Electrolux: Driving Sustainability Across its Supply Chain

Electrolux is already recognised as a world leader when it comes to the manufacturer of home appliances. 

But the Swedish multinational can also be applauded as a pioneer of more sustainable practices as it works alongside suppliers to support the transition to a greener future. 

It's fair to say Electrolux has strong sustainability aspirations and is riding the crest of a wave after its second science-based climate target was approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative. That's after already achieving its first target as astonishing three years ahead of schedule. 

Now, the organisation is looking at suppliers as an extension of its own operations, as outlined in its Sustainability Report for 2023. 

Partners in Electrolux's supply chain are expected to support its sustainability agenda by actively improving their own performance in terms of environmental impact. The group's belief is that this drives progress not only in its own value chain, but in supply chains across the globe. 

Setting science-based targets

Electrolux is laser-focused on maintaining momentum when it comes to driving climate action throughout its value chain. 

Elena Breda, Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer at Electrolux Group, explains: "Our new science-based climate target aims to reduce the group’s emissions from operations (scope 1 and 2) by 85% and emissions mainly from products sold (scope 3) by 42% between 2021 and 2030.

"Our new target was approved by the Science Based Targets initiative at the end of 2023.”

This new target is aligned with the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit average global temperature rises to 1.5°C this century to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. 

Logistics remains a key area of focus for Electrolux as it emits more greenhouse gas emissions in the distribution of its goods than it consumes during the manufacturing process. 

Approximately 270,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide are emitted annually by transportation of the group’s goods via land, sea and air.

Responsible Sourcing Programme 

In 2023, Electrolux continued to work with suppliers to improve their sustainability performance through its Responsible Sourcing Programme and the auditing of their operations.

A responsible sourcing scoring model has been implemented globally and is used in sourcing decisions to reward and promote good supplier performance on sustainability, while improving underperforming suppliers.

Last year, almost 750 suppliers were considered to be critical and were the focus of the programme. 

Critical suppliers are defined as those with elevated risks related to their operations, such as running factories in high-risk areas, production processes that pose higher risks for environmental, labour and human rights violations, or health and safety incidents.

As well as continuing to integrate social sustainability considerations into the supplier evaluation process, Electrolux has also made progress in standardising social sustainability requirements across sourcing processes, which has involved promoting collaboration across the value chain.

The group's overarching strategy, For The Better 2030, seeks to reduce its carbon footprint, run resource-efficient operations and drive better performance from its procurement ecosystem.

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