307-1] Miele operates a standardisedlegal management system for operational environmental protection, energy management
and occupational health and safety at all of its
German plants. This system monitors compliance with standards and legal requirements
and continued to prove its worth during thereporting period. It guarantees consistent andsimple compliance monitoring and makes it
possible to additionally incorporate legal requirements from official authorisations. Realising
operational environmental protection remains
the responsibility of each individual site. There
were no recorded infringements of environmental regulations in the reporting period.
PROFESSIONAL COMPLAINTS MANAGEMENT[GRI 413-1/-2] Employees, residents, business partners or other persons can reportsuspected violations of environmental protection rules at any time and can get intouch with Miele by telephone, e-mail or
letter. The headquarters or the plants are themain contacts for this purpose. The responsible department or the plant management
will examine the situation and clarify or eliminate the causes. In the event of a serious
complaint, the company management will
be involved at an early stage. No significant
complaints concerning environmental emissions were received in the reporting period.

MIELE SUPPORTS
SUSTAINABLE LIVING
IN THE CITY
What will sustainable and energy-efficient living look
like in the future? One possible answer is provided
by a pilot > project in Melbourne: a self-sufficienthouse built by eco-innovator Joost Bakker in 2020 –sponsored by the Australian sales company. The
zero-waste house has closed cycles, supplies the residents with renewable energy and is geared towards
urban fruit and vegetable cultivation. In addition todomestic appliances for the laundry room, Miele also
provided a complete kitchen, including a wine conditioning unit. All appliances used in the house aresolar powered. After delays due to the pandemic, thehouse was ready for moving in at the end of 2020.

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Environmental management

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource
efficiency
Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

Resource efficiency
Waste avoidance and water management[GRI 306-1/-2] Miele preserves natural
resources by using raw materials sparingly.
However, its efforts also include avoiding
waste and minimising water consumption,
not only protecting the environment in theprocess, but also helping to ensure supply
security and cut costs too. Miele continu-

DESTINATION OF TOTAL WASTE1)
in tonnes

1,781

309

2,271

2020

33,053

Materials recycling, processing
Energy recovery, incineration
Physicochemical treatment
Dumping
1) See page 97 for further explanation.

ously optimises its production processes forthis purpose, reusing materials where possible and recycling where not. Preferentially,materials are reused immediately or recycled.
WASTE AVOIDANCE AND EXTENSIVEUSE OF RECYCLING[GRI 306-1/-2] Waste can never be completely
avoided in manufacturing. At Miele, waste is
carefully separated into reusable containers onsite as soon as it is produced. Miele uses
specialist companies to dispose of waste.
Miele reviews these companies in> waste disposal audits and works with othermanufacturers within the scope of these audits.
Besides the legal requirements defined in theGerman Waste Management Act (KrWG), theaudits also look at additional aspects such aswhether waste is checked, whether approvals
have been provided for waste disposal facilities,
what condition the laboratories are in andwhether the scales have been calibrated
properly. Waste disposal companies are
responsible for recording waste output from
Miele plants. When it comes to transporting
hazardous waste, Miele only employs theservices of specialist companies both in Germany and at its sites outside of Germany. Miele
itself does not export any waste.

In the business year 2020, Miele plants produced a total of 37,413 tonnes of waste, around
9.4 percent more than in 2019 (34,190 tonnes).
This increase was due to a rise in production
activity, as well as a greater volume of chrome
steel waste from the commissioning of a new
welding system in Gütersloh. The resulting
scrap was recycled. However, the new system
has also increased the level of vertical integration at the Gütersloh site, as the parts (castflanges) can now be produced in-house rather
than being purchased. Another reason for
the increase in waste was the soil extracted
for a new supply duct at the Lehrte site.
A total of 95 percent of the waste produced at
Miele’s plants worldwide was recycled in thebusiness years 2019 and 2020. The volume ofhazardous waste recycled and disposed of in
the reporting period fell by a small margin of
4.2 percent from 2,687 tonnes to 2,574 tonnes
in the reporting period.
Numerous waste treatment facilities are currently in the process of setting new acceptancecriteria for recycling processes. In the past,sludge from Miele’s waste water processing
facilities and foundry was recycled for use as aconstruction additive. This construction additiveis used at landfill sites to secure waste and build
access routes. With the number of landfill sites

TOTAL WASTE PRODUCEDin tonnes

2020
2019

37,41334,190decreasing in Germany, this form of recycling
will no longer be available in the future, which iswhy processing landfill waste will be classified
as a waste disposal process rather than arecycling process moving forward. This would
result in the share of Miele waste that is recycled
falling markedly.
RAISING AWARENESS AMONG EMPLOYEES[GRI 306-1/-2] All Miele employees need to pulltheir weight to ensure that waste is avoided
as much as possible and disposed of properly when it is produced. Miele has various
measures to raise employee awareness of
this topic, including noticeboards on how
to properly separate waste at production sites.
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Miele’s sales subsidiary in Canada has
introduced a system of waste separationand organised an employee competition to
reduce waste.
The Russian sales subsidiary has beenworking on measures to raise employee
awareness of the environment in their dayto-day work since 2017 as part of the ECO
Office project. In 2020, the office replaced
single-use cutlery and plates, which werecommonplace, with ceramic tablewareand metal cutlery and installed a water
dispenser. The same measures were introduced at the sales subsidiary in Italy. Bothsales subsidiaries saw a marked decline
in the use of plastic single-use bottles.
The Australian sales subsidiary conducted an online survey on employees’
printing habits, which focused on ways of
reducing the number of printed documents
and general paper consumption. Around
250 employees took part in the survey in2020, providing a great many ideas and suggestions. The company is currently working
on a detailed proposal for implementation.
SYSTEMATIC WATERMANAGEMENT[GRI 303-1] Miele is reliant on water
throughout its value chain. Plants requirecooling water to manufacture Miele appliances, and water is also needed to operate
kitchens and bathroom facilities and forwatering green spaces. The production plants in Gütersloh and Brașov covermost of their water requirements from

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental management

their own well facilities, while other plants
draw water from municipal systems.
Miele strives to consistently reduce its water
consumption through systematic water management. All water-saving measures are,of course, implemented without affecting
drinking water hygiene. As an example,
Miele has spent the past few years separating its drinking water and firefighting water
facilities at its Gütersloh site, which had previously been operated as a single system.
Miele installed smaller pipes for the drinking
water system, allowing water consumption to be reduced. The old drinking water
pipes were oversized for current drinking
water requirements and had to be flushed out
very often to prevent bacteria from building
up. The large-diameter pipe network had
been originally installed to provide effective
and rapid access to large volumes of waterto fight fires. However, a new 1,250 cubic
metre water tank has since been installed
to provide water for firefighting from 2021.
Water abstraction per tonne of productclimbed from 1.85 cubic metres in 2019 to
1.93 cubic metres in the business year 2020.
In absolute terms, water abstraction increased
from 358,789 cubic metres to 393,827 cubic
metres year on year in the business year
2020 due to the repeated exchange of waterin the cooling tower for hygiene reasons andthe increased use of rinsing water during thecommissioning of a cooling system in Gütersloh, among other factors. In addition, thenew plant in Poland was included in the data
for the first time in 2020. Another reason
for the increased water consumption is the

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource
efficiency
Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

dry summer in 2020 and the need to water
green spaces as a result. Drip irrigation systems have been installed at some sites toreduce water consumption in the future.
Plants outside of Germany have also implemented a water management system,
including measures to reduce water consumption. In Dongguan, China, for instance,water meters have been installed to analysewater usage and set consumption targets.

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

WASTE WATER
in cubic metres

2020
2019

362,702313,264

WASTE WATER:REGULAR MEASUREMENTS[GRI 303-1/-2, 306-3] The plants in Gütersloh, Oelde, Lehrte and Bürmoos are able todischarge their waste water into the publicsewer system due to its high quality. These
indirect discharges are subject to the waste
water regulations of the respective municipalities. Waste water is treated before it isdischarged, with heavy metals being precipitated using lime milk in Gütersloh andOelde to filter these substances out of thewaste water. Precipitation is a chemical process for isolating a dissolved substancefrom a solution. The heavy metals are thendeposited as particles and filtered out by
the filters. In addition, the waste water isalso neutralised. This all ensures that Miele
complies with the limits stipulated by municipal waste water regulations. Miele regularly
conducts internal analysis and submits
random samples to the authorities for analysis to monitor the quality of this process.
As at all other Miele plants, regular samples are taken to ensure that the water

quality is perfect. In the reporting period,
there were no notable or significant casesof municipal limits being exceeded.
At the Braşov plant, domestic waste water
is treated in the plant’s own biological treatment plant and before being discharged into
the Bârsa stream. But that is set to change
from the end of 2021, when Miele waste
water will be discharged through a new sewer
system to a new public treatment plant,
where it will be treated. So far, there are no
manufacturing processes at the new Ksawerów plant that produce technical waste
water. Other waste water produced by thisplant is discharged into a municipal treatment plant through the public sewer system.
On account of the increase in water consumption in the business year 2020, thewaste water of all Miele plants climbed
to 362,702 cubic metres in the businessyear 2020 (2019: 313,264 cubic metres).
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FACTS & FIGURES

EnergyEnergy andand emissions
emissions

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

Energy and emissions
Focus on climate action

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face, and climate action is one of
Miele’s key sustainability tasks. That is why
Miele has refined its climate action strategy
during the reporting period, defining ambitious new goals. The climate action strategy
centres on avoiding and reducing CO 2
emissions and compensating where suchmeasures are not (yet) possible. The primary instruments in Miele’s strategy are
investment in efficiency measures, theexpansion of in-house energy generationand the targeted reduction of emissions in
the upstream and downstream value chain.
The strategy was adopted by the Executive Board in October 2020. A numberof measures were then resolved andinitial steps taken toward implementation. The new climate strategy is
an integral part of the enhanced> sustainability strategy, through which
Miele notably refined its objectives in
key focus areas in the reporting period.
By developing and adopting its new
climate strategy, Miele meets the requirements of the> Science Based Targets initiative, whichaims to bring corporate climate targets inline with the latest climate findings.

CO2 NEUTRALITY FOR ALL SITES FROM 2021
As part of its climate strategy, Miele has
decided to shift to carbon-neutral production
from 2021, as relates to the company’s own
emissions (Scope 1) and the emissions attributable to energy suppliers (Scope 2). At thesame time, the company aims to cut the CO 2
emissions of its global production and sales
sites, including the vehicle fleet, by 50 percent in absolute terms by 2030 compared to2019 levels. To do so, Miele will be investing
primarily in energy efficiency and generating its own renewable energy at its sites.

ELEMENTS OF THE MIELE CLIMATE STRATEGY

Energy-efficient
products
Appropriate
management
mechanisms(internal
CO 2 price)

Energy-efficient
production

ELEMENTS OF
THE MIELE
CLIMATE STRATEGY
Compensationof unavoidable
emissionsSustainable
materials

Procurement ofgreen electricity

Avoid

SubstituteOwn generationof renewableenergies

Compensate

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EnergyEnergy andand emissions
emissions

GENERATING OWN ENERGY AND
PROCURING GREEN ELECTRICITYBIOGAS TO PROTECT THE
CLIMATE AND PEOPLE
Renewable energies are good for the environment, there
is no doubt about that. But they can also improve the
day-to-day lives of people, too. Since 2021, Miele has
been involved in a project to equip rural households
in Nepal with small biogas plants as part of the company’s CO 2 compensation project. Instead of using
firewood to cook, and producing harmful smoke, families use biogas. In addition, residual materials fromthe plants can be used as fertiliser, increasing agricultural yields. People are no longer reliant solely on
wood, meaning that deforestation has also declined,
helping to preserve species diversity and counteract soil erosion. A total of 350 biogas plants
have been constructed with Miele’s assistance.

FACTS & FIGURES

Miele commissioned a photovoltaic plant in
Dongguan, China, in April 2021. Other projects
are in the pipeline, both at Miele production sites and at sales companies. In addition,
Miele is in the process of switching its energy
supply to fully renewable sources, with all
global sites set to procure green electricity
by the end of 2021. The plant in Ksawerów,
which was opened at the start of 2019, hasbeen using green electricity since production operations commenced. All production
sites in Germany, as well as those in Bürmoos,Braşov and Uničov, have been operating on
renewable electricity since 2020. Many international sales companies, such as those in
the UK, New Zealand, the Netherlands andSwitzerland, as well as the Steelco Group,also operate on green electricity exclusively.
COMPENSATION OF
UNAVOIDABLE EMISSIONS
Miele compensates for unavoidable emissions by purchasing high-quality CO 2
certificates and investing in global climate
action projects, including a solar-thermal
project in India and a biogas project in Nepal.
In Nicaragua, Miele supports an initiative
for sustainable coffee growing. The technical and financial support provided by Miele
helps Nicaraguan farmers manage their plantations in a more environmentally friendly
way. Other initiatives include reforestation projects in Uganda, a country that has
lost more than 40 percent of its forestsin the past 20 years. Miele also supports

CONTENTS

Logistics and mobility

projects in the United States to plant new
hardwood forests in the Mississippi Alluvial
Valley, which is one of North America’s mostimportant deciduous forest ecosystems.
PROMOTING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Miele also supports innovative technological approaches to reducing
or sequestering carbon. One projectin Austria and Germany supports thestorage of carbon for agricultural use.
In this project, vegetable carbon is being
used for long-term carbon storage, andis applied to the soil, improving soil fertility and increasing humus levels in theprocess. Miele co-finances the project.
REDUCING THE CARBON
FOOTPRINT OF PRODUCTS
The majority of the CO 2 emissions thatmake up Miele’s carbon footprint are
produced during the use of products(Scope 3.11) and during the purchasingof goods and services (Scope 3.1), bothof which are areas where a further reduction of CO 2 emissions is necessary. Initial
pilot projects are currently under way.
THE JOURNEY TO THE
CLIMATE STRATEGY
Allocating emissions to certain activities
is a key part of effective climate action.
The annual > carbon footprint report acts
as a basis for Miele’s current climate
strategy process.
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In 2020, at the beginning of the strategy
process, Miele extended the coverageof its carbon footprint report to international sales subsidiaries, the Steelco Groupand its shareholding in Korean robotics
specialist Yujin. Miele also carried out potential analysis, which was used to pinpoint
energy-­efficiency measures, evaluate thepotential of own energy generation andgreen electricity procurement and quantify significant Scope 3 emissions. The next
step was to simulate and model potential
measures to cut Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and the resulting costs. At this stage,
Miele also looked into potential strategies
to achieve carbon neutrality through energy-efficiency measures, ways to increaseown energy generation, opportunities toincrease the amount of green electricity
and possibilities for carbon compensation.
SYSTEMATIC ENERGYMANAGEMENT
The energy industry in Germany and Europe
is undergoing a structural shift towards
solar and wind energy. However, both ofthese renewable sources are weather-dependent and therefore volatile. Energy
bottlenecks must be avoided, and availability and stable prices secured. Hence
why it is important for Miele to adapt tothe changes by implementing new energy
storage concepts and efficient internal management mechanisms. Miele firmly believes
that the only way to absorb the differences
between volatile supply and uniform demand
is to store energy in the form of hydrogen,which is why the company is investing

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental managementin the development of hydrogen-basedenergy storage solutions. Dr Reinhard
Zinkann is a co-signatory to the white
paper “Aufbruch in die Zukunft: Transformationspfade für nachhaltige industrielle
Projekte in Nordrhein-Westfalen” (Journey
into the future: transformation pathways for sustainable industrial projects
in North Rhine-Westphalia), which contains 13 specific project proposals for thefurther development of hydrogen technology. The paper is the result of top-levelmeetings initiated by the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Energy storage is an important piece ofthe puzzle, but efficient energy flows arealso crucial. Thanks to the ISO 50001
energy management standard, which has
been applied since its introduction in 2011,
Miele has been able to transparently document energy flows at its sites and, in
doing so, uncover potential for improvements in efficiency. Within this framework,
the company has also set up a numberof > performance indicators to monitor achievement of efficiency targets andplan infrastructure measures. The foundry
and enamelling processes are particularly energy-intensive parts of production.
ESTABLISHING AN EFFICIENT
ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
Energy efficiency has always been a
top priority at Miele, and not just withthe company’s products. In the early
1980s, Miele began designing new buildings with more efficient low-temperature

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

EnergyEnergy andand emissions
emissionssystems and facilities. Nowadays, this technology is being used on an increasingbasis in modern heating networks.
Miele has its own electricity grids at its plants
and sites. Featuring 40 transformers, the gridat the Gütersloh site is comparable to thatof a small town. Miele also feeds electricity
into its internal grids with its cogeneration
plants in Bünde and Bielefeld, and the photovoltaic system in Gütersloh. This kind of
infrastructure has been a resounding success so far, which is why Miele believes
that small electricity grids with decentralised energy generation and storage canplay a major role in the energy transition.
In Gütersloh, Miele is also a partner in thecity’s heat distribution network, with waste
heat from a high-efficiency gas-fired power
station used to heat the entire Gütersloh
site since 2008 – and improving the energy
yield of the power station turbines in the process. Miele continues to hold small boiler
systems on standby as a contingency for
its production activities. The family-owned
company is in constant dialogue with district heating provider Fernwärmegesellschaft
Gütersloh to increase the efficiency of the
network and reveal untapped potential.

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DISTRIBUTION OF
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
Proportion of total energy consumption
as a percentage
Direct energy consumption

11.6

0.6

2020

58.4

29.4

Electricity
Natural gas
District heating
Heating oil

ENERGY EFFICIENCY COMPETENCY NETWORK
Maintaining and facilitating dialogue is anarea of extreme importance to Miele, which
is why the company has its own competency network on the issue of energy
efficiency. This network is geared towards
promoting dialogue among Miele plants
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and creating greater synergy effects at aninternational level. The network’s experts
form various working groups to look into
issues or technologies such as compressed air or refrigeration systems.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the network
met up as often as three times a year. In 2020,
the meetings were organised online, andmembers of the network quickly realised thatonline meetings can also have added benefits: Teams met more frequently, the issues
they discussed were more relevant and outcomes were more effective. Competency
network meetings in the reporting period
focused on improving and enhancing the systems used to measure energy consumption.
RAISING AWARENESSAMONG EMPLOYEES
Miele provides annual training, some ofwhich as part of the mandatory occupational safety training, to motivate employees
to save energy. Employees can also complete an e-learning module on the subject, orfind a broad range of information on how tosave energy in their day-to-day work on thecompany intranet. The information is prepared for different target groups, such as
office personnel and employees working
in plant engineering, and is continuously
updated. Tips include how to save energy
through correct ventilation and heating.
CURRENT ENERGY CONSUMPTION[GRI 302-1/-3/-4] In the business year 2020, allMiele production and sales sites consumed

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental management

ENERGY CONSUMPTION1)
in Megawatt-hours

2020
2019

281,020
288,797

1) The energy consumption of all production sites
and sales subsidiaries, as well as the participations
Steelco and Yujin, is taken into account.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

EnergyEnergy andand emissions
emissionsat total of 281,020 Megawatt-hours, 2.7 percent less than in the business year 2019
(288,797 Megawatt-hours). Total energy
consumption is made up of direct energy
consumption (heating oil, natural gas) andindirect consumption (district heating andelectrical energy); see diagram below. The> Key figures section includes a detailed
breakdown and explanations. Specificenergy consumption per produced appliance was reduced further in the reporting
period. In the business year 2020, thelion’s share of energy requirements (86 percent) were covered by green electricity.
In 2021, all sites use green electricity.

