“Sustainability is an important factor for long-term success”

KUKA CEO Peter Mohnen on sustainability

Guest author

8 mai 2024

Society

Durée de lecture : 3 minutes

International conflicts, economic challenges, and the globally tangible effects of climate change: we are living in a time full of uncertainty. So, it is all the more important to be resilient and open to change, to look positively to the future and to actively shape change - especially when it comes to a sustainable future. Industrial companies like KUKA not only have a special responsibility here, but can also benefit from a more sustainable business model in the long term.

With our products and solutions for automation, robotics, and digitalization, we at KUKA enable more efficient and resource-saving production for our customers. For example, in 2023, KUKA designed a CO2-neutral plant for the sustainable production of battery systems for electric vehicles for the automotive supplier Valmet in southern Finland, with all solutions and products from a single source.

In addition, seven specific innovation projects were developed as part of the company-wide Innovation Challenge on the topic of "Circular Economy", which were tested with potential customers. These included the development of "KUKA | Circle", a platform for buying and selling used robots.

And our new generations of robots, such as the KUKA bestseller KR QUANTEC, are more energy-efficient than ever before. Especially in times of rising costs, the low total cost of ownership of our products and solutions is an important factor for our customers.

Sustainability in our company

And of course, we are also working on greater sustainability within our own company, with specific CO2 savings targets. For example, we have set ourselves the goal of supplying all subsidiaries with 100% renewable energy by 2030. In addition, the entire KUKA vehicle fleet is to become CO2-neutral by 2030.

And last but not least, our main goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our own business activities by at least 40% by 2030. This also includes achieving greater transparency about our emissions and data from all locations, because we can only reduce what is measurable and known.

All dimensions of sustainability

It is also important to us to consider all dimensions of sustainability – economically efficient, ecologically viable and socially just – equally. Sustainability is an important factor for the long-term success of KUKA, it is an issue that affects all departments, divisions, and employees of our company – and also influences our corporate culture. After all, it is above all the KUKA employees worldwide who drive our company forward with motivation, creativity and team spirit and are therefore indispensable for long-term and sustainable corporate success.

For 125 years, our company has been changing the world of work with its products and solutions. Change is part of KUKA's DNA. And it is also our concern and our duty to help shaping one of the central change topics of our time – sustainability. Because it is also an important pillar for our success in the coming years.