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MIELE CARBON FOOTPRINT(CO 2 -EQUIVALENT)
in percentages

<2 <1
13

2020

85

Scope 3: Use of sold products

BROADER DATA POOL FOR
CARBON FOOTPRINT[GRI 305-1/-2/-3/-5] Miele’s carbon footprintis calculated on the basis of the international
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol standard. It
is prepared using a market-based approach,which applies the specific emission factors ofenergy suppliers. Emissions consist of directemissions from oil and gas consumption as
well as Miele’s fleet of vehicles (Scope 1),
indirect emissions from electricity and district heating (Scope 2) and indirect Scope 3
emissions. Besides purchased goods andservices and the use of sold products,
Scope 3 emissions now also include capital
goods, fuel- and energy-related emissions, transportation and distribution, waste,business travel, commuting, rented facilities and how sold products are handled
at the end of their lifecycle. These emissions are reported in the carbon footprint
diagram under “Scope 3: All others”.

Scope 3: Purchased
goods and services
Scope 3: All others1)
Scope 1 (direct emissions)and Scope 2 (indirectemissions)
1) Contains the other Scope 3
categories named in the text.

ABSOLUTE SCOPE 1, 2 AND 3
CO2 EMISSIONS
in tonnes CO 2 -equivalent

2020
2019

12.32 million t
12.53 million t
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DEVELOPMENT OF SCOPE 1
AND SCOPE 2 EMISSIONSIn 2020, Miele reduced its Scope 1 andScope 2 CO 2 emissions by 40 percent year
on year. Direct emissions (Scope 1) were cut
by 8 percent in the same period. This is dueto the reduced consumption of natural gas
and heating oil and the pandemic-based
decline in fleet mileage. Miele reduced
indirect emissions (Scope 2) by a muchlarger margin of 65 percent on account of
most of Miele’s sites covering their energy
requirements with green electricity (86percent). Moreover, electricity and district
heat consumption fell further year on year.

Miele products also contain refrigerants,
but since 2020 only R600a-grade fluid has
been used worldwide. In 2020, 70 percent of heat pump tumble dryers werealso produced using the environmentallyfriendly refrigerant R290 (propane). The

Environmental management

remaining 30 percent are currently inthe process of being converted to use
R290-grade fluid. Appliances produced
for commercial applications. will only befilled with R600a refrigerant from 2021.
Motor production at the Euskirchensite produces volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but these pollutants
are eliminated by a post-combustion
process, bringing the total amount inexhaust air below legal limits.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURES

EnergyEnergy andand emissions
emissions

Resource efficiency

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Logistics and mobility

CARBON FOOTPRINT SCOPE 1 AND 2
as a percentage1)

10.3
Scope 2

36.0
22.1
2020
Scope 1

0.7
30.9
Fleet

Electricity

Natural gas

District heating

Heating oil

HOW TO DEAL WITH
ADDITIONAL GREENHOUSE GASESAND OTHER EMISSIONS[GRI 305-7] In addition to CO 2 emissions, Miele also strives to reduce othergreenhouse gases and harmful emissions.
Refrigerants containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are still occasionally usedat Miele plants: for example for air-conditioning technology, compressed air
dryers and small-scale systems such as
climate-controlled chests. These refrigerants are gradually being replaced bymore climate-friendly alternatives.

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

1) Rounding differences.

CO 2 EMISSIONS SCOPE 1 AND 2
tonnes CO 2 -equivalent2020
36,678CO240%

2020: 40 percent reduction in
CO 2 emissions compared to 2019
(Scope 1 and 2, absolute figures)

17,5802019
39,97450,201

Scope 1 (Direct CO 2 emissions)
Scope 2 (Indirect CO 2 emissions)64

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EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

CONTENTS

Logisticsand
andmobility
mobility
Logistics

Logistics and mobility
Efficient transportation, sustainable logistics

Miele appliances, production materials andreplacement parts are regularly transported
throughout almost 100 different countries
worldwide. The task of the logistics department is to make sure that Miele is able tosupply its products on time to sales subsidiaries and customers all over the world.
Miele has set itself the objective of minimising the impact of this level of traffic on
the environment and the climate as muchas possible, as well as optimising the necessary shipments. This is achieved usingstate-of-the-art logistics processes from thecentral Miele logistics centre in Gütersloh.
Most delivery routes are relatively short:eight out of twelve of the Miele production
sites are located in Germany, with the furthest situated 215 kilometres away from
Gütersloh. Europe continues to be the key
market for Miele products, as over 80 percent of sales are generated there – andone third in Germany alone. The necessary shipments and deliveries are managed
efficiently. In addition, Miele aims to utilise modes of transport that generate thelowest possible level of emissions. Carbon
emissions are a significant selection criterion for Miele when it comes to awarding
contracts to transport service providers.
The company avoids the use of air freightas far as possible and carefully reviews
any instances of transportation by air.

OUTBOUND TRANSPORT VOLUMEin shares (related totonne-kilometres)

SHIPPING THE MOST IMPORTANT
MODE OF TRANSPORT
Transport volumes rose by 12 percent in
the business year 2020 to 1,008 million
tonne-kilometres (compared to the business year 2019). This includes transport on
own account and deliveries to Miele sales
subsidiaries (outbound). The increase ismainly due to the positive sales development at sales subsidiaries overseas, aswell as in Southern and Eastern Europe.
Miele successfully maintained the proportion of its outbound shipments transportedby ship and rail at an extremely high level ofover 85 percent. Once again, an extremely
low percentage of shipments were madeby air (0.8 percent). Of Miele’s transport
on own account, 43 percent was completed by ship and 57 percent by lorry.
CALCULATING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT
AND OTHER EMISSIONS[GRI 305-3] Miele uses software to determine
the environmental impact of its transport
logistics that calculates the transport volume
and greenhouse gas emissions based on the

2 1
14

83

2020

by ship

by railby lorryby airEN 16258 CEN standard. In the businessyear 2020, transport-related emissions
increased by 3 percent, from 60,235 tonnesof CO 2 -equivalent in 2019 to 62,212 tonnes
CO 2- equivalent. These emissions include
outbound logistics, global distribution andtransport on own account. The rise in CO 2
emissions was much less significant than theincrease in transport volume.
Noise also forms part of transport-related
emissions. Noise emissions are legally
regulated in Germany and in many othercountries. Certain noise thresholds must not
be exceeded, especially at night, to protect
the public and the areas around the plantsfrom harmful noise-related environmental
effects. This is monitored on the basis of anoise register containing all noise sources.
Miele adhered to all requirements during thereporting period.
OPTIMAL USE OF TRANSPORTVEHICLE CAPACITIESA key way of reducing the environmental
impact of transport is the optimal utilisation of the means of transport in procurementand distribution logistics. During the reporting
period, transport vehicles operated at 90 percent capacity in procurement and 91 percent
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TRANSPORT-RELATED
CO 2-EQUIVALENT
tonnes CO 2 -equivalent

2020
2019

62,212
60,235in distribution logistics. Deliveries are only
made to sales subsidiaries with fully loaded
vehicles, as a rule. The same applies totransport between plants. When it comesto deliveries to customers, Miele is continuously analysing demand and capacities andwill adjust processes if necessary to achieve
the best possible capacity utilisation.
MIELE FLEETSUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Environmental management

is also working together with automotive
manufacturers as a test partner for sustainable light commercial vehicle (LCV)
systems and is aiming to become one of
the first companies to use electric LCVs.
CARBON-NEUTRAL RAIL JOURNEYS
AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT OFFERS
FOR EMPLOYEES[GRI 305-3] Miele employees are encouraged to choose public transport for businesstrips whenever possible. They should use
rail travel for longer business trips andavoid air travel unless it is strictly necessary
due to time constraints or for scheduling reasons. Long-distance journeys with
Deutsche Bahn as part of the “bahn.corporate” corporate customer programme
are carbon-neutral. The reduction in business travel, particularly by air, since thestart of the Covid-19 pandemic, has led toa decline in CO 2 emissions and had a positive impact on Miele’s carbon footprint.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Resource efficiency

FACTS & FIGURES

Energy and emissions

CONTENTS

Logisticsand
andmobility
mobility
Logistics

used these tickets to commute to work in
2019, but this figure fell to 862 in 2020.
Subsidised public transport tickets arealso available to employees in Austria,
China and at the Danish sales subsidiary. In Bürmoos, Braşov and Dongguan,
Miele provides a dedicated bus service forits employees. Furthermore, all trainees
in Bürmoos are given a ticket that entitles
them to free public transport throughout
the state of Salzburg – both for commuting
and for personal use. Sales subsidiaries
also reduce their CO 2 emissions throughvideo conferences and remote working.

TRANSPORT-RELATED CO 2 -EQUIVALENTin percentages[GRI 305-1] The Miele fleet primarily comprises cars and vans for customer service.
When vehicles need to be replaced, Mielechooses low-carbon models. Besides conventional low-emission models, Miele alsooffers employees at least one fully electric vehicle in each vehicle class.

Miele has also been offering regular environmentally friendly driving courses inGermany for a number of years now
as part of its > open training concept.
The ECO training was held as normal in
2019, but had to be cancelled in 2020
due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is set
to return to the calendar from 2021.

Miele has set itself the target of reducing
the > carbon emissions of its fleet byat least 30 percent worldwide by 2030
compared to the 21,920 tonnes of
CO 2 -equivalent generated in 2019. Miele

Furthermore, Miele encourages its employees
to use public transport to commute towork through initiatives such as cheaper
employee tickets at the Gütersloh, Bünde
and Bielefeld sites. A total of 935 employees

17

17

2019

34

Outbound

2020

49

50

33

Distribution

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Occupational health and safety

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training and education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

Employees& society> HR management> Occupational health and safety> Training and education> Diversity and equal opportunities> Social engagement

Miele, a family-owned company,
has always embraced a culture ofappreciation throughout the company, offering a full range of benefits.
This also includes protecting thehealth of the company’s more than
20,000 employees – in times of crisisand beyond. A diverse workforce is a
crucial competitive factor for Miele asa global company. International personnel development programmes
help to safeguard the company’s
success now and into the future.
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Training and education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

Human resources management
Partnership and appreciation

Miele offers its employees a working environment inspired by partnership andrespect. A consistent orientation towards
employees, along with high social andethical standards, has been an integral part of the family-owned company
since its founding, making Miele an attractive employer. Traditionally, Miele has
been known for a high rate of staff retention and low levels of staff turnover.

wide. This includes those working for thefollowing subsidiaries: Steelco, Yujin, Agrilution, WaschMal, MChef, Miele Operations
and Payment Solutions. In 2020, Miele
hired 466 employees, or a 2.3 percent
increase over the previous year (20,478
employees). As at the reference date,Miele employed 10,968 people in Germany, a decrease of 20 employees or
0.2 percent from the previous year.

In industrialised countries, demographic
change is intensifying the competition forwell-trained specialists. Global markets
and increasing digital connectivity are alsochanging the demands employees face.
Strategic human resources management
constantly aims to attract a sufficient numberof qualified, creative and enthusiastic
minds to the company and to ensure theirlong-term loyalty, even under the present
conditions. This is crucial in supporting
Miele’s efforts to be an innovation leader in
the industry on a lasting basis. The focus ison the short-, medium- and long-term needfor employees in all areas of the company.

CLEAR STRUCTURESEMPLOYMENT AT MIELE IN FIGURES[GRI 102-7/-8] As at 31 December 2020,
Miele had 20,944 employees world-[GRI 102-8, 404-3] The Gütersloh-based
central HR department performs the tasks
associated with HR management on a Groupwide basis. The department is in charge oftraining, qualification and talent management,
as well as HR management. In Germany, it is
responsible for identifying and hiring suitableapplicants. The sales subsidiaries have theirown HR managers and/or departments. The
central HR department coordinates its activities regularly with the individual departments,
local HR departments, the management of
the sales subsidiaries and the works council.
The head of the central HR department
reports directly to the Executive Directorof Finance and Administration. This person
has the authority to set guidelines for HR
departments at locations in Germany andat the sales subsidiaries outside of Germany. They do so in close coordination withthe local employees in charge of HR, who
are responsible for local personnel planning and recruiting. However, the heads ofthe sales subsidiaries and plants are hired
directly by the central HR department.

DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEES
by locations in percentage

47

2020

20,944
employees worldwide[GRI 404-3] The head of the central HR
department and the Executive Board identify new measures and set targets during
meetings dedicated to the annual objectives. Agreeing on these objectives helps
Miele to track the success of strategic
human resources planning and to continuously improve the company’s work.

53

in Germany
outside of Germany

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ATTRACTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED YOUNG TALENT
Miele has defined its own employer brand to
give potential new employees an authentic
impression of what it is like to work for Mieleand spark their interest in a career at thecompany. The Miele employer brand is acentral element of the Human Resources
strategy and helps make Miele even more
appealing to highly qualified young professionals. The company is increasingly
looking not only for candidates with technical profiles, but IT and digitalisation
professionals as well. Miele posts ads forthese prospective employees, particularly on the internet and on social media.
STRONG IDENTIFICATION WITH MIELE
Since 2012, Miele has carried out
employee surveys to measure how satisfied employees are in their workplace andhow strongly they identify with the company. Miele focuses on different issues
and metrics depending on the location.
The last surveys were conducted in 2018,eliciting feedback from employees of sales
subsidiaries and the Braşov, Dongguan andUničov plants. These surveys showed highlevels of identification and engagement among
the international workforce, well above theaverage of the manufacturing industry. The
next worldwide survey is scheduled for 2021.
In 2019, German business and career magazine Focus Business ranked Miele 15th
among Germany’s top employers, a significant gain over the previous year, when

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

240

anniversaries werecelebrated in 2020.

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training and education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

the company placed 41st. Some 143,000
company evaluations were considered
for the study. Another magazine, stern,ranked Miele the 25th most popular
employer and first in the “Durable Consumer Goods” category in 2019. This survey
involved 45,000 employees in Germany.

mented, helping save over 1.9 million euros.
A total of 371,000 euros were paid out asbonuses in the business year 2020. The
Miele idea management programme is being
fully digitalised by stages. This will enable
greater transparency and process speed andmay make it easier to share knowledge.

STAFF RETENTION: LOW TURNOVERRATES, LOTS OF ANNIVERSARIESIn 2018, Miele renamed its corporate suggestion scheme, dubbing it “Idee M” (“Idea M”),
while also modernising various processes inan effort to respond even more flexibly to ideas
when they are received. Idee M launched acampaign called “120 Jahre Immer Besser”(“120 Years, Ever Better”), inviting employees
to win special prizes if their suggestions were
accepted by the idea management programme. All entrants also received physicalprizes and a 20 percent addition to the usual
idea bonus. During the campaign, 1,521 ideas
were submitted and then reviewed andevaluated by experts with an eye to implementation. In 2019, 2,983 ideas were submitted,
and the number for 2020 was 1,659. The
sharp change was due to the reduction in
on-site work brought on by the pandemic.

[GRI 401-1] Miele is traditionally characterisedby a high rate of staff retention. Most
employees stay with Miele for many years. The
staff turnover rate at the German locations
stood at 1.33 percent in the business year
2020 (2019: 1.76 percent).
Numerous anniversaries were celebrated in thereporting period. In the business year 2020,
240 employees worldwide celebrated 25, 40
and even 50 years with the company (2019:319 employees with anniversaries). Localcelebrations were postponed to 2021 due tothe Covid-19 pandemic.
EMPLOYEE IDEAS PAY OFF
Miele’s idea management programme is one of
the ways employees can help shape the company. This approach has a long tradition, with
employees first being called upon to submit
their ideas for improvements back in 1951.
Employees of Miele & Cie. KG submitted a
total of 1,656 suggestions for improvement
across all German locations in the businessyear 2020. Of the ideas evaluated during thisreporting period, 31 percent were imple-

EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION: A
VALUABLE PARTNERSHIP[GRI 102-41, 402-1] For decades, Miele has had
a close and trusting relationship when working
with the company’s workers’ representatives.
The Executive Board promptly provides theworkers’ representatives with extensive
information concerning all relevant decisions,developments and processes. Even difficult
topics are discussed constructively and with afocus on solutions.
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management

In Germany, Miele is subject to the collective
wage agreements of the IG Metall union.
PRO-GE is the responsible trade union inAustria, with KOVO acting as our labour
partner in the Czech Republic. The plant inBraşov, Romania, is subject to a collective
labour agreement that governs the fundamental demands, as well as the organisationand structure of employment relationships.
Working conditions for employees in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic andRomania are therefore all regulated in collective bargaining agreements, equating to a
66.8 percent share of all Miele employees (asat 31 December 2020). The employment
relationship between Miele and the temporary agency workers employed at Miele’s
German locations is governed by the collective wage agreements concluded by theagencies themselves.
Works councils look after the interests of
employees in Germany and at our Czech
plant, as well as at some of our sales subsidiaries, such as in France, Italy, theNetherlands and Spain. Employees at ourplant in Dongguan, China, for example, haveenjoyed representation since 2009. Such
representation is not mandatory under local
law. The employee representatives there
meet with the HR department on a monthly
basis to discuss suggestions and deal withpotential areas of conflict. The interests ofthe employees at the plant in Uničov, Czech
Republic, are represented through the KOVO
union and in regular meetings between
internal employee representatives and plant
management. At smaller sales subsidiaries,
such as those in Poland or Ireland, the

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Occupational health and safety

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training and education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

dialogue between employees and management is a direct and ongoing process, but
has not been formally defined.
SOCIAL AND ETHICAL STANDARDS[GRI 407-1, 408-1, 409-1, 412-1/-2] Miele isrespectful and responsible in its dealings with
employees. This is a key feature of the Miele
corporate culture, and one that has been underscored since back in 2004 by the company’s
voluntary pledge to fulfil the internationally recognised SA8000 social standard. This has been
officially certified since 2008. The standard
includes the requirement to observe decent
working conditions, to guarantee freedom of
association and the prohibition of child labourand discrimination. An external service provider performs a monitoring audit every six
months to determine whether this standard ismet. All plant locations are > SA8000 certified
and undergo recertification every three years.
The most recent scheduled recertification
took place in 2019; the plant in Ksawerów,
Poland, is slated for recertification in 2022.
It goes without saying that Miele respects
human rights in all its business activities.
Miele conveys this pledge to employees
as part of the company philosophy rightfrom the beginning of their employment.
In the reporting period, 115 managers andemployees from HR were trained with an
online learning programme on the German
General Act on Equal Treatment (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, or AGG).
Since the programme was introduced, atotal of 1,649 employees have completed thetraining. Software-based training is also held

4,126

employees have been digitallytrained on the Code of Conduct.

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagementon the company’s code of conduct. So far,
4,126 have received training worldwide, 699
of them during the reporting period. Miele
also requires its suppliers to comply with> social criteria. Miele purchasing employees
receive regular information to raise awareness of this topic. Venues for providing
information include the semiannual meetingsof SA8000 management representatives, thequarterly meetings of the social performanceteams and the company-wide SA8000 information portals. In 2019, the company began
holding meetings with the central purchasingteam every six weeks to optimise procurement processes in keeping with ethics
standards. The focus here is on crossplant coordination and on implementation ofSA8000 requirements by suppliers, taking
country-specific circumstances into account.
Miele also provides new hires with information about complying with social andethical standards during the two-day“Welcome@Miele” event. New Miele
employees get to know the company and its
culture in depth during this onboarding event.
TRANSPARENT COMPLAINTS PROCESS[GRI 406-1] Every employee in Germany
has the right to turn to a complaints office,which offers help as the first point ofcontact in the case of suspected discrimination. In accordance with the General
Act on Equal Treatment (AGG), the works
council is involved in handling and evaluating incoming complaints. Miele has set
up dedicated complaints offices, eachof which is staffed by one man and one
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management

woman, at every company location inGermany. All complaints are naturally confidential. Similar systems are in place at theinternational sites. The complaints office
works closely with the aggrieved person toreview the circumstances surrounding thecomplaint. Wherever possible, the resultsof the review are communicated within one
month. Information on how to contact theindividual complaints offices is accessible
to all employees on the intranet. In addition, employees or business partners ofMiele or other third parties can contact anombudsperson if they believe there are indications that criminal laws have been violated
within the company’s sphere of influence.
In the reporting period, the complaints offices in Germany received a
total of one AGG complaint related togender and ethnic background. In thiscase, remedial measures were taken
and further support was offered.
FAIR PAY – NATURALLY[GRI 202-1] Miele believes in paying all
employees an appropriate wage or salary
based on collective and corporate agreements. Such pay meets or exceeds> the real-world living wage at the location in question and comes with a variety
of voluntary benefits. In keeping withthe founders’ philosophy, such benefits
are paid regardless of the current economic climate or business performance.
The company stands by its pledge to be
an attractive employer, even – and especially – in tough economic times.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Occupational health and safety

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training and education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

Miele grants special one-off payments
and allowances for health treatments anddental prostheses that go beyond the statutory requirements and the provisions of
the collective wage agreements, as well as
payments in the event of births, marriages,
deaths, milestone birthdays and work anniversaries. In addition, employees receive
benefits and individually negotiated perks
such as meal subsidies and coverage oftravel expenses. The company provides its
former and active employees with modern
health insurance coverage through its company insurance provider. Some sales
subsidiaries also have separate healthinsurance programmes for their employees.

CONTENTS

Social engagement

Both in Germany and internationally,
benefits are granted regardless of whether
employees have full-time, part-time, temporary or permanent contracts. Rules oncompany pensions vary internationally due
to local differences and legal requirements.

A LONG TRADITION OF
COMPREHENSIVE BENEFITS[GRI 201-3, 401-2, 404-2] Miele has offered
its employees a company pension scheme
since 1929. Today, Miele supports its
employees in Germany in saving for retirement through a variety of models, such asprivate pension schemes or deferred compensation. Depending on the company
agreement and collective wage agreement,
employees in Germany can pay up to 4 percent of the contribution assessment ceilingfor pension insurance (Western states) intoa tax-privileged pension insurance fund.

FACTS & FIGURES1929

was the year Miele introduced
company retirement benefits.

GOOD INTEGRATION OF TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES[GRI 102-8] In the business year 2020, theshare of the workforce in Germany consisting of temporary employees stood at
5 percent, up from 3.4 percent in 2019. In a
company-wide agreement signed in 2007,
Miele committed to only work with recruitment agencies that have concluded acollective wage agreement. This regulates
pay and the industry supplement, which
is between 15 and 30 percent of the base
pay under the collective agreement for the
metal industry. In the company-wide agreement, Miele also agreed to increase the payof temporary agency employees by an additional 6 to 8 percent (scaled according
to duration of the employment period).

They also provide their employees withthe option of discounted supplemental
insurance policies, such as denture insurance. In some cases, employees canalso take advantage of pension, health,invalidity and survivors insurance.
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AWARDS: RECOGNITION FOR HR POLICIES
Miele has received several awards for
its exemplary HR work. In the reporting
period, it received the following awards:• Survey > Trendence
Graduate Barometer 2019 and 2020
• Company ranking Universum Top 100• Award > MINT Minded Company
2019 and 2020
• Study > Germany’s Most
Popular Employers 2019 and 2020
• Ranking Focus-Business> Best Employers 2019
• Study > Future Talents Award 2020
• Ranking > Trend – Top
Employer Austria 2020
ENHANCING THE COMPATIBILITYOF WORK AND FAMILY LIFE[GRI 401-3, 404-2] Miele offers employment
models with flexible working hours so as
to make it easier for its employees to maintain a healthy work-life balance. The models
provide various part-time or full-time employment arrangements. In the business year
2019, the proportion of employees working
part-time in Germany was 8.0 percent, whilein the business year 2020, this figure stoodat 8.2 percent. Some 903 people are currently employed part-time in a variety of

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Occupational health and safety

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training and educationdifferent working hour models that havebeen adapted to their personal needs to
the greatest extent possible. Flexible shiftsystems and the option of semi-retirement for older employees are also available.
Miele’s plants outside Germany also provide flexible working hour models.
Employees in Germany may take advantage of flexitime, provided there are no
production-related reasons or other urgent
considerations to the contrary. In thebusiness year 2020, the percentage of
employees with flexitime stood at 59 percent.
The share of employees in semi-retirement stood at 2.9 percent in the businessyear 2019 and at 3.3 percent in 2020.

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement“realm of ideas”. The educational concept
includes giving the little ones a playful introduction to science and technology. The Miele
nursery received “Haus der kleinen Forscher” (House of Little Scientists) certificationin 2019 and is thus officially designated asa centre for youthful knowledge and exploration. This coveted designation goes toinstitutions that place special emphasis on
early education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Despite
the tough conditions in 2020, the centre
was able to offer at least emergency care at
all times throughout the year. The facility is
operated by a service provider called pme
Familienservice, which also offers additional > services for families at the company.

During the entire reporting period,
575 Miele employees in Germany tookparental leave, 392 of whom were men(average: approx. 80 days) and 183 of whomwere women (average: approx. 644 days).
As at 31 December 2020, 553 of thesepeople remained with the company. Eight
women and 14 men left the company.
MIELE NURSERY IN GÜTERSLOH
Miele operates its own nursery in Gütersloh,
its headquarters and home to its largest
site. The close proximity to the plant and theextended opening hours from 7.00 am to
6.00 pm help further improve the compatibility of work and family life. The day-care
centre looks after 80 children, from infants
to children just about to enter school. The
centre’s name, “IdeenReich”, is a play onwords, conveying both “rich in ideas” and2019 & 2020 MINT
Minded Company

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Occupational healthhealth andOccupational
andsafety
safetySUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training and education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

Occupational health and safety
Prevent accidents and promote health[GRI 404-2] Miele takes care of its employees’
health at every stage of their lives as amatter of course. A healthy workforce isthe foundation of long-term success forany company. Supporting and maintaining
employees’ physical and mental abilities toperform is therefore the very highest priority.
The basis for these efforts is a thoughtfully
conceived, prevention-driven health management programme, combined with safeand ergonomically designed workplaces.
The age structure remains a challenge forMiele. At the end of the business years 2019and 2020, about 46 percent of employees inGermany were 50 years old or above, with theaverage age as at 31 December 2020 standingat 46.76 years. This means that workstations
must be designed to be both age-appropriate
and appropriate for ageing workers. To Miele,
this means creating suitable pathways for different age groups. During this reporting period,
the company analysed whether workstations
and workflows in production, particularly series
production, were ergonomically designed. The
results of this analysis were used to revise anumber of processes. In assembly, the company worked with employees to develop ideas
for an overhaul. In addition, jobs that are especially physically demanding received relief fromdriverless transport systems and automation.

A CLEAR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY ORGANISATION[GRI 403-1/-4/-5/-7/-8] As an employer, Miele
is responsible for its employees’ safety. To keep
everyone safe, all Miele plants worldwide haveobtained certification under the internationallyrecognised DIN EN ISO 45001 > occupationalsafety management system. This type of certification fully replaces the previous OHSAS 18001
framework. The company was recertified in 2020.
Miele has 24 dedicated specialists employedsolely for the purpose of ensuring occupationalsafety at its plants (in the business year 2020).
In addition, the company also has 235 safety
officers who perform these tasks alongside theirregular company duties. These include providing advice during the planning and realisationof plant systems or when workstations are being
designed. The safety officers receive regular continuing education, including quarterly training
on various safety topics ranging from hazardous substances to noise. Furthermore, regular
instruction takes place at all locations. Extensive
checklists are available for daily work activities.
Regular safety meetings are held at all plants andall departments are frequently inspected. The
inspections ensure that the necessary actions
are taken conscientiously. Approximately 20 to 25
inspections per year are conducted in Gütersloh

4%of the entire workforce is involvedin Work Safety Committees.

at Miele is directly involved with these committees. These meetings shifted to digital in 2020.
In Germany, the Works Constitution Act governs how the works councils of the plants should
be involved in matters of workplace healthand safety. On the international front, there
are corresponding regulations that govern the
involvement of employees and their representatives. All rules on occupational safety and healthalso apply to non-Miele employees whose work
and/or workplaces are controlled by Miele.
FOCUS ON COVID-19 PREVENTION

alone. There are also regular continuing education and training activities to raise all employees’
awareness of safety in the workplace. Owing
to the pandemic, all meetings were held digitally in 2020 and inspections were conductedwith appropriate safeguards in place. The continuing education and training measures werelimited to systematic activities, and specificallythose relating to occupational safety and health,which totalled 1,112 in the business year 2020.
In addition, the Work Safety Committee at eachplant meets four times a year. Approximately
four percent of the entire company workforce[GRI 403-8] The > pandemic made 2020 an
exceptionally challenging year in terms ofoccupational safety and health at Miele. The
company needed to maintain business operations while at the same time protecting
employees. The measures taken were guided
by the SARS-CoV-2 occupational safety standards published by the German Federal Ministryof Labour and Social Affairs and further official
rules (including the ordinances enacted by theGerman states to curb the pandemic) and went
beyond the legal requirements in some cases.
Various interdepartmental and local teams
were formed to help fight the virus, mapping out actions and solutions and taking
over responsibility for communication within
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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Occupational healthhealth andOccupational
andsafety
safetySUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training and education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

WORKPLACE ACCIDENTSMINIMISING RISKS OF ACCIDENTS

Reportable workplace accidents[GRI 403-1/-2/-4/-5] At Miele, the areas ofoccupational health and safety are regulated by the > Miele management system.
This ensures a continuous improvement
process and helps with the continual analysis of accident data, for example.

Employees with office workstations wereasked to work from home for a short time.
Those who had to continue working on-sitewere required to wear face masks as soon
as they left their workstations. Beyond that,masks were required for all workstations
where social distance of 1.5 meters could
not be maintained. In production, employees
were divided into shift groups, and breaktimes were staggered to minimise contact.

Workplace accidents per
one million working hours

Hand sanitiser and disinfectant dispensers
were installed across the board, and social
distancing markings were placed on thefloor at all building entrances and exits. The
cafe­terias were temporarily closed and thenreopened with special hygiene and collection concepts. Occupancy limits were
put in place for offices and meeting rooms
to ensure sufficient distance. Whereverminimum distances could not be maintained, such as in production, partitions
were installed. Most meetings were held
online rather than in person. Beyond that,the occupational health and safety officers
worked with the plant medical service tooffer advice on events. Multiple testing stations were set up at the plants, offering
Miele employees the chance to be tested
for the virus several times a week.

200
2019

2020

9.9
10.5
2019

2020

CONTENTS

Social engagement

the company. A dedicated section of theintranet was set up to provide additional
information on current developments, help
with people’s day-to-day work and answer
many questions from employees. Recommended courses of action were provided
specifically for management staff on topics
such as how to handle suspected cases.

187

FACTS & FIGURES

Since Miele is a production company witha high level of vertical integration, some of
the jobs carry health risks or are particularly hazardous, such as those involved in thesurface treatment of materials and in metalworking. Numerous measures are taken toeliminate or mitigate risks, from risk assessments of workstations and psychologicalstrain, some of which are required by law,
to protective clothing and training activities aimed at preventing accidents.
Training, posted notices and app notifications advise employees when there is any
change in the required protective measures.
In addition, employees can report any dangers directly to their supervisor during daily
team meetings. External companies and theiremployees who enter Miele grounds receive
timely information from Miele about the occupational safety requirements that apply there.
The number of workplace accidents per
million hours worked stood at 9.9 in the business year 2020 (2019: 10.6), below theindustry average of 15.2 (2019) reportedby German professional associations.
In this reporting period, Miele fully digitalised
the handling of accidents across the entire

company, from the initial report to the plant
medical service through to archiving in the accident database. In the course of these activities,
supervisors, occupational safety specialists, safety officers, company medical officers,
and works council members were all asked
to update risk assessments and define immediate actions to take in case of emergency.
FIRST AID IN EMERGENCIES AND ACUTE CASES[GRI 403-3] A plant medical service has
been in place since 1973 in Gütersloh. Alongwith the legal duties which result from the
Occupational Safety Act, the plant medical service also takes care of first aid in theevent of emergencies and acute illnesses.
They work together with the Miele company insurance provider BKK to provide
and actively promote the annual influenza
vaccination. At all other sites, insurance-accredited physicians and medical personnel
ensure that employees receive proper care.
The same is also true of workers who are
not employees, but who work or have aworkstation at Miele, albeit only temporarily. These are mainly temporary employees
and employees of service companies.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT[GRI 403-6] Miele relies on occupational
health management at its German sites tosystematically manage all health-related operational processes. Miele’s occupational healthmanagement programme is coordinated by
the central > HR department in Gütersloh.
The programme is available to all Miele
employees and others working on the site.
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At the Bielefeld, Euskirchen, Gütersloh,
Oelde and Warendorf locations, Miele operates fitness centres and also offers various
exercise and sports classes, of which there
were more than 40 in 2019. Vein screening
was offered for over 700 employees in
Gütersloh and Euskirchen in 2019 and early
2020, with an excellent response. The othersites also held Health Day events focusing
on topics such as healthy eating, copingwith stress, protecting one’s skin, restful
sleep and cardiovascular disease. Over6,400 people participated in these occupational health management activities acrossall German sites in 2019. All events andcourses were initially cancelled at the startof the pandemic, in 2020, but they werethen gradually brought back in online formats. This was the reason for the significant
decrease in the total number of participants.
Closely linked with Miele’s occupational
health management activities, the company
also engages in occupational integration
management at all German sites (plants andsales and service centres). It is intended tomake it easier for employees who havesuffered from lengthy periods of illness toreturn to their jobs.
WIDE RANGE OF INTERNATIONAL
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT
OFFERINGS
Miele offers extensive occupational healthmanagement measures for employees atinternational locations as well. In Australia, forexample, there are a number of partner initiatives under the “Healthy me” umbrella. All

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Occupational healthhealth andOccupational
andsafety
safetySUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training and education

900

managers have participated inqualification seminars on the topicof “Healthy Management”.

of them support employees in relation to various health-related topics, like healthy eating
and coping with depression and addiction.
In Switzerland, Miele offers its workforce atthe showroom in Crissier a gym membership.
In China, the Baltic States, the Netherlands
and Sweden as well, the Miele sites support sports activities and the health of theiremployees. In Russia, monthly seminars
are offered on maintaining a healthy worklife balance, with topics including things
like coping with stress and healthy eating.
TRAINING OPTIONS FOR“HEALTHY MANAGEMENT”
Miele takes special care to involve its
managers in occupational health management. Specific training seminars
are required for every manager in Germany. These seminars are intended toraise awareness of employees’ well-being

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

and health. Over 900 managers – thevast majority – have participated since
the seminars were first offered, in 2015.
At the Bielefeld, Gütersloh and Oeldesites, managers who work in production
receive additional training on how to welcome new employees in a spirit of respect
and appreciation. Miele also ensures thatmanagers develop an eye for proper ergonomic working. In this way, they canhelp employees work more ergonomically, including with help from the healthmanagement team where needed.
LIFE COACHING AND ADDICTION COUNSELLINGSPECIAL PROGRAMMES FOR
APPRENTICES AND TRAINEES
Promoting health is also an integral feature of vocational training activities at Miele.
All apprentices and trainees participate in fiverequired events as part of the health insurance programme “Azubi fit”. These include
an introduction to occupational health anda seminar on maintaining a healthy back.
During this reporting period, the programme
was also expanded to include identifying
and coping with stress or addiction. All programme activities moved online in 2020.
Technical apprentices also attend training sessions offered by professional associations.

[GRI 404-2] Miele began offering employees
at the German plants the option to seek life
coaching and addiction counselling in early
2014. Trained contact persons are available
to provide assistance. In addition, a 24-hourcounselling hotline is also available througha service provider to handle crisis situations. The two counsellors in Gütersloh alone
logged some 400 consultations from mid-2019
to mid-2020. Frequent topics include workplace incidents, psychological strain and family
issues. Beyond the counselling itself, smoking
cessation programmes have also been offered.
Many families found 2020, the first year of
the pandemic, extremely stressful with daycare centres and schools being closed andpeople working from home. With this in mind,
the company made certain pme Familienservice was available by phone or via video
chat 24 hours a day for consultations to support families during these challenging times.
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Training
Training andand education
education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

Training and education
Attracting and promoting talentWorking at Miele is a fascinating anddiverse experience. All areas of the company require motivated professionals, fromyoung professionals to experienced specialists. Miele is looking to attract talented
people and to identify and encourage theirabilities and aptitudes. This is why thecompany offers extensive entry-level opportunities and pathways to promotion.

enter a vocational training programme or
begin their studies. For this reason, Miele
continues to collaborate with schools anduniversities in the vicinity of the locations.

School pupil internships
School pupils and leavers

Apprenticeship
Dual study programme

All employees benefit from a wide range oftraining and qualification options. In Germany,
the company invested 17 million euros in
vocational training and further development in
the calendar year 2020 (calendar year 2019:18.1 million). Against the backdrop of an> ageing population, the company’s focus lies
increasingly on measures aimed at ensuringperformance and employability in the long term.

University student internships
Students

Course assignments/
thesesDirect entry
Graduates with Bachelor’sand Master’s degree

DIVERSE ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONSFOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS
Miele offers talented young professionals
numerous opportunities for joining the company. The options range from trial internships
for school pupils right up to programmes
for PhD students. Using various methods,
Miele reaches potential young talent withinformation about the company’s attractive professional fields even before they

ENTRY OPPORTUNITIES AT MIELE

Junior Sales Representative
Programme
Master@Miele
Trainee programme

17 million €were invested by Miele invocational training and further
development in 2020.

Doctoral students andapplicants with doctorates

Direct entry
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Diversity and equal opportunities

The high quality of training at Miele is regularly
confirmed externally. In the business years
2019 and 2020, a total of 33 apprentices inGermany passed their final exams with flying
colours, earning the best possible marks. Nineof them were also named “best in chamber”(Kammerbeste) by the German Chambers ofCommerce and Industry.

459

apprentices and trainees inGermany at the start of vocational
training in September 2020

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

AWARDS FOR GRADUATES AND NEW
PATHS TO VOCATIONAL TRAINING

When training its young professionals, Miele
is careful to ensure that they develop digitalskills and then apply them at the company.
During this reporting period, for example,
two new dual programmes with a focus on
digital aspects were introduced. The “Digital
Technologies” programme gives participants extensive professional knowledge
and skills relating to advanced information and communication technologies andfundamental knowledge of engineering.
The “Digital Business Management” programme offers a broad-based educationin business administration, expanding on
the fundamentals of traditional businessadministration and adding solid IT-related
basics. Three students started in thesedual programmes in September 2020.

Gathering international experience is playing
an ever greater role in training at Miele,
which is why more assignments abroad will

Training
Training andand education
education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

continue to be made available to apprentices in the future. A wide range of hands-on
opportunities for technical apprentices
have been created at the sales subsidiaries in Ireland and Italy and at the plantin Bürmoos, Austria. In all, eleven apprentices and trainees, eleven students enrolled
in dual programmes, and two interns spenttime abroad during the reporting period.

Miele offers its apprentices a systematic andwell-rounded basic education in more than
30 vocational trades and dual study (cooperative education) programmes. The number
of apprenticeships and positions for students in dual study programmes at Miele isdetermined by the company’s requirements
in consultation with the departments aspart of the strategic human resources planning process. Once they have completed
their training, Miele offers all apprentices
an employment contract for a minimum of
one year or even a permanent contract.

INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR
APPRENTICES AND STUDENTS

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

As part of the “Collective Labour Agreement
for the Promotion of Apprenticeship Proficiency” (Tarifvertrag zur Förderung derAusbildungsfähigkeit), Miele offers internships
to disadvantaged young people and thosewith lower academic performance. The
objective is to open up a path for them into
vocational training. Since 2009, this programme has successfully helped prepare
22 young people for an apprenticeship at
Miele. In the business year 2019, two young
men successfully completed the programme.
Both began training to become industrial
mechanics in September 2019. In 2020, two
young men also started their training after
successfully completing their internships. This
was the first year that candidates were offered

not only an electrical systems installer vocational training track, but also a businesstraineeship toward certification as a management assistant in industry.
The quality of Miele’s programmes for young
professionals was confirmed in 2020 by the
Clevis corporate consultancy. Miele was
ranked second in a study of the best German
employers for young professionals and named“Rising Star of the Year” (Aufsteiger des Jahres)for its dramatically improved ranking.
DUAL STUDY PROGRAMMES AT MIELE
Since 1995, Miele has been offering school
graduates the opportunity to complete various commercial and technical dual study
programmes in fields such as mechanicalengineering, electrical engineering or business informatics. During the reporting period,
54 graduates successfully completed theirdual study programmes, with over 80 percent of them going on to be hired by Miele.
PROGRAMMES FOR UNIVERSITY GRADUATES
Miele offers attractive entry-level opportunities
for specialists and managers with an academic background. Along with direct entry,
there are two further entry-level programmes
for graduates with bachelor’s degrees: The
Master@Miele programme is a part-timemaster’s degree programme, usually with atechnical focus. The Junior Sales Representative Programme for entry into sales is also
open to recruits who have not followed a traditional career path. The programme gives
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disciplines the opportunity to become juniorsales representatives within just one year.
INTERNSHIPS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND
UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS
During the reporting period, Miele offered
more than 250 internships and thesis supervision positions each year. Even during theCovid-19 pandemic, the company was able
to continue to offer internships and cooperative relationships focusing on thesis
projects. Most internships were conducted both on-site and through remote
work on an alternating basis, with professional supervision at all times.
Miele stays in close contact with selected
technical and business-oriented universities
around the world with the aim of contacting
future applicants at an early stage and ina targeted manner. For example, the company assigns practical projects to students,organises application and assessment
centre training and offers excursions. In thereporting period, Miele was represented
once more at numerous trade fairs for students, graduates and young professionals.
In 2020, Miele shifted its participation in
recruiting fairs to a different model. Aftera several-month phase when all fairs werecancelled by organisers and participatingcompanies due to the pandemic, a shift
toward digital formats began to take shapearound the middle of the year. Miele participated in smaller events in this space, withup to 50 attendees. These new dialogue formats proved to be a good way to open up

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Occupational health and safety

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training
Training andand education
education

direct lines of communication with low barriers to entry, and Miele was able to recruit
young professionals through these avenues.
In its home region of eastern Westphalia,
Miele offers ten scholarships a year to especially talented candidates as part of theDeutschlandstipendium programme, combining them with social engagement andmeasures to support talented candidates.
The Chinese plant in Dongguan awards
four scholarships every year to students
from the Dongguan Technology College
who stand out as a result of their outstanding performance. Priority is given
to students from less privileged backgrounds who perform at the same level.
WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS FOR TRAINING
AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENT[GRI 404-1/-2] A variety of training programmes make a pivotal contribution tocontinuing to ensure the company’s success in the future. The responsibility forthese programmes lies with the training division. Miele is involved in various different
initiatives to get prospective young professionals interested in the company at
an early stage. For example, the company
participates in Girls’ Day. Its international trainee programme is one way Miele
is putting its global focus into practice.
HR development at Miele has an international focus. Succession management, forexample, follows a uniform, IT-supported process throughout the company, which allows

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

an overall view of all management positions and makes it possible to come up
with the best succession solutions for certain people or positions early on. Part-time
further training is of particular strategic significance to the company. To hold our own
and continue to innovate, we need to provide targeted support for employees to reach
their full potential. Key development programmes for talented professionals and toprovide training for managers are increasingly being expanded internationally.
In the process, Miele does not focus solely
on specific on-the-job requirements, butalso takes employees’ individual skills andaptitudes into account. Measures to support employees’ growth and developmentat Miele include the following in particular:• Systematic further training andadvancement of skilled personnel andmanagers from within the company• Continuous development and expansion of
an international talent management process• Goal-oriented HR development
measures for specific target groups• Ensuring internal knowledge management
and employee networking• Standardisation of learning
processes across all locations
Further development at Miele is a standardised
process and is supported by a learning management system (LMS) software solution that is

8.9 hours
were spent by Miele employees ondevelopment on average in 2020.

increasingly being used internationally as well.
Opportunities for further training are plannedand documented via the LMS, giving managers
an overview of the progress that employees aremaking with their further development. Learningplans document the qualification measuresplanned for employees as well as the ones they
have already completed. In addition, Miele introduced an online evaluation of further training
measures in the 2019–2020 period. Participants
reported average satisfaction levels with theirtraining measures of more than 5.2 on a scalefrom 1 to 6, with 6 being the highest possible
rating. Ninety-five percent of respondents would
recommend Miele’s training measures to others.
The “Miele Change Agent” is one element of
the LMS. This digital training format is partof the extensive worldwide learning and support options offered in the Design2Excellence
programme, preparing employees for the> transformation of Miele that is associatedwith the programme. About 30 people completed the course during this reporting period.
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education

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DIGITAL LEARNING

e ne
fits

Em

of b

plo
yee

t io n

rev

lu a

iew

E va

On-th
implem e-jobenc o n s o t a t io n,
lidation

i n i ngD e t e r m l nee d s
t io nae du c a

Planning andbudgetary
approval ofneeds-based
qualificationRecoq u r d inali g
fic neati edon s- bin a s
L M edS

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

The annual employee review, which brings
together managers and employees to discuss performance, is another tool for managing
the need for professional development basedon specific job and skill requirements.

PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

on
ati s
c
fi
e
ali urQ u ea sm

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Miele made further strides in adopting digital learning technologies in 2020. Working
in tandem with external training institutions,the company shifted almost all areas of its
training activities to digital learning formats.
This allowed Miele to meet employees’ education needs even without holding in-person
events. Things like LinkedIn Learning were
helpful here. This extensive digital learning
platform offered by professional social
network LinkedIn has been available toMiele employees since January 2020.
The “Digital Fitness” training initiative wasalso launched in 2020. Its goal is to raiseawareness of the digital transformation
among all employees and boost digital skills
at the company. Plans call for the programme
to be expanded further in the years to come.
TEACHING TECHNICAL EXPERTISE AND
LEADERSHIP SKILLS – AND ENCOURAGINGEMPLOYEES TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE[GRI 404-2] Within the scope of its internal
further training programmes, Miele provides qualification opportunities for various
fields such as management, project andchange management, or IT applications.
Miele bases various overarching, central
qualification topics and specific qualification

measures on its Miele competency model,
which describes the skills, knowledge
and attitudes necessary to be successful
at the company. Through job descriptions, the model provides career planningassistance, for example. Miele also offers
employees the opportunity to advancetheir management skills internationally.
A very broad range of options are offered
for advancing technical and professional
skills. Miele uses a certified project management training programme from theInternational Project Management Association (IPMA). The company introduced theprogramme in product development back in
2010, to great success, and has now been
expanding it to other areas of the company.
Certified project managers can manage
complex projects with excellent structure
and organisation and have a shared understanding of how projects are executed at theGroup level. The crucial factor is that many
projects are growing increasingly complex, even those outside traditional productdevelopment. Miele now has more than
200 employees trained as project managers.
In addition, employees in Germany have theopportunity to further their education byattending external training events in theirareas of expertise. Miele also expressly
supports any employees who wish to takepart in part-time further training on theirown initiative. The company provides financial support for accredited, part-time
further training courses or degree programmes. Forty-four employees made useof this option during the reporting period.
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Miele also relies on experienced employees
to share their knowledge and expertise. Aspart of the Miele Mentoring Programme,
experienced employees are matched withjunior managers and specialists to provide them with career guidance by offering
advice, establishing contacts, assisting withproject development and giving feedback.
WIDE RANGE OF OPEN
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES[GRI 404-2] Open training remains an important supplementary part of the training
and education opportunities offered at
Miele. These options are geared towards
all employees in Germany. Unlike theinternal and external training options, these
open training sessions are held during
employees’ free time. Miele covers the costof these sessions. In the business year
2019, exactly 2,691 employees took part.
That number stood at just 1,086 in 2020.
The decrease was because almost all of
the planned sessions had to be cancelledin the spring of 2020 due to the pandemic.
The sessions were shifted to digital learning
formats for the autumn programme – andparticipation figures rebounded. The programme saw a considerable shift during
the reporting period, going from in-person
sessions to mainly digital formats.
COMPREHENSIVE MANAGEMENT QUALIFICATION
Filling at least three out of four open managerial positions from within the company
is one of Miele’s stated goals. Particularattention is therefore paid to promoting

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Occupational health and safety

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training
Training andand education
education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

the development of managers. Employees
who take on a managerial position for the
first time are prepared extensively for their
new role with the help of a binding qualification programme. Further opportunities
for learning and gaining experience that
focus on transferring practical experienceand feedback are available to experienced
managers. One new feature introduced in2020 was the “Virtual Management” (“Virtuell führen”) live online training series,
which is offered for managers working fromhome. Agile management was another new
topic introduced in 2020, debuting in thesmart home segment. Twenty-six managers in that area spent approximately six
months training for their new leadership rolein the context of the agile transformation.
The Miele Business Academy plays a key rolein the company’s efforts to train and educate
its managerial staff. Seminars are held in
English, and participants come from all corners of the Miele world. The Miele BusinessAcademy now offers 19 different training
and learning options for international managers with various levels of experience,covering key management topics and skills.
The one hundredth participant successfullycompleted the “Management & Leadership
Compact” course in 2019. Fifty participants
attended the six events held in this coursein the calendar years 2019 and 2020 alone(equivalent to 494 days of participation).

DIGITALISATION UNLOCKSADVANCED FORMS OF
TRAINING AND LEARNING
All new apprentices and trainees have been equipped withmobile devices since September 2020. This allows them touse digital learning platforms and similar options on theirown. The MLS (“Mobile Learning in Smart Factories”) digital learning platform was introduced for vocational
training activities back in 2019. Apprentices can accessspecially prepared, company-specific learning content,
allowing them to learn anytime, anywhere. This further
enhances the quality of the training and education theyreceive. Thanks to these measures, Miele was able tocontinue to ensure the same solid, challenging types ofvocational training in 2020, even amid the pandemic.

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Diversity
opportunities
Diversity andand equal
equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

Social engagement

Diversity and equal opportunities
Remit and competitive factor

Miele is committed to offering equal opportunities for all, regardless of nationality, skincolour, sex or gender, religion, sexual orientation, or physical limitations. Miele views
having a diverse international workforce as avaluable addition both on a human level andprofessionally. And it is precisely in a global
company that diversity is also an important competitive factor to say the least.
PROMOTING DIVERSITY, PREVENTINGDISCRIMINATION[GRI 405-1] Miele aims to raise awarenessthroughout the company of the vast potential lying in diverse life and work experiences,perspectives and values. The company philosophy, the Miele Code of Conduct and thecompany-wide agreement on the German
General Equal Treatment Act form theGroup-wide framework for cultivating diversity and equal opportunity and taking action
against discrimination. The company has
demonstrated its adherence to this idea
towards external and internal audiencesalike by obtaining > SA8000 certificationand signing the Diversity Charter in 2012.
In the business year 2020, 6.3 percent(2019: 6.0 percent) of Miele employees inGermany were citizens of a country otherthan Germany. Citizens of Turkey, Greece,
Italy and Poland accounted for the largest
share. Employees with disabilities made up
6 percent of all Miele workers in Germany(in the business years 2019 and 2020).
Miele participated in German Diversity
Day once again in the reporting period.
About 50 employees from eight countries took part in this activity, which washeld in May 2020. This time around, theypresented their insights into diversity
through a creative digital photo collage.
COMMITMENT TO FEMALE EMPLOYEES
Furthering female talent is firmly rooted as apoint of Miele’s corporate strategy in its own
right. In keeping with this position, it is also aparticular area of focus for the company’s
diversity measures. Miele supports women’s
careers through various concepts. Just liketheir male colleagues, every woman at Miele
who is identified and designated as being
especially talented receives a full spectrum of
individual growth and development opportunities. Alongside the internal mentoring
programme, which matches talented individuals with an experienced Miele manager or
specialist, those with high potential can also
access external mentoring, which is primarily

used by women via the > “CrossMentoring
OWL” network. There are also regular dialogue
and networking formats, such as “Women with
Power of Attorney” (“Frauen in Vollmacht”) for
people with these authorisations and additional
specific groups like meetings of female engineers. As at the end of December 2019,
women accounted for 22.3 percent of theGerman workforce. The figure for the year afterthat was 22.1 percent. Worldwide, womenmade up 29.7 percent of the staff at Miele as at
31 December 2020.
Increasing the number of women in management positions is a stated goal of the HR
policy, both in Germany and internationally. A
total of 11.3 percent of managerial positions inGermany and 24.4 percent of managerial
positions worldwide were held by women at
the end of 2020. Miele does not consider it
appropriate to define a fixed quota forincreasing the proportion of women in managerial positions. Miele instead strives to recruit
the most qualified candidate for each position
that must be filled, regardless of gender.
Female candidates displaying high potential are
specifically supported and encouraged to set
ambitious professional goals, as well as tokeep pursuing these goals after having children, if they choose to do so. Miele helps toaccommodate this with its family-friendly
working conditions. In November 2020, Miele
launched a strategic project in Greece to fill
more entry-level and managerial positions withwomen. Female workers accounted for41 percent of the staff in Greece in 2020.

PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYEESACCORDING TO AGE GROUP
as a percentage in Germany

15

43
2020

42
> 50 years< 30 years

30 to 50 years
reference date: 31 December 2020

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ships. In dual study programmes in Germany,
women accounted for 21.3 percent that same
year in technical fields and 41.7 percent inbusiness fields.

29.7%
was the worldwide
percentage of womenin the overall Miele
workforce in 2020. (Asat 31 December 2020)

New managers are trained individually, completing a one-day training programme titled“Leading through Diversity” (“Diversity – Vielfalt
führen”). The goal of this programme is to spur
efforts towards greater diversity in managers’
own teams and to tap into the potential that
this diversity offers.
In the reporting period, Miele once again
participated in the “Women’s Career Index”
project, which is supported by the German
Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior
Citizens, Women and Youth. Each year, theinitiative highlights companies that taketargeted action to provide fair career opportunities to women.
The company is also committed to promoting
female junior professionals, apprentices andtrainees. In 2020, women made up 9.7 percentof those enrolled in technical vocational training
and 60.2 percent of commercial apprentice-

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity
opportunities
Diversity andand equal
equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

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Supporting female
employees plays acentral role at Miele.

NO DIFFERENCES IN THE SALARIES RECEIVED BY
WOMEN AND MEN[GRI 405-2] Remuneration at Miele’s Germansites takes place according to a person’s job
and in keeping with collective agreements
based on the framework pay agreement forthe metal and electronics industry. Therefore,
there are no differences in the remuneration of women and men at Miele. Merit pay
is categorised and calculated strictly basedon the specific task and actual performanceand does not take unrelated criteria into
account. Measures to ensure that employee
pay does not differ based on gender or otherdiversity criteria are also in place at the company’s international production sites.

12.2%

women in technical apprenticeships;
57.4% women in commercial apprenticeships
in Germany in September 2020 in relation to
vocational training and the dual study
programmes as a whole.

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SocialSocial engagement
engagement

Social engagement
Promoting regional appeal[GRI 413-1/-2] As one of the largest employers
in the area, Miele is traditionally closely associated with Gütersloh and Ostwestfalen-Lippe– the region which it calls home. Right backto the company’s founders, Miele has always
been aware of its responsibility for the wellbeing of employees and their families. A
wide-ranging social engagement initiative
has developed over the decades as a resultof this care. Activities are largely focusedon the regions surrounding the company
sites. In this way, Miele helps to maintain asmooth-running, attractive environment.
ENGAGEMENT BY THE COMPANY
AND THE MIELE FOUNDATION
Miele’s social activities are aimed at supporting youth and families and at educationand culture. This applies not only to Miele
as a company, but also to the foundation of
the same name, which was established in
1974. While the explicit development goalof the Miele Foundation’s charter is the promotion of public welfare in the German cityof Gütersloh, the company itself addresses
a broader range of needs and also pursues
active social engagement at other plant sites.
The international sales subsidiaries also
engage in diverse initiatives. The guidelines onsocial engagement that apply to the sales subsidiaries chart the fundamental course for this.
For example, the only donations permitted are
to non-profit or charitable organisations. The
responsible parties at the sales subsidiaries
identify suitable projects themselves. Miele isin close communication with local communities at all its locations and therefore has a goodunderstanding of their needs. Miele wishes tobe a reliable partner for the local authorities,
associations and initiatives. With this in mind,
it aims to support projects on a long-termbasis, wherever possible. In special cases, thisengagement, which is focused on continuity, is
supplemented by flexible, short-term support.

€

175,000 €were used for donations in 2020.

DONATIONS DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD
FOCUSING ON SUSTAINABILITY
Miele takes a very broad view of sustainability,
in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United
Nations. The international sales subsidiaries also engage in extremely diverse andsustainable initiatives. For example, Miele
partnered with three artists in Switzerland
in 2020 to stand against disposable “fastfashion”. The campaign, dubbed “Same Shirt
Different”, invited participants to upcycle
existing articles of clothing, cushions or bagswith iron-on patches using the FashionMaster steam ironing system from Miele.

[GRI 201-1, 415-1] Traditionally, Miele supports
a number of regional charities with an annual
donation of money or items. The projects to besupported are decided upon by the responsible division depending on the urgency andrequirements of the requests. Large donations
need to be approved by the Executive Board.
In the business year 2018/19, Miele & Cie. KG
donated a total of 175,000 euros in Germany.
In the business year 2020, which now
matches the calendar year, approximately
175,000 euros in funding was used for donation purposes again.

In 2019, the Miele Foundation took part insocial projects and initiatives amounting
to around 97,000 euros. In 2020, thedonation volume was much lower, at
50,000 euros, since many events were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
SUPPORTING FAMILIESSupporting and improving the opportunities of young people from the areas
surrounding the Miele sites has always beena key aspect of Miele’s social engagement.
Since 1976, the Miele Foundation has offeredsignificant financial support to the Gütersloh Holiday Games for children between
the ages of 5 and 17. Every year, this opportunity includes many different and various
activities that provide care during school
holidays. Support for the project “Jugendintegration durch Sport” (integrating young
people through sport) is also provided
through an annual donation. This project was launched by the department forchildren and youth development in thecity of Gütersloh in 2009. It aims to promote social skills in young people that are
rarely gained from usual sporting activity.
Activities include hip-hop courses for girls
or mixed indoor football, for example.
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Since 2014, the company has supported the
Gütersloh Association for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children with its “Hand in Hand”
family mentors project. In this project, voluntary female family mentors visit families fora few hours each week to support the children and parents in difficult times. In 2019,24 families received support from 24 mentors in all. The figure for 2020 was 22 families.
DIGITALISATION ANDSUPPORT FOR EDUCATION
To comply with its regional responsibilities, Miele also supports the digital transition
through initiatives such as the “Digitale
Agenda Gütersloh” and its first digitalisation strategy. This project is among the“Smart Cities Made in Germany” model projects. As part of the initiative, the German
federal government provides about
8.5 million euros in funding to support forward-looking projects in Gütersloh, out ofa total volume of about 13 million euros.
A significant objective of Miele’s involvementin education is to inspire children and young
people to get involved in technology and to
introduce young adults to technical professional fields. In the reporting period, Miele
supported non-profit association “Das erste
Buch e.V.”, which aims to foster and support a culture of reading among children andteens while cultivating their creativity andself-confidence. Schoolchildren in Güters­lohwrote exciting stories as part of the project. A panel of judges selected the top
entries, which were published in a collectedvolume with financial support from Miele.

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

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SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Training and education

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Diversity and equal opportunities

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

SocialSocial engagement
engagement

STRENGTHENING CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIESDiverse cultural opportunities contribute significantly to making a region attractive andincreasing the local quality of life. Therefore,
an important element of Miele’s engagement
has traditionally been to promote culture. In
this reporting period, the company once again
supported the Westfälische Kammerphilharmonie ensemble, which is composed ofmembers of well-known German orchestras,
independent musicians and especially qualified
students, an approach that stands out fromthe rest of the German orchestra landscape.
Like in previous years, Miele supported
Kulturgemeinschaft Dreiecksplatz, an association that organises various cultural events in
Gütersloh, in both 2019 and 2020. In August
2020, an event called “Klangwandel” waslaunched as a partnership between Kultur­
gemeinschaft Dreiecksplatz and three otherorganisers. In the project, sound collages
were created in public spaces by artists who would normally have appeared on
an open-air stage in Gütersloh this year.

DONATIONS TO EASE THE
AFTER-EFFECTS OF WILDFIRE
In response to the devastating wildfires in January
2020, employees of the sales subsidiary in Australia collected donations for a number of aims: to care forwildlife, restore destroyed habitats, and promote ecotourism in the affected areas. Many employees used social
media to highlight the campaign for the World Wide
Fund for Nature-Australia (WWF-Australia), which collected funds equivalent to nearly 34,000 euros in all.

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Facts &
Figures> Key figures> GRI content index

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CONTENTSGRI content index

Key figures
Profile[GRI 102-48/-49] In the reporting period, which covered the time between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2020,
Miele adjusted its business year to match the calendar year. At the same time, the scope covered by the key figureswith regard to the participations and sales subsidiaries was changed. More information can be found in the respective
footnotes. Due to these changes, the values for the calendar years 2019 and 2020 are of limited comparability withthose of earlier business years. As a result, this report only presents the key figures for the past two calendar years.

TOTAL MIELE TURNOVER1) 2) IN BILLION EUROS [GRI 102-7, 201-1]

Total
Germany3)
Abroadforeign share (%)

2019

2020

4.23

4.50

1.22

1.33

3.01
71

2019

2020

DACH

40

41

Southern and Eastern Europe (SEE)1010Northern and Western Europe (NWE)

22

22Asia Pacific (APAC)

99Global Focus Markets (GFM)2), Latin America3)
and countries without sales subsidiaries3)

15

14Participations/other

4

4

3.17
70

The Miele Group generated 4.5 billion euros in turnover in the business year 2020
(1 January to 31 January), an increase of 6.5 percent compared to 2019. In Germany,
Miele’s turnover during that same period stood at 1.33 billion euros, corresponding
to an increase of 8.8 percent compared to 2019 and 29.5 of total turnover.
1) Deviations between the percentages used to describe the general trends and the values
stated in the tables are attributable to the rounding of the total turnover in the table.
2) Group turnover includes the turnover of the participations Steelco, Yujin,
MChef, Miele Operations and Payment Solutions, and Agrilution.
3) Including other sources of turnover, including revenue generated by the German
plants, such as from sales of enclosures, scrap, electronics, licenses andadvertising material, as well as plastic parts and seminar fees.

TURNOVER BY COUNTRY AND REGION1)SHARE OF TOTAL TURNOVER IN PERCENTAGE [GRI 102-6/-7]

Strong growth was seen in the neighbouring European markets Benelux, France,
Austria and Switzerland – as well as in the emerging markets of Eastern
Europe, and particularly in China. In other key markets, including the US andthe United Kingdom, business was approximately on a par with the previous
year despite significant restrictions related to the spread of Covid-19.
1) Turnover includes the participations Steelco, Yujin, MChef, Miele Operations and Payment Solutions,and Agrilution.
2) Global focus markets: US, Canada, China
3) Share of total turnover less than one percent.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSGRI content index

TURNOVER BY BUSINESS AREA1) 2)
AS A PERCENTAGE [GRI 102-7]

SALES BY PRODUCT GROUPIN THOUSANDS [GRI 102-7]
2019

2020

Dishwashers

841

852

5

Cookers/ovens

374

389

14

13

Refrigerators and freezers

333

380

Laundry Business Unit

23

23

Vacuum cleaners

2,126

2,484

Professional Business Unit4)

12

11

Washing machines

881

942

Refrigeration Business Unit

8

8

Tumble dryers

462

460

SDA Business Unit5)

12

14

Others1)

700

727

Other participations

4

4

Domestic appliances total

5,717

6,234

Commercial machines

94

91

5,811

6,325

2019

2020

Cooking Business Unit3)

21

21

Customer Service Business Unit

5

Dishwashing Business Unit

1) Turnover includes the participations Steelco, Yujin, MChef, Miele Operations and Payment Solutions,and Agrilution.
2) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entirety of 100 percent are attributable
to rounding.
3) Includes cookers/ovens, steam cookers, hobs/cooking zones, cooker hoods.
4) Professional Business Unit excl. Steelco.
5) Vacuum cleaners, coffee machines, rotary ironers.

Domestic appliances and commercial
machines

The number of items sold across nearly all product groups rose to record highs in thereporting year, particularly in floor care, where the Triflex HX1 cordless stick vacuum
cleaner, which was successfully launched in late 2019, had an especially positive impact.
Top models from the conventional cylinder and upright vacuum cleaner range also left
a positive mark. In refrigerators and freezers, the increased need for longer-term andmore reliable food storage due to Covid-19 shaped developments. In kitchens, Miele
additionally benefited from its unique position in terms of performance and the smart
features of the new 7000 generation of built-in appliances and the G 7000 dishwasher.
Likewise, Miele gained further market share with its enhanced laundry care portfolio.
1) Hobs/cooking zones, cooker hoods, microwave ovens, steam cookers, coffee machines, rotary ironers.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSGRI content index

INVESTMENTS IN MILLIONS OF EUROS [GRI 201-1]

Germany

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

2019

2020

126

86

Europe8736Overseas24

23

Total investments

237

145

Miele invested a total of 145 million euros in the business year 2020 – a decrease of
92 million euros, or 39 percent, year on year. The decline was primarily attributable toa reluctance to invest due to the uncertainties associated with the coronavirus
pandemic. Over half of the total amount was invested in product development and in
the expansion, conversion and modernisation of the international Miele Group
production network. Miele also opened new flagship stores (Miele Experience Centers)
at its sites in Sydney, Brussels and Sao Paolo, among others. These efforts wererounded out by the completion of the Miele Lounge at Munich’s Allianz Arena.

PERSONNEL COSTS IN MILLIONS OF EUROS/
AS A PERCENTAGE [GRI 201-1]
2019

2020

in millions of euros

1,274

1,358

in relation to the total turnover (%)

30

30

The rise in personnel costs was due to the persistent growth in workforce numbers.
However, the ratio between total turnover and personnel costs remained constant.

PENSION PROVISIONS IN MILLIONS OF EUROS [GRI 201-3]

Provisions

2019

2020

501

564

Higher provisions were formed in 2020 than in 2019, due primarily to the further
decrease in the discounting rate published by the Bundesbank in accordance with
Section 253 (2) of the German Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch, HGB).
Discounting is used to calculate the value of a future payment.

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CONTENTSGRI content index

Products & services
Product portfolio: Energy consumption labelling[GRI 302-5, 417-1]

Development and innovation

The values refer to devices sold in EU countries in which
the energy label is mandatory, as well as in Croatia, Norway
and Switzerland. The disclosures are based on the oldenergy label, which was applicable until 1 March 2021.

EXPENDITURES FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
AS A PERCENTAGE

Share of total turnover

2019

2020

5.8

5.5

ENERGY LABEL: WASHING MACHINES AS A PERCENTAGE
2019

2020

A+++ -50

11A+++ -40

1419A+++ -30--

A+++ -20

1617A+++ -10

41

45

A+++

28

18

All of the washing machines sold in 2020 met the highest energy efficiency rating(A+++); 82 percent fell short of the applicable threshold values by at least 10 percent,with 1 percent of the products sold falling short by 50 percent.

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CONTENTSGRI content index

ENERGY LABEL: TUMBLE DRYERS AS A PERCENTAGE

ENERGY LABEL: DISHWASHERS AS A PERCENTAGE1)

20192020 1)20192020 1)

A+++ -101

1A+++ -20

2

4

A+++

51

58

A+++ -10

30

31

A++

39

32

A+++

12

16

A+

-

-

A++

39

32

A

-

-

A+

17

16

B

7

6

C

2

2

Of the tumble dryers sold in the business year 2020, 92 percent met the highest energy
efficiency ratings (A++ and A+++), with 58 percent of those tumble dryers complying
with A+++ efficiency standards; 1 percent of the tumble dryers sold fell short of thethreshold for the energy efficiency category by at least 10 percent.
1) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entiretyof 100 percent are attributable to rounding.

ENERGY LABEL: COOKERS AND OVENS AS A PERCENTAGE

Of the dishwashers sold in the business year 2020, 51 percent met the highest energy
efficiency rating (A+++); 35 percent fell short of the energy efficiency threshold by atleast 10 percent.
1) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entiretyof 100 percent are attributable to rounding.

ENERGY LABEL: REFRIGERATORS AND FREEZERS
AS A PERCENTAGE
2019

2020

A+++

25

27

2019

2020

A++

68

67

A+

99.5

99.5

A+

2

2

A

0.5

0.5

A

5

4

Nearly all cookers and ovens sold in the business year 2020 received an A+ energy
efficiency rating.

Of the refrigerators and freezers and sold in 2020, 27 percent obtained the highest
energy efficiency rating. In 2019, that figure stood at 25 percent.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSGRI content index

Product portfolio: Consumption efficiency [GRI 302-5]
The values of the Miele appliance with the highest energy and watersavings that was available in the market for a particular year arepresented below.

POWER CONSUMPTION ENERGY LABEL IN KWH
Washing machines
Power consumption in
kWh/kg of laundry
Dishwashers
Power consumption in
kWh/place setting
Refrigerators with up to
and including 150 l ofusable capacity and a freezer
compartment
Power consumption in
kWh/100 l over 24 hours
Refrigerators with up to
and including 150 l ofusable capacity without
a freezer compartment
kWh/100 l over 24 hours
Refrigerators with 151 l to
300 l of usable capacity with afreezer compartment
Power consumption in
kWh/100 l over 24 hours
Refrigerators with 151 l to
300 l of usable capacity
without a freezer compartment
Power consumption in
kWh/100 l over 24 hours

POWER CONSUMPTION ENERGY LABEL IN KWH

2000

2019

2020

0.19

0.065

0.054

1)

0.09

0.40

0.05

0.19

0.05

0.19

0.26

0.12

0.12

0.29

0.14

0.14

0.18

0.08

1) The measured values apply to the following wash programmes at full load:
2000: Cottons 40 °C and 60 °C
2019: Cottons Energy Label 40 °C and 60 °C (according to the old energy label)
2020: ECO 40-60 (according to the new energy label from March 2021)

0.08

2000

2019

2020

0.47

0.27

0.27

0.23

0.13

0.13

Cookers and ovens
Power consumption in kWh

1.20

0.61

0.61

Tumble dryers1)
Power consumption in
kWh/kg of laundry

0.59

0.163

0.163

Freezers with up to
and including 150 lof usable capacity
Power consumption in
kWh/100 l over 24 hours
Freezers with 151 l to
300 l of usable capacity
Power consumption in
kWh/100 l over 24 hours

1) Values for the programme Cottons Normal Dry, full load.

WATER CONSUMPTION ENERGY LABEL IN LITRES
Washing machines1)
Water consumption
in l/kg of laundry
Dishwashers
Water consumption
in l/place setting

2000

2019

2020

9.80

5.60

5

1.08

0.64

0.61

1) The measured values apply to the following wash programmes at full load:
2000: Cottons 40 °C and 60 °C
2019: Cottons Energy Label 40 °C and 60 °C (according to the old energy label)
2020: ECO 40-60 (according to the new energy label from March 2021)

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SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

FACTS & FIGURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

CONTENTSGRI content index

Supply chain & production
Unless otherwise stated, Supply chain & production
figures refer to the production sites.

Natural resources and materials

PACKAGING MATERIALS USEDIN TONNES [GRI 301-1]

PRODUCTION MATERIALS USEDIN TONNES [GRI 301-1]

2019

2020

17,981

18,314

Solid wood

10,084

10,01318,641

Cardboard/corrugated paper

5,240

5,577

6,556

6,708

Moulded plastic parts (EPS)

2,183

2,307

Paints, varnishes, enamels

1,041

1,006

PE film/strapping (PP/steel)

473

417

Oils, greases, lubricants

181

196

Encased PU foam/PE film

1

0.3

Acids, lye, solvents

190

194

Others 1)

5,144

5,312

Electronics

3,361

3,444

2019

2020

Raw materials

122,510

127,238

Metals105,469

108,597

Plastic granulate

17,041

Processing materials

Total

The overall increase in packaging material between 2019 and 2020 was mainly due tothe increased production volume.

The increase in production materials used in the business year 2020 is primarily due tothe growth in production and the distribution of the production volume across thevarious product groups.
1) The other auxiliary and operating materials consist mainly of castingmaterials for the manufacture of mass-balancing weights.

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FACTS & FIGURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

CONTENTSGRI content index

Supplier management

PURCHASING VOLUME 1)2) AS A PERCENTAGE [GRI 102-9, 204-1]

DEVICES PRODUCED IN TONNES [GRI 301-1]
2019

2020

194,464

203,678

The primary reason for the increase in weight of all appliances produced was
production growth in the business years 2019 and 2020. Changes to the product mix
also played a key role in this respect.

2019

2020

Germany

53

50

Europe3134Overseas

16171) Payments to suppliers.
2) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entiretyof 100 percent are attributable to rounding.

PACKAGING PER KILOGRAMME OF PRODUCTIN GRAMMES [GRI 301-1]
2019

2020

92

90

The key figure “Packaging per kilogramme of product” is calculated as an average
across all product categories. The development of the product mix sold therefore plays
a particular role here. Packaging per kilogramme of product was reduced further in thebusiness year 2020.

SUPPLIERS OF PRODUCTION MATERIALS NUMBER [GRI 102-9]
2019

2020

2,208

2,139

In the reporting period, Miele continued to focus on reducing the number of suppliers.
At the same time, more attention was paid to risk management, with dual sourcing
employed in some cases. Dual sourcing refers to specifying two independent suppliers
for one particular component, for example.

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FACTS & FIGURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

CONTENTSGRI content index

Environment management

PAYMENTS TO SUPPLIERS FOR PRODUCTION MATERIALS1)IN MILLIONS OF EUROS [GRI 102-9]

INVESTMENTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
IN THOUSANDS OF EUROS [GRI 302-4]

2019

2020

Germany613

582

Europe353

396

Overseas181

Total payments to suppliers

1,148

2019

2020

772

918

Waste management

0

21

194

Water pollution control

11

81

1,172

Climate protection/ energy efficiency

460

715

Noise control

3

15

Air pollution control

298

86

Nature conservation andlandscape maintenance00

The payments to suppliers rose in the reporting period due to the increased demand for
production materials, which itself was due to the increased production volume. Rising
prices also contributed to this increase.
1) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entire figure are attributable to rounding.

SELF-ASSESSMENT ON COMPLIANCE WITH SOCIALSTANDARDS BY SUPPLIERS NUMBER [GRI 414-1]
2019

2020

Compliance confirmed

866

510

Compliance not confirmed 1)

8

6

Total

874

516

Total

Investments in environmental protection are subject to significant annual fluctuation,
as they include one-off expenses for new plants and equipment based on current
requirements. The main investments in 2020 related to a new evaporative coolingsystem in Warendorf, the modernisation of the heating system in Arnsberg, a system
for water cooling in Bünde and a heat recovery ventilation system in Oelde. Waste
container systems were procured at the new plant in Ksawerów and in Gütersloh. A
separator was replaced in Euskirchen for the purpose of water pollution control.

Due to the pandemic, there were far fewer applications from new suppliers. In addition,no major change in the products’ generations took place in the reporting period. As aresult of both developments, only few potential suppliers were invited to apply.
1) For more on the procedure in the case of non-compliance, see the section> “Selecting new suppliers” under Supplier management94Miele Sustainability Report 2021

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSGRI content index

Resource efficiency

WASTE FOR RECYCLING AND DISPOSAL BY TYPE1)
IN TONNES [GRI 306-3/-4]

ONGOING ENVIRONMENTAL EXPENDITURES1)
IN THOUSANDS OF EUROS

2019

2020

Total waste produced

34,19037,413

3,416

Scrap metal

19,256

20,302

103

98

Waste for recycling

32,90335,462

Water pollution control

2,298

2,363

Hazardous waste

1,832

1,209

Noise control

156

76

Waste for disposal

1,287

1,951

Air pollution control

2,089

2,699

Hazardous waste

854

1,365

Nature conservation andlandscape maintenance

10

32

2019

2020

7,330

8,684

Waste management

2,675

Soil remediation

Total

The write-offs and imputed interest on the investments for the cogeneration plant at
the Bünde location accounted for a significant share of the ongoing environmental
expenditures in 2020. In addition, waste disposal costs increased sharply.
1) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entire figure are attributable to rounding.

The increase in total waste produced was the result of a rise in production, thelarger workforce and increased construction activity. In Gütersloh, use of a stainlesssteel welding system also started, enhancing the level of vertical integration andleading to the creation of more stainless steel scrap. Lehrte saw investments ininfrastructure, resulting in significant quantities of waste from excavated soil. In
Uničov, the ramp-up of a wash cabinet production process for dishwashers also led
to an increase in metal scrap, which had a marked effect on the amount of waste.
1) The waste disposal method was determined on the basis of
information provided by the waste disposal provider.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSGRI content index

SOURCE AREAS OF TOTAL WASTEIN TONNES [GRI 306-3]

WASTE FOR RECYCLING AND DISPOSAL BY TYPEIN TONNES [GRI 306-3/-4]

20192020 4)

2019

2020

Waste from production, product parts 1)

30,79831,636

Solid waste for recycling

31,21134,338Waste from operational plants,
administration, and development areas 2)

2,524

2,617

Liquid waste for recycling

1,692

1,124

Waste from buildings, ground 3)

868

3,161

Solid waste for disposal

722

1,037

Liquid waste for disposal

565

914

In total, approximately 95 percent of the waste produced at Miele can be recycled.
The volume of solid waste for disposal rose relatively sharply in the reporting period
due to an increase in production activity, as well as extracted soil for a new supply
duct at the Lehrte plant and chrome steel waste from the commissioning of a new
welding system in Gütersloh. Though the addition of the new system does create
more waste, it is also accompanied by an enhanced level of vertical integration. This
allows Miele to exert more influence on the quality of the corresponding components.

For causes of the increase in the amount of waste, see > Waste for recycling anddisposal by type.
1) A waste type is allocated to a source area if at least 80 percent of the waste type comes from the area
concerned. Waste from production: product and production parts such as scrap metal, foundry waste andacids, as well as waste from the treatment of technical waste water and plastic parts.
2) Waste from operational plants, administration and the development areas includes obsolete production
facilities, cable remains, spent oils, cardboard and paper, pallets and scrap wood, as well as generalwaste.
3) Waste from buildings and grounds includes building rubble, excavated soil, stones, replaced neon tubes,
flooring, waste from green areas and sewer cleaning, as well as rubbish.
4) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entire figure presented under “Waste forrecycling and disposal by type” are attributable to rounding.

PRODUCTION WASTE PER TONNE OF PRODUCT1)IN KILOGRAMMES [GRI 306-3]
2019

2020

158

155

1) Waste incurred in direct relation to production activities, such as scrap metal, foundry
waste and acids, is expressed in relation to tonnes of product. The amounts of wastefrom the source areas “Buildings/grounds” and “Operations facilities, administrationand development areas” are not included here (see source areas of total waste).

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FACTS & FIGURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

CONTENTSGRI content index

DESTINATION OF TOTAL WASTE IN TONNES [GRI 306-3/-5]

WATER ABSTRACTION1) IN CUBIC METRES [GRI 303-3]
2019

2020

358,789

393,827

Water from the public system

220,892

238,247

1,781

Water from own supply

137,897

155,580309

Surface water 2)

0

0

2019

2020 5)Materials recycling, processing 1)

29,53133,053

Energy recovery, incineration 2)

2,043

2,271

Physicochemical treatment 3)

2,361

Dumping 4)

255

The system for processing rinsing fluids was optimised at the Bielefeld location,
resulting in less liquid waste. At the same time, additional quantities for materials
processing were incurred as a result of the soil excavation in Lehrte for the new
supply duct.
1) Recovery, conditioning methods, processing of sludge into building materials.
2) Thermal recovery of highly calorific waste with a gross calorific value of over 11,000 kJ and special
waste incineration.
3) Treatment of waste from surface and waste water treatment, cleaning of sewers and emulsion drilling.
4) Rubble and soil from construction work are normally disposed of at dumpsites.
5) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entire figure presented under “Waste forrecycling and disposal by type” are attributable to rounding.

Total

In absolute terms, water consumption increased by 35,038 cubic metres year on year in
the business year 2020 due to the repeated exchange of water in the cooling tower andthe increased use of rinsing water during the commissioning of a cooling system in
Gütersloh, among other factors. Moreover, the new plant in Poland was taken into
account in the recording of data for the first time in 2020. Another reason for theincreased water consumption is the dry summer and the necessary watering of green
spaces as a result.
1) Water consumption is measured using water meters and taken from the energy reports from the energy
management system.
2) Rainwater which is stored in cisterns or other similar containers and fed into a separate water system.

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FACTS & FIGURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

CONTENTSGRI content index

Energy and emissions

ENERGY CONSUMPTION1) IN MEGAWATT-HOURS [GRI 302-1/-4]

WATER ABSTRACTION PER TONNE OF PRODUCTIN CUBIC METRES [GRI 303-3]
2019

2020

1.85

1.93

2020

88,38584,244

Heating oil

2,146

1,555

Natural gas

86,23982,689200,412

196,776

District heating

34,45632,619

Electricity

165,956

164,157

288,797

281,020

Direct energy consumption

WASTE WATER IN CUBIC METRES [GRI 303-4]

Indirect energy consumption
2019

2020

313,264

362,702

Technical waste water1)

43,94045,409Other waste water 2)

269,324

317,293

Total

2019

Total energy consumption

Waste water quantities are not identical to the quantities of water withdrawn,
since water evaporates in some technical processes. Waste water quantities
increased in the reporting period due to higher water consumption.

In absolute terms, energy consumption rose by 2.7 percent year on year in thebusiness year 2020.
1) The scope covered was expanded in 2019. Since then, the energy consumption of all production sites andsales subsidiaries, as well as the participations Steelco and Yujin, have been taken into account.

1) Technical waste water is treated mechanically, chemically or biologically before being
discharged into the public sewer system.
2) Standard household dirty water discharged indirectly into the local sewer for local waste
water treatment (> the Braşov plant remains an exception).

WASTE WATER PER TONNE OF PRODUCT IN CUBIC METRES
2019

2020

1.61

1.78

ENERGY CONSUMPTION PER TONNE OF PRODUCT1)IN KILOWATT-HOURS [GRI 302-3/-5]
2019

2020

1,485

1,380

1) The scope covered was expanded in 2019. Since then, the energy consumption of all production sites andsales subsidiaries, as well as the participations Steelco and Yujin, have been taken into account.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSGRI content index

Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) were used to perform calculations inline with the location-based method. Alternatively, emission factors from the British
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (DBEIS) were also used.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION PER PRODUCT1)IN KILOWATT-HOURS [GRI 302-3/-5]
2019

2020

82

76

1) The scope covered was expanded in 2019. Since then, the energy consumption of all production sites
and sales subsidiaries, as well as the participations Steelco and Yujin, have been taken into account.

CORPORATE CARBON FOOTPRINT (SCOPE 1 AND 2) –MARKET-BASED1) 2) IN TONNES CO 2 -EQUIVALENT3)[GRI 305-1/-2/-5]
2019

2020

Scope 1
Direct CO2 emissions

39,97436,678Natural gas

17,503

16,774

Heating oil

551

395

Fleet4)21,92019,50950,201

17,580Electricity

44,26512,009District heating

5,936

5,570

Scope 1 + 2 CO2 Total emissiones

90,17554,257

Scope 2
Indirect CO2 emissions

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Total Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions fell by 40 percent year on year in 2020. The
decline in direct emissions (Scope 1) stood at 8 percent due to reduced natural gas
and heating oil consumption, as well as the Covid-19-related reduction in mileage
and the associated CO2 emissions of the company’s own vehicles. At 65 percent,the reduction in indirect emissions (Scope 2) was significantly higher, primarily
as a result of the switch to green electricity. In 2020, 86 percent of the Miele
locations worldwide covered their electricity needs with renewable energy. Moreover,electricity and district heat consumption fell further year on year across the Group.
1) The scope was expanded in 2019 to cover all production sites and sales subsidiaries, as well as theparticipations Steelco and Yujin.
2) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entire figure in question are attributable torounding.
3) Presentation of greenhouse gas emissions expanded from CO2 to CO2 -equivalent, with CH4 and N 2 0 being
taken into account in addition to CO2 Emissions from volatile gases were considered irrelevant following amateriality analysis.
4) The calculation method used for the fleet was switched from the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) toreal consumption, with an uncertainty factor of 10 percent included for locations not previously taken into
account.

The presentation is made using the market-based method and therefore takes
into account the provider-specific emission factors of the energy suppliers forgrid-bound energy. According to the location-based method, the values for thebusiness year 2019 stood at 132,018 tonnes of CO2-equivalent and 128,646
tonnes of CO2-equivalent for 2020. The emission factors for 2019 from the German

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SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSGRI content index

Logistics and mobility

TRANSPORT VOLUMEIN MILLION TONNE-KILOMETRES AND PERCENTAGESTRANSPORT-RELATED CO 2 -EQUIVALENT EMMISIONS – TTW1)
IN TONNES AND PERCENTAGES [GRI 305-3]

2019

2020

723.7

805.7

By ship (%)

82.2

82.9

By lorry (%)

14.1

13.9

By rail (%)

2.7

By air (%)

2019

2020

60,23562,212

29,27030,986

By ship (%)

47.1

47.5

2.4

By lorry (%)

37.4

37.9

1.0

0.8

By rail (%)

1.7

1.6

179.7

202.7

By air (%)

13.8

13.0

By lorry (%)

64.1

57.0

Distribution worldwide

20,40820,848By ship (%)

35.9

43.0

Transport on own account10,557

10,377

By lorry (%)

91.9

89.1

By ship (%)

8.1

10.9

OutboundTransport on own account1)

Transport volume increased further, particularly via ship, due to the positive sales
development overseas, particularly in Asia. Miele recorded sales growth in Europe as
well, particularly in Southern and Eastern Europe, which had a direct impact ontransport volume.
1) Since 2019, transport on own account has also been analysed and reported in addition to
outbound transport.

Total
OutboundCO2-equivalent emissions accounting was expanded in 2019 to include transport on
own account and distribution worldwide. The rise in the figures reflects the sales
growth, particularly in Asia and in Southern and Eastern Europe. The slight decline intransport on own account is attributable to Covid-19.
1) Tank-to-wheel representation

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSGRI content index

Employees & society

USE OF JOB TICKETS FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT AT THE
GÜTERSLOH AND BIELEFELD PLANTS NUMBER
2019

2020

935

862

[GRI 102-8] All figures relating to employees refer to the number of
persons and not full-time equivalents. Unless otherwise stated, thefigures refer to locations in Germany (excluding participations).

Human resources management

Use of job tickets decline in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

EMPLOYEES NUMBER [GRI 401-1]

AREA COVERED AND NOT COVERED BY STRUCTURESIN SQUARE METRES
2019

2020

Total

1,488,093

1,509,384

Area covered by structures

591,070594,659

Area not covered by structures

897,023

914,725

Green areas

417,009416,757

Surfaced area

480,014497,968

New areas are always measured once a construction project is completed. The
respective areas therefore only change on completion of construction activities. The
increase in area covered by structures in the business year 2020 is primarily
attributable to the erection of a storage tent in Lehrte, the construction of a new
firefighting water pumping station in Gütersloh and the purchase of a further plot of
land in Warendorf.

2019

2020

20,47820,944in Germany

11,061

11,066

Outside of Germany

9,417

9,878

Total

As of 31 December 2020, 20,944 people were employed at the Miele Group,
including employees of the participations Steelco, Yujin, Agrilution, WaschMal,
MChef and Miele Operations and Payment Solutions. Overall, their number increased
by 4.2 percent compared to 30 June 2018, corresponding to a rise of 846 persons.
Of that total, 299 came by way of the participations, which, with the exception of
Steelco, were not part of the Miele Group in 2018. Steelco itself grew by 136
persons. Due to a combination of relocation and growth, new locations in Poland andthe Netherlands were set up. Moreover, existing locations, such as the plant in
Uničov, saw substantial growth. As a result, the percentage of persons employedoutside Germany increased from 46 to 47.2 percent.

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2019

2020

Number476

618

Proportion of the entire workforce (%)

4.3

5.6

TOTAL SAVINGS FROM IMPLEMENTED EMPLOYEE PROPOSALSFOR IMPROVEMENT1) IN THOUSANDS OF EUROS
2019

2020

1,936

1,903

1) These figures refer to all German plants, excluding the Bünde and Arnsberg locations of imperial-Werke,a Miele affiliate.

2019

2020

Number of resignations

195

146

Rate of turnover (%)

1.76

1.33

1) Temporary employment contracts are not included. Terminations issued by the company areincluded in the figure.

PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS SUBMITTED AS PART OF
THE IDEAS MANAGEMENT SCHEME¹) NUMBER

1,656

CONTENTS

The economic impact of proposals for improvement remained constant despite theCovid-19 pandemic, in part because the benefit of proposals for improvement can only
be accurately calculated once the proposals have been implemented. In addition, many
proposals cannot be implemented until well after their submission.

EMPLOYEE TURNOVER1) [GRI 401-1]

2,983

FACTS & FIGURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

1)1) The Company-Wide Collective Agreement specifies the conditions under which the rate of
4.5 percent (also determined in the Agreement) can be deviated from. Deviations, such as theincrease in 2020 due to production growth, have been agreed with the works council in
special regulations and employer/works council agreements.

2020

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

GRI content index

CONTRACT EMPLOYEES NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE [GRI 102-8]

2019

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

The number of proposed improvements submitted fell significantly in 2020 due
to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Occupational health and safety
The figures on occupational health and safety refer to all
production sites and the sales subsidiary in Germany.

REPORTABLE WORKPLACE1) AND COMMUTINGACCIDENTS NUMBER [GRI 403-9]
2019

2020

Workplace accidents

200

187

Commuting accidents

60

60

Total

260

247

There were no fatal accidents in the business years 2019 and 2020.
1) All accidents resulting in an absence of three or more workdays must be disclosed in detail to theinsurer. Incidents involving an absence of less than three days are covered by accident notifications.

1) These figures refer to all German plants, excluding the Bünde and Arnsberg locations of imperial-Werke,a Miele affiliate.

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Commuting accidents
Total

2019

2020

10.6

9.9

3.1
13.6

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

FACTS & FIGURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

CONTENTSGRI content index

REPORTABLE WORKPLACE1) AND COMMUTING ACCIDENTS2)NUMBER PER 1 MILLION WORK HOURS (INJURY FREQUENCY)[GRI 403-9]

Workplace accidents

PRODUCTS & SERVICESLOST DAYS1) DUE TO A WORKPLACE OR COMMUTING ACCIDENTNUMBER [GRI 403-9]
2019

2020

Lost days due to a workplace accident

2,938

2,923

Lost days due to a commuting accident

1,001

610

Total

3,939

3,533

3.1
13.1

1) “Lost days” denotes the number of scheduled workdays lost starting from the time of the accident.

1) All accidents resulting in an absence of three or more workdays must be disclosed in detail to theinsurer. Incidents involving an absence of less than three days are covered by accident notifications.
2) Deviations of the total of the individual amounts from the entire figure in question are attributable
to rounding.

TRAINING SESSIONS ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS [GRI 403-5]
REPORTABLE WORKPLACE1) AND COMMUTING ACCIDENTS
NUMBER PER 1,000 EMPLOYEES (“THOUSAND-MAN RATE”)[GRI 403-9]
2019

2020

Workplace accidents

14.7

13.3

Commuting accidents

4.4

4.3

Total

19.1

17.6

2019

2020

1,498

1,113

1) All accidents resulting in an absence of three or more workdays must be disclosed in detail to theinsurer. Incidents involving an absence of less than three days are covered by accident notifications.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTSGRI content index

Vocational training and development

COST OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENTIN MILLIONS OF EUROS [GRI 404-1]
2019

2020

18.1

17.0

As in previous years, the commercial and technical apprenticeship scheme, along withinternal and external advanced training programmes, accounted for the largest portionof the expenses (on-site training). The increasing replacement of on-site training with
online offerings resulted in a slight decline.

ADVANCED TRAINING TIME FRAMES NUMBER
OF HOURS PER EMPLOYEE [GRI 404-1]

APPRENTICES1) NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE [GRI 102-8]
2019

2020

Number478

459

Proportion (%)

4.4

4.2

1) The reference date for each year is 30 September. This date provides a better
representation of actual apprentice figures than the respective businessyear end does, as most apprenticeships start on 1 September.

WOMEN AND MEN IN THE TECHNICAL AND COMMERCIAL
APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME1) AS A PERCENTAGE [GRI 102-8]

2019

2020

6.6

8.9

The number of advanced training hours per employee increased in the business year
2020 due to the increased number of project-specific training courses, advanced
training for prospective managers and qualifications for newly recruited customer
service employees, among other things.

2019

2020

Women

13

12

Men

87

88

Women

61

57

Men

39

43

Technical apprenticeshipCommercial apprenticeship

1) The disclosures relate to vocational training and the dual study programmes as a whole.

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SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

FACTS & FIGURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

CONTENTSGRI content index

Diversity and equal opportunity

EMPLOYEES ACCORDING TO AGE GROUPAS A PERCENTAGE [GRI 405-1]

WOMEN AND MEN IN THE MIELE WORKFORCE WORLDWIDE
AS A PERCENTAGE [GRI 405-1]
2019

2020

< 30 years

15

15

30 to 50 years

42

42> 50 years

43

43

2019

2020

Women

30

30

Men

70

70

The average age of employees in Germany was 46.8 years as of 31 December 2020.

WOMEN AND MEN IN MANAGEMENT POSITIONSAS A PERCENTAGE [GRI 405-1]
WOMEN AND MEN IN THE MIELE WORKFORCE
AS A PERCENTAGE [GRI 405-1]
2019

2020

Women

22

22

Men

78

78

2019

2020

Women

24

24

Men

76

76

2019

2020

Number of employees with disabilities

608

579

Proportion of employees with disabilities (%)

6

6

EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES1) [GRI 405-1]

1) The definition of “employees with disabilities” follows the legal definition of
disability in social legislation – Article 2 of the Social Code (SGB) IX.

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SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

FACTS & FIGURESEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

CONTENTSGRI content index

FULL AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT [GRI 102-8]

FOREIGN EMPLOYEES1) [GRI 405-1]

2019

2020

Number of full-time workers

10,10010,065

Proportion of full-time workers (%)

91.9

91.8

Number of part-time workers

888

903

Proportion of part-time workers (%)

8.1

8.2

EMPLOYEES WITH AND WITHOUT FLEXITIME AS A PERCENTAGE
2019

2020

With flexitime

51

52

Without flexitime

49

48

2019

2020

Number663

691

Proportion as a percentage

6.0

6.3

1) “Foreign employees” denotes all employees who do not have German citizenship.

Social engagement

AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL DONATIONS TO CHARITABLE PROJECTSMADE BY MIELE & CIE. KG
IN THOUSANDS OF EUROS [GRI 201-1]
2019

2020

140

174

AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL DONATIONS TO CHARITABLE PROJECTSMADE BY THE MIELE FOUNDATION
IN THOUSANDS OF EUROS [GRI 201-1]
2019

2020

97

50

The Foundation only invests its interest profit. The basic amount is 2.5 million euros.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, less was invested in charitable projects in 2020 than in
the past.

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

GRI content index

GRI standards and information

Links

102-7

Company profile > What Miele stands for

Scale of the organisation[GRI 102-55] The 2021 Miele Sustainability Report was prepared according to the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): “Core” option
created. Beyond the core requirements, further indicators are shown.

Company profile > Miele worldwide

The information on the fulfilment of the indicators can be found on the reportpages, which are linked here. Where an indicator is not completely covered bythese disclosures, additional information is included directly in the index.

As a family-owned company with the legal form of a “Kommanditgesellschaft”(private limited partnership), Miele does not publish any information regarding total
capitalisation.

Company profile > Products
Key figures > Profile

102-8

Information on employees
and other workers

GRI 102: GENERAL INFORMATION 2016
GRI standards and information

102-1
102-2

Name of the organisation
Activities, brands,
products and services

Company profile > What Miele stands for

Location of headquarters

Company profile > What Miele stands for

102-4

Location of operations

Company profile > What Miele stands for
Company profile > Miele worldwide

Ownership and legal form

Company profile > What Miele stands for
Report profile > About this report102-6

Markets served

102-9

Supply chain

Company profile > The value chain
Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials> Use of resources and materials

Key figures > Supplier management

Company profile > Products

102-3

102-5

The detailed breakdown of workforce figures required for full compliancewith this indicator is not currently used for central management purposes inhuman resources management. Staff levels do not fluctuate seasonally.

Company profile > What Miele stands forMiele’s products and services are approved for use in all markets
where Miele is active. Full documentation of whether the products
on offer are questioned by stakeholders is not carried out.

Employees & society > HR management > Clear structures
Key figures > Employees & society

Links

ORGANISATIONAL PROFILE

Employees & society > HR management > Employment at Miele in figures102-10Significant changes tothe organisation andits supply chain

102-11

Precautionary principle
or approach

Report profile > About this reportManagement & processes > Sustainability management> A focus on people and the environment

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Successful risk management

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Dealing with material sustainability risks

Products & services > Product portfolio and quality

Company profile > Miele worldwide> Strict standards for pollutant-free productsCompany profile > Products

Supply chain & production > Environmental management > Preventative approach

Key figures > Profile > Turnover by country and region
107Miele Sustainability Report 2021

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Key figures

GRI standards and information
102-12External initiatives

102-13

Memberships ofassociations

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Links

GRI standards and information

Management & processes > Sustainability management

GOVERNANCE> Internal and external guidelines and standards

102-18Governance structureManagement & processes > Stakeholder engagement> Political interests102-14

Statement from seniordecision-maker> Foreword from the Executive Board

102-15Key impacts, risks
and opportunities

Management & processes > Sustainability strategy> Solutions to key challenges
Management & processes > Sustainability management> Successful risk management
Management & processes > Sustainability management> Dealing with material sustainability risks
ETHICS AND INTEGRITY
Company profile > What Miele stands forManagement & processes > Sustainability strategy> Solutions to key challenges
Management & processes > Sustainability management> Internal and external guidelines and standards
Management & processes > Sustainability management> Effective compliance management102-17

Mechanisms for advice
and concerns about ethics

Links

Company profile > What Miele stands forManagement & processes > Sustainability management> Systematic sustainability management

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Central management committee enhanced

STRATEGY

Values, principles,standards andnorms of behavior

CONTENTS

GRI
index
GRI content
content index> miele.com/sustainability

102-16

FACTS & FIGURESManagement & processes > Sustainability management> Effective compliance management
Management & processes > Sustainability management> Raising employees’ awareness of complianceManagement & processes > Sustainability management> Ombudsperson as a point of contact if suspicions arise102-19Delegating authority

102-20Executive-level
responsibil­ity foreconomic, environmental
and social topics

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Central management committee enhanced

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Systematic sustainability management

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Central management committee enhanced

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
102-40 List of
stakeholder groups

Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement> Dialogue on an equal footing

Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement > Overview
102-41 Collective bargaining
agreements> Employee participation: a valuable partnership

102-42 Identifying and selecting
stakeholders> Dialogue on an equal footing

Employees & society > HR management

Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement
Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement> Stakeholder management102-43 Approach to stakeholder
engagement

Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement > Overview
Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement> Valuable feedback from customers

Products & services > Development and innovation> Dialogue for sustainable solutions

Products & services > Development and innovation> Customer needs and future scenarios

108Miele Sustainability Report 2021

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

GRI standards and information

Links

GRI standards and information

Links

102-44 Key topics andconcerns raisedManagement & processes > Stakeholder engagement > Political interests

102-55 GRI content index> GRI content index

Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement102-56 External assurance

External assurance for the report has not been sought.

> Benefiting from practical dialogue

Products & services > Development and innovation> Customer needs and future scenarios
REPORTING PRACTICEGRI 201: ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE 2016

102-45 Entities includedin the consolidates
financial statements

Report profile > About this report102-46 Defining report content
and topic boundaries

Management & processes > Sustainability strategy > Materiality

102-47 List of all material topics

MATERIAL TOPICS: GRI 200 ECONOMIC, GRI 300 ENVIRONMENTAL, GRI 400 SOCIAL

1031/2/3

Management approach

201-1

Direct economic value
generated and distributed> https://www.miele.com/media/ex/ce/presseartikel/

Company profile > Miele worldwide

Management & processes > Sustainability strategy > Materiality

Key figures > Profile> https://www.miele.com/media/ex/ce/presseartikel/

Employees & society > Social engagement
Miele does not provide a detailed breakdown here. As a family-owned
company with the legal form of a “Kommanditgesellschaft” (private limited
partnership), Miele does not publish any information regarding these details.

Report profile > About this report
Key figures > Profile

201-2

Report profile > About this report
Key figures > Profile
Any changes to reporting boundaries or periods are denoted in the text.

102-50 Reporting period

Report profile > About this report102-51 Date of most recent report

Report profile > About this report102-52 Reporting cycle

Report profile > About this report102-53 Contact point for questions > Imprint
regarding the report102-54 Claims of reportingin accordance with
the GRI Standards

Employees & society > Social engagement> Donations during the reporting period

Any modifications to the presentation format are denoted in the text.

102-49 Changes in reporting

Employees & society > HR management > Fair pay – naturally

nachhaltigkeit/miele_sustainability_report_2019.pdf

nachhaltigkeit/miele_sustainability_report_2019.pdf
102-48 Restatements of
information

Company profile > What Miele stands for

Report profile > About this report

201-3

Financial implications
and other risks andopportunities due toclimate change
Defined benefit plan
obligations and otherretirement plans

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Dealing with material sustainability risks

Miele plans to carry out a climate impact assessment in the medium
term that also takes risks and opportunities into account.

Employees & society > HR management> A long tradition of comprehensive benefits
Key figures > Profile > Pension provisions
Miele reports the pension provisions it creates. No further breakdown is provided.

201-4

Financial assistancereceived from government

Miele applies for the proportional reimbursement of power and energy tax
for the production industry. For certain processes and methods (including
generating own power in combined heat and power units), Miele applies forfull tax relief on power and energy. This is based on the period of purchase/
consumption. The company received tax relief of 416,000 euros in the calendar
year 2019. Tax relief in the calendar year 2020 amounted to 952,000 euros.

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GRI standards and information

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

Links

Management approach

Employees & society > HR management

202-1

Ratios of standard
entry level wage by
gender compared to
local minimum wage

Employees & society > HR management > Fair pay – naturally
As a member of metal and electronics industry associations, Miele is obliged to
pay the wages specified in collective wage agreements. In Germany, 90 percentof the workforce at Miele plants and at the Miele central office is covered bysuch agreements. The remaining 10 percent of the workforce is paid outside of
the scope of collective wage agreements, meaning they receive higher pay. The
German plants employ 11,066 people and are therefore classed as important.

GRI 203: INDIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACTS 2016

GRI standards and information

Management & processes > Sustainability management
Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement

1031/2/3

Management approach

204-1

Proportion of spendingon local suppliers

Miele is able to observe the indirect consequences of the company’sbusiness activity through regular dialogue with community stakeholders,
policymakers and unions. Comprehensive, systematic analysis has notbeen conducted by Miele. For further information see Management
approach 103-1/2/3 on GRI 201: Economic performance.

Significant indirect
economic impacts

Links

Products & services > Development and innovation> New business models and strategic partnerships
Products & services > Development and innovation > Renting instead of buying
Products & services > Development and innovation > Universal design
See Management approach GRI 103-1/2/3 on GRI 203:
Indirect economic impacts

Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials
Supply chain & production > Supplier management> Procurement concept with a local focus

Miele reports company-wide purchasing volumes by region.

GRI 205: ANTI-CORRUPTION 2016
1031/2/3

Management approach

Management & processes > Sustainability management

205-1

Operations assessed forrisks related to corruption> Raising employees’ awareness of complianceManagement & processes > Sustainability management
Potential cases of corruption are checked as part of the global audits.
Potential risks arise from the violation of tendering regulations.

205-2

Company profile > What Miele stands forManagement & processes > Dealing with material sustainability risks

Supply chain & production > Supplier management

Key figures > Supplier management > Purchasing Volume

Products & services > Development and innovation

203-2

CONTENTSGRI 204: PROCUREMENT PRACTICES 2016

1031/2/3

Management approach

FACTS & FIGURES

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

GRI 202: MARKET PRESENCE 2016

1031/2/3

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

205-3

Communication andtraining aboutanti-corruption policies
and procedures
Confirmed incidentsof corruption andactions taken

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Raising employees’ awareness of compliance

Miele records the total number of employees who receive training on the code of
conduct. Miele does not record a breakdown by region and employee category,as well as the total number and percentage of informed business partners.

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Ombudsperson as a point of contact if suspicions arise

GRI 206: ANTI-COMPETITIVE BEHAVIOUR 2016
1031/2/3

Management approach

Management approach > Sustainability management110Miele Sustainability Report 2021

MANAGEMENT & PROCESSES

Key figures

GRI standards and information
206-1

Legal actions foranti-competitive
behaviour, anti-trust,and monopoly
practices

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Links

GRI standards and information

Links

Management & processes > Sustainability management

301-3

Products & services > Disposal and recycling > Responsible returns and disposal> Effective compliance management

Reclaimed products andtheir packaging materials

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Raising employees’ awareness of compliance

GRI 301: MATERIALS 2016

In terms of products, Miele focuses on its main sales market, Germany. For
this sales market, the percentage of packaging reclaimed does not have to berecorded for the specific manufacturer, as returns are organised collectively
with other manufacturers. The company is unable to make reliable statements
regarding international returns based on the available information.

GRI 302: ENERGY 2016
Products & services > Product portfolio and quality
Products & services > Disposal and recycling

1031/2/3

Management approach

Supply chain & production > Environmental management
Materials used byweight or volume

Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions
302-1

Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials

Energy consumption
within the organisation> Environmental management

Recycled input
materials used

Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions > Current energy consumption
Key figures > Energy and emissions > Energy consumption
Miele records energy consumption in megawatt-hours (MWh).
One MWh is equivalent to 3.6 gigajoules (GJ).

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials

301-2

Products & services > Product portfolio and quality
Supply chain & production > Environmental management

Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials

301-1

Products & services > Disposal and recycling > Returns of old appliances
Products & services > Disposal and recycling > Reclaimed packaging

No complaints about anti-competitive behaviour, anti-trust andmonopoly practices at Miele were recorded in the reporting period.

Management approach

CONTENTS

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Ombudsperson as a point of contact if suspicions arise

1031/2/3

FACTS & FIGURES

Miele reports the production materials used by raw materials,
other processing materials and electronics. They are not broken
down by renewable and non-renewable materials.

302-2

Energy consumption
outside of the organisation

A key factor in energy consumption is the products’ usage phase (see 302-5).
Miele also calculates CO2 emissions from energy consumption (see 305-2). Other
forms of energy consumption are calculated as part of Scope 3 reporting.

Products & services > Disposal and recycling > Closing the loop

302-3

Energy intensity

Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions > Current energy consumption

Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials> Use of resources and materials
Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials> Correctly using recycled plastics
Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials> High proportion of recycled metal

The percentage of recycled input materials can only be measured for certain
materials. This information is not yet available for all materials used.

Key figures > Energy and emissions > Energy consumption
302-4

Reduction of energy
consumption

Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions > Current energy consumption
Key figures > Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions> Energy consumption
302-5

Reductions in energy
requirements of products
and services

Products & services > Product portfolio and quality> Reduction in energy consumption

Products & services > Product portfolio and quality > Resource-conserving design
Products & services > Product portfolio and quality > Appliances
Key figures > Products & services > Product portfolio
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Links

1031/2/3

Management approach

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency

303-1

Interactions with water
as a shared resource

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency > Systematic water management
Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> Waste water: regular measurements

GRI standards and information

1031/2/3

Management approach

Supply chain & production > Logistics and mobility
305-1

Direct GHG emissions(Scope 1)

303-3

Water withdrawal

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions> Carbon footprint of the company

Biogenic CO2 emissions are not relevant to Miele, as no biogenic fuels are used.

305-2

Energy indirect GHG
emissions (Scope 2)

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions
For further information see GRI 305-1: Direct GHG emissions

305-3

Other indirect GHG
emissions (Scope 3)> Calculating the carbon footprint and other emissions
Supply chain & production > Logistics and mobility> Carbon-neutral rail journeys and public transport offers for employees
Key figures > Logistics and mobility > Transport-related CO2 -equivalent emissions

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> Waste water in cubic metres
The level of detail required by the indicator is not fullyrecorded. See GRI 303-3 for further information

Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions> Broader data pool for carbon footprint

Supply chain & production > Logistics and mobility

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency

Miele records water abstraction in cubic metres.

Water discharge

Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions> Broader data pool for carbon footprint> Carbon footprint of the company

Miele is keen to focus on water shortage and water-stressed
areas and intends to report on these issues in the future.

303-4

Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions> Broader data pool for carbon footprint

Supply chain & production > Logistics and mobility > Miele fleet

At all Miele plants, with the exception of Braşov, there are at least two waste water
systems – one for dirty water, and one for rain water. The latter is channelled to
dry wells. Dirty water is treated in municipal waste water processing facilities inaccordance with municipal requirements. The same applies to technical waste
water from surface treatment facilities at the Gütersloh, Oelde and Lehrte plants.
In-house monitoring measures have been agreed for technicalwaste water. No detailed breakdown by discharge location, water
quality and reuse of water by other organisations is provided.

Supply chain & production > Environmental management
Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions

The quantities withdrawn from own wells have been halved in recent
decades. There were no abnormalities in water samples in the reporting
period. Quality is not affected by the withdrawal of water.

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> Waste water: regular measurements

Links

GRI 305: EMISSIONS 2016

Water sources are monitored by the authorities.

Management ofwater discharge-related
impacts

CONTENTS

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

GRI 303: WATER AND EFFLUENTS 2018

303-2

FACTS & FIGURESFor further information see GRI 305-1: Direct GHG emissions

305-5

Reduction of GHG
emissions

Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions> Broader data pool for carbon footprint

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions> Carbon footprint of the company
305-6

Emissions ofozone-­depleting
substances (ODS)

Products & services > Disposal and recycling > Pollutants during disposal
Miele does not manufacture, import or export ozone-depleting substances.

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GRI standards and information
305-7

Nitrogen oxides (NOx),sulphur oxides (SOx),
and other significant
air emissions

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

Links

GRI standards and information

Products & services > Disposal and recycling

306-2> Pollutants during disposal

Management of significant
waste-related impacts

Supply chain & production > Energy and emissions> Waste avoidance and extensive use of recycling
Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> Raising awareness among employees
306-3

Waste generated

GRI 306: WASTE 2020
1031/2/3

Management approach

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency

306-1

Waste generationand significant
waste-related impacts> Waste avoidance and water management

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> Waste water: regular measurements

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency
306-4

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency
306-5

Waste diverted
from disposal
Waste directed to disposal

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> Waste avoidance and extensive use of recycling
Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> Raising awareness among employees

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> Waste avoidance and water management

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> How to deal with additional greenhouse gases

The foundry and surface treatment plants in Gütersloh are subject
to the reporting requirements of the German Pollutant Release andTransfer Register (PRTR). Dust emissions from the foundry are 70
percent lower than the prescribed limit (10 mg/cbm air emissions).

Links

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency
Miele does not import or export any hazardous waste.

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency> Destination of total waste in tonnes

For further information see GRI 306-4: Waste that bypasses waste disposal

GRI 307: ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE 2016
1031/2/3

Management approach

Supply chain & production > Environmental management

307-1

Non-compliance withenvironmental laws
and regulations> Cooperation between environmental protection and energy management

Supply chain & production > Environmental management

GRI 308: SUPPLIER ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 2016
1031/2/3

Management approach

Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials
Supply chain & production > Supplier management
Potential environmental impacts and actual effects beyond direct
suppliers have not been systematically recorded to date.

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Key figures

GRI standards and information
308-1

New suppliers thatwere screened using
environmental criteria

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Negative environmental
impacts in the supply
chain and actions taken

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Links

GRI standards and information

Supply chain & production > Supplier management

401-3> Assessment of ecological standards

Parental leave

Supply chain & production > Supplier management > Selecting new suppliers

Supply chain & production > Supplier management> Supplier management: checking sustainability criterian
Miele checks compliance with environmental criteria during supplierassessment. Miele does not publish detailed results. An environmental
compatibility inspection does not form part of this check.

1031/2/3

Management approach

Employees & society > HR management

401-1

New employee hires
and employee turnover

Employees & society > HR management> Staff retention: low turnover rates, lots of anniversaries
Key figures > Employees & society > HR management
The evaluation and publication of information on employee turnover andnew employees in Germany by age, gender and region is not relevant
to governance at Miele, so these figures are not recorded.

Employees & society > HR management> A long tradition of comprehensive benefits

Links
Employees & society > HR management> Enhancing the compatibility of work and family life

GRI 402: LABOUR/MANAGEMENT RELATIONS 2016
1031/2/3

Management approach

Employees & society > HR management

402-1

Minimum notice
periods regarding
operational changes> Employee participation: a valuable partnership

Employees & society > HR management

At German company locations, the minimum notice periods for informing
the works council of measures affecting the workforce are regulatedby the Works Constitution Act. Miele’s Executive Board generally works
closely with the works councils and providing comprehensive information
concerning all relevant decisions, developments and processes.

GRI 403: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY 20181031/2/3

Management approach

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety

403-1

Occupational
health and safety
management system> A clear occupational safety organisation

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety> Minimising risks of accidents

The same applies to turnover at the international locations.

Benefits provided to fulltime employees that are
not provided to temporary
or part-time employees

CONTENTS

The number of employees with a general right to parental leave is
not considered relevant and is therefore not documented.

GRI 401: EMPLOYMENT 2016

401-2

FACTS & FIGURES

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

All potential suppliers are required to complete a self-assessment
which includes criteria relating to environmental management andclimate action. All production material suppliers considered for abusiness relationship are also subjected to a short on-site audit.

308-2

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

403-2

Hazard identification,risk assessment, andincident investigation

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety> A clear occupational safety organisation

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety> Minimising risks of accidents

Miele applies the international standard ISO 45001, which prohibits retaliatory
measures against employees who report work-related risks or remove themselvesfrom working situations that they deem to be dangerous to their health or to posea risk of injury. Supervisors are responsible for compliance with these standards.
The works council acts as a monitoring authority, while thelife coaching office provides advice and assistance.

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Key figures

GRI standards and information

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

Links

GRI standards and information

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety

GRI 404: TRAINING AND EDUCATION 2016

Occupational
health services

403-4

Worker participation,
Employees & society > Occupational health and safety
consultation, and> A clear occupational safety organisation
communication on occupaEmployees & society > Occupational health and safetytional health and safety> Minimising risks of accidents
Worker training on
occupational healthand safety

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

403-3

403-5

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION> First aid in emergencies and acute cases

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety> A clear occupational safety organisation
Employees & society > Occupational health and safetyLinks

1031/2/3

Management approach

Employees & society > Vocational training and development

404-1

Average hours of training
per year per employee> Wide range of topics for training and further development

Employees & society > Vocational training and development

Key figures > Employees & society > Vocational training and development
The breakdown of training hours by employee category and gender required
for full compliance with this indicator is not currently used for central
management purposes. For this reason, these figures are not recorded.

> Minimising risks of accidents

Key figures > Employees & society > Occupational health and safety> Training sessions on occupational safety
403-6

Promotion of worker health Employees & society > Occupational health and safety> Occupational health management

403-7

Prevention andmitigation of occupational
health and safety impacts
directly linked by business
relationships

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Integrated management system

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety> A clear occupational safety organisation

Miele makes every effort to prevent its business relations from having an adverse
impact on the company through careful contractor and supplier management.

403-8

403-9

Worker covered by an
occupational health andsafety management
systemWork-related injuries

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety> A clear occupational safety organisation

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety> Focus on Covid-19 prevention

Key figures > Employees & society > Occupational health and safety
The level of detail required by the indicator is not fully recorded. Contract
employee data has been gathered since 2020 and will be published infuture sustainability reports. Accident statistics are based on the regulations issued by the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV).

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Key figures

GRI standards and information
404-2

Programs for upgrading
employee skills and transition assistance programs

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONEMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Links

GRI standards and information

Employees & society > HR management

405-2> A long tradition of comprehensive benefits
Employees & society > HR management

Ratio of basic salaryand remuneration of
women to men

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety>Prevent accidents and promote health

Employees & society > Occupational health and safety

Links
Employees & society > Diversity and equal opportunity> No differences in the salaries received by women and men
The bonus agreements reached in meetings with top and middle managers
in Germany regarding annual objectives are based on a uniform system,taking into account the performance of the respective manager. There are
no differences between men and women. Similar individual approaches
apply in the case of managers at the foreign sales subsidiaries.

> Life coaching and addiction counselling

GRI 406: NON-DISCRIMINATION 2016

Employees & society > Vocational training and development

1031/2/3> Wide range of topics for training and further development

Management approach

The complaints office’s main purpose is to record complaints about
discrimination related to the company, but not activities concerning its
direct suppliers. The approach is monitored and enhanced on an ongoingbasis. Systematic evaluation involving stakeholders has yet to take place.

Employees & society > Vocational training and development> Wide range of open training opportunities

Employees & society > HR management > Clear structures

Employees & society > HR management
Employees & society > Diversity and equal opportunity

Employees & society > Vocational training and development > Teaching technicalexpertise and leadership skills – and encouraging employees to take the initiative

Percentage of employees
receiving regularperformance and careerdevelopment reviews

CONTENTS

GRI
index
GRI content
content index> Enhancing the compatibility of work and family life

404-3

FACTS & FIGURES

406-1

All employees are entitled to an annual employee review. The numberof employee reviews actually performed is not recorded. The company
agreement on talent management also regulates the company’s approachto the identification and assessment of talents and potential successors.

Incidents of
discrimination andcorrective actions
taken

Employees & society > HR management> Transparent complaints process

Miele assesses the necessary measures individually on a case-by-casebasis and treats implemented measures and their results confidentially.

GRI 407: FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING 2016
GRI 405: DIVERSITY AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY 2016
1031/2/3
405-1

Management approach

Employees & society > Diversity and equal opportunity
The approach is monitored and enhanced on an ongoing basis. Systematic
evaluation is not yet carried out in all the areas required under the GRI.

Diversity of governancebodies and employees

Employees & society > Diversity and equal opportunity> Promoting diversity, preventing discrimination

Key figures > Employees & society > Diversity and equal opportunity
Miele has so far not used a detailed breakdown for central management
purposes, which is why the data is not recorded. In addition, some diversity
indicators regarding group affiliation are protected by the General Data
Protection Act and may not be collected in this form as personal data. During
the reporting period, the Executive Board was made up of five members,none of whom were women. All members were over the age of 50.

1031/2/3

Management approach

407-1

Operations and suppliers
in which the right tofreedom of associationand collective bargaining
may be at risk

Employees & society > Diversity and equal opportunity
Supply chain & production > Supplier management
Supply chain & production > Supplier management> Compliance with SA8000 criteria

Supply chain & production > Supplier management> Escalation process in the case of suspected violations
Employees & society > HR management > Social and ethical standards
No operations or suppliers that could significantly affect freedom of associationand the right to collective bargaining have been identified to date.

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONManagement approach

408-1

Operations and suppliers
at significant risk forincidents of child labour

Links

GRI standards and information

Supply chain & production > Supplier management
The management approach is based on the SA8000 standard. Miele does not apply
a weighting to the different criteria, nor does it carry out a holistic assessment.

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Internal and external guidelines and standards

1031/2/3

Management approach

412-1

Supply chain & production > Supplier management

Operations that havebeen subject to humanrights reviews or impact
assessments

Employees & society > HR management> Social and ethical standards

No operations or suppliers at significant risk of child labour or the employmentof young persons under dangerous conditions have been identified to date.

Supply chain & production > Supplier management

Operations and suppliers
at significant risk forincidents of forced orcompulsory labour

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Internal progress review

Supply chain & production > Supplier management

Employees & society > HR management

Management & processes > Sustainability management

Management & processes > Sustainability management> Auditing by an external partner> Supplier management: checking sustainability criteria> Social and ethical standards

GRI 409: FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOUR 2016

Management & processes > Sustainability management

See Management approach GRI 103-1/2/3 on GRI 408: Child labour

Supply chain & production > Supplier management

409-1

Links

Supply chain & production > Supplier management> Escalation process in the case of suspected violations

Management approach

CONTENTSGRI 412: HUMAN RIGHTS ASSESSMENT 2016

> Compliance with SA8000 criteria

1031/2/3

FACTS & FIGURES

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

GRI 408: CHILD LABOUR 2016
1031/2/3

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Miele does not conduct any separate reviews on human rights. Aspects
related to human rights are checked at all production locations and the sales
subsidiary in Germany as part of evaluations for the SA8000 social standard.

412-2

Employee training on
human rights policies
or proceduresManagement & processes > Sustainability management> Internal progress review

Management & processes > Sustainability management

See Management approach GRI 103-1/2/3 on GRI 408: Child labour> Raising employees’ awareness of compliance

Supply chain & production > Supplier management> Compliance with SA8000 criteria> Social and ethical standards

Supply chain & production > Supplier management> Escalation process in the case of suspected violations
Employees & society > HR management

Employees & society > HR management

Miele reports on the number of employees who received training during
the period under review. The number of training hours and the percentageof employees who received training are not used centrally for management
purposes. For this reason, these figures are not recorded or calculated.

> Social and ethical standards

No operations or suppliers at significant risk of forced orcompulsory labour have been identified to date.

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTION

413-1

Management approach

Links

Operations with significant
actual and potential
negative impacts on
local communities

Management approach

414-1

Supply chain & production > Supplier management > Selecting new suppliers

New suppliers thatwere screened usingsocial criteria

Employees & society > Social engagement> Promoting regional appeal
See Management approach GRI 103-1/2/3 on GRI 413: Local communities

Supply chain & production > Natural resources and materials

Key figures > Supply chain & production > Supplier management> Self-assessment on compliance with social standards by suppliers
Approach as for GRI 308-1
All potential suppliers must complete a self-assessment, which also
covers social criteria. All production material suppliers considered for abusiness relationship are also subjected to a short on-site audit.

414-2

Negative social impacts
in the supply chain
and actions taken

Employees & society > Social engagement> Promoting regional appeal

GRI 414: SUPPLIER SOCIAL ASSESSMENT 2016
1031/2/3

Links

Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement > Overview

Measures for local community engagement are conducted individually at thecompany’s locations and are not systematically managed or analysed. Miele
does not record the percentage of sites that implement such measures.

413-2

CONTENTSGRI standards and information

Employees & society > Social engagement
So far, no programmes or systematic procedures have been introduced toevaluate the impact of the business activities on the community. However, Miele’scommitment to protecting the health and safety of its employees and of local
communities goes beyond existing laws and regulations. The company’s businessactivities also provide a strong stimulus for growth in purchasing power and tax
income at its locations. By maintaining intensive dialogue with local communities,
Miele receives regular feedback on the impact of its business activities.

Operations with local
community engagement,
impact assessment, anddevelopment programs

FACTS & FIGURES

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

GRI 413: LOCAL COMMUNITIES 2016
1031/2/3

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

Supply chain & production > Supplier management> Supplier management: checking sustainability criteria
Approach as for GRI 308-2
Miele reviews compliance with social criteria as part of its supplierassessment system. Miele does not publish detailed results.

GRI 415: PUBLIC POLICY 2016
1031/2/3

Management approach

415-1

Political contributions

Management & processes > Stakeholder engagement
Employees & society > Social engagement> Donations during the reporting period

In 2019 and 2020, Miele donated a total of 20,000 euros to politicalparties in Germany. Miele treats information concerning the recipientsof such donations as confidential. Political contributions are only
recorded centrally for Germany, and not internationally.

Supply chain & production > Resource efficiency
Supply chain & production > Supplier management
See Management approach GRI 103-1/2/3 on
GRI 308: Supplier environmental assessment
Potential social impacts and actual effects beyond direct
suppliers have not been systematically recorded to date.

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GRI standards and information

PRODUCTS & SERVICESManagement approach

416-1

Assessment of thehealth and safety
impacts of product andservice categories

416-2

Incidents of non-­compliance concerning
the health andsafety impacts ofproducts and services

Links

Products & services > Product portfolio and quality

Management approach

417-1

Requirements for
product and service
information and labelling

GRI standards and information

FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

1031/2/3

Management approach

Products & services > Product portfolio and quality

418-1

Substantiated complaints
concerning breaches ofcustomer privacy andlosses of customer data

> Product safety: extensive testing

Links

GRI 418: CUSTOMER PRIVACY 2016

Products & services > Customer orientation and information

Products & services > Disposal and recycling> Pollutants during disposal

Products & services > Customer orientation and information
Products & services > Customer orientation and information> Sensitive handling of customer data

The effects of all products on health and safety areassessed to identify potential improvements.

GRI 419: SOCIOECONOMIC COMPLIANCE 2016

Products & services > Customer orientation and information> Detailed contingency plans for recall campaigns

1031/2/3

Management approach

Management & processes > Sustainability management

419-1

Non-compliance with laws
and regulations in thesocial and economic area

> Effective compliance management

GRI 417: MARKETING AND LABELLING 2016
1031/2/3

EMPLOYEES & SOCIETY

GRI
index
GRI content
content index

GRI 416: CUSTOMER HEALTH AND SAFETY 2016
1031/2/3

SUPPLY CHAIN & PRODUCTIONManagement & processes > Sustainability management

No sanctions or significant fines due to breaches of international conventions,contracts or national law were imposed on Miele in the reporting period.

Products & services > Product portfolio and quality
Products & services > Customer orientation and information
Products & services > Customer orientation and information> Growing interest in sustainability

Products & services > Disposal and recycling> Raising consumer awareness of returning old appliances
Products & services > Disposal and recycling > Disposal of new materials
Products & services > Disposal and recycling > Transparent labelling
Key figures > Products & services > Product portfolio
All product categories are subject to the legally mandated
product information and labelling process.

417-2

Incidents of non-­compliance concerning
product and service
information and labelling

Products & services > Customer orientation and information> Growing interest in sustainability

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FACTS & FIGURESCONTENTS

About this report
Miele has been publishing sustainability reports since 2002.
This report, the tenth of its kind, documents the company’s progress in line with the Miele sustainability strategy
and the guiding principle “Forever Better”. The objective of
the 2021 report is to make the performance of the company
in sustainability-related matters transparent to stakeholders
such as sustainability experts, customers, employees andbusiness partners. The content reflects the main sustainability issues affecting the company. These issues were mostrecently identified in 2018 in the course of a materiality analysis and were weighted according to their relevance for Miele.
[GRI 102-54] Miele’s reporting on sustainability is geared
towards the internationally recognised standards of the
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This report was preparedin accordance with the Core option of the GRI standards.
To meet stakeholders’ needs for information optimally,
the report also includes additional information. References to the individual GRI indicators are associated withthe key figures and the relevant passages in the text. The
GRI content index is found at the end of this report.
The structure of this report follows that of the preceding
report, which was issued in 2019. Its four main chapters –Management & processes, Products & services, Supply chain& production and Employees & society – also reflect the fieldsof action and focal points of the Miele sustainability strategy,
which was further refined during this reporting period. This
makes it easier to see how the measures described in thesubchapters contribute to meeting the strategic targets.

[GRI 102-45/-50] Unlike the previous report, the Sustainability
Report 2021 relates not to the last two business years at
Miele (each of which ended on 30 June), but rather to thepreceding calendar years. This is because the Miele business year was shifted to the calendar year in 2020. As aresult, the reporting period runs from 1 January 2019 until
31 December 2020. Beyond that, key content from thesecond half of 2018 was also taken into account. The editorial deadline was in September 2021. Relevant occurrences
noted by then were included in the report. Unless otherwise stated, all information, including key figures, refers to
Miele & Cie. KG and its subsidiary Imperial-Werke oHG. This
includes all German production and administrative sites,
as well as sales and service in Germany. It also encompasses – under the umbrella of Miele Beteiligungs-GmbH– the production sites in Braşov (Romania), Bürmoos (Austria),
Dongguan (China), Ksawerów (Poland) and Uničov (Czech
Republic), along with the international sales subsidiaries.
[GRI 102-10/-48/-49] During the reporting period, there weresignificant changes in relation to the size and > structureof the Group. A second washing machine plant commenced operations in Ksawerów at the end of 2019, forexample. The relocation of part of production operations
from the Bürmoos plant (manufacturing of medical products)
to Steelco S.p.A., a subsidiary in Italy, was also concluded
in 2019. In addition, the subsidiary Miele Venture Capital GmbH acquired stakes in the following companies orincreased its existing stakes in these companies during
the reporting period: Agrilution Systems GmbH, MChef

Verwaltungs-GmbH and MChef GmbH & Co. KG, Miele
Operations & Payment Solutions GmbH, WaschMal GmbH,
KptnCook Corp., Plant Jammer ApS and loadbee GmbH. Miele
Venture Capital GmbH and its subsidiaries and shareholdings, as well as Steelco S.p.A. and Yujin Robot Co., Ltd, are
not yet fully reflected in this report except where noted separately, such as in > the company profile and > key figures.
The Miele Sustainability Report is available > online as a PDF
file. A detailed listing of key figures appears in the “Facts &figures” section at the end of the report. The sustainability
website also offers customers and the public at large an
overview of the Miele sustainability philosophy and how it is put
into practice. It is available at > www.miele.com/sustainability
and via Miele.de or Miele.com.
The use of the full legal forms throughout the text has been
avoided for the sake of greater readability. As in the previous report, we use gender-specific designations, except
in lists and where linguistic usage dictates otherwise.
[GRI 102-51/-52] This report replaces the 2019 Miele Sustainability Report. Given the two-year reporting cycle, the next
Sustainability Report is due to appear in 2023.

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Imprint
PUBLISHERPROJECT MANAGEMENT [GRI 102-53]

Miele & Cie. KG
Carl-Miele-Straße 29
33332 Gütersloh

Ursula Wilms
Public Relations
Tel. +49 5241 89-1958
Fax +49 5241 89-781958
E-mail: ursula.wilms@miele.com

RESPONSIBILITY
Carsten Prudent
Communications

www.miele.com/sustainability

Christoph Wendker
Corporate Sustainability
and Regulatory Affairs
DATA MANAGEMENT
Sebastian Wegener
Corporate Sustainability
REALISATIONEDITING DEADLINE
8th September 2021

Stakeholder Reporting GmbH, Hamburg
PHOTOGRAPHS
Miele
atmosfairDavid Ellis – Chocolate Studios
Frauke Schumann Fotografie
World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia

The current report is also available inGerman and French. In case of deviations,
the German version is valid.
Miele would like to thank all employees andall other personnel involved in the creationof this report.

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