SDG Reporting

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Modules in the Geberit sustainability strategy or chapters in the sustainability report that are relevant to this goal:

Employee attraction and retention
Social responsibility
GRI 404
Customer relations

Relevance for Geberit As a technology-oriented company, Geberit is reliant on the innovative strength of its employees. Encouraging further qualifications and innovative performance plays a key role in the education and further training of employees. By sharing knowledge and building up know-how at the customers', Geberit makes a significant contribution to the development of the entire value chain and, through the employees’ role as a knowledge multiplier, makes a positive impact on the sanitary industry as a whole. Taking on social responsibility through partnerships in social projects and the application of in-house know-how in these projects makes a positive contribution to social development in disadvantaged regions.

Geberit’s contribution

• Training apprentices is of great significance for Geberit. The company offers young people apprenticeships in commercial, industrial or technical professions. In 2024, 283 apprentices were employed. The transfer rate to a permanent employment relationship was 63%. Furthermore, 120 internships were made available and 19 Bachelor and Master theses supervised.
• The internal development programmes GROW and LEAD aim to identify talents in the company and support them along their path to middle or senior management. In the reporting year, around 100 employees took part in these programmes – including 30 women. The internal development programmes are intended to help fill at least half of all vacant managerial positions with internal candidates. In 2024, this was achieved for 63% of all Group management vacancies.
• Geberit supports junior managers with two development programmes: since 2020, the Operations Development Programme (ODP) has offered targeted support in the fields of production and logistics. This was followed in 2024 by the Sales Development Programme (SDP) for talented marketing and sales staff with an economics or technical background. Both programmes prepare talented internal and external prospects for managerial tasks.
• In the reporting year, employees across the Group attended on average 14.0 hours of internal and external education and further training.
• In 2024, some 160,000 professionals were provided with education and further training both in person and via digital formats on products and their use, tools, software and installation skills at the 30 Geberit Information Centres in Europe and overseas, and at external events. In this way, Geberit supports innovation, growth and value added in the sanitary industry.
• Since 2024, Geberit has been an official partner of the PropelA vocational training programme in Kenya run by the Hilti Foundation and the Swiss foundation Swisscontact. In this programme, young people learn how to become plumbers and electrically skilled persons over a period of two years in line with the Swiss model of dual vocational training. In 2024, Geberit financed the construction of the training centre for plumbers in Karen near Nairobi and provided it with the necessary equipment. The local apprentices were also supported with scholarships. Coaching of the teachers and training leads also took place. In the reporting year, 44 apprentices successfully completed the training programme.
• Despite the war, Geberit continued its long-standing project for supporting the professional training of plumbers in Ukraine. By mid-2024, 479 people – including 14 women – completed the training programme, with an additional 1,057 people taking part in various further training courses. 585 students started the training programme. Furthermore, 19 vocational schools were supported with material.

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Modules in the Geberit sustainability strategy or chapters in the sustainability report that are relevant to this goal:

Water
Eco-design and products
Social responsibility

Relevance for Geberit

Geberit makes a significant contribution to conserving scarce drinking water resources with its water-saving sanitary solutions. The company’s greatest environmental impact lies in water conservation – a key lever for sustainable development. Innovative products optimise water consumption in buildings while ensuring the highest standards of hygiene, including in drinking water systems.

Geberit’s contribution

• The product range includes a wide variety of products that contribute to the careful use of resources through low water and energy consumption. Geberit’s water footprint shows that nearly 100% of the water consumption is attributable to the use of products by customers. Geberit therefore consistently develops and distributes water-saving products in order to reduce water consumption. For example, water-saving solutions such as dual-flush and stop-and-go cisterns have decreased flush volumes since 1952 by around 80%.
• WC cisterns play a crucial role in water conservation. According to one model calculation, all Geberit dual-flush and stop-and-go cisterns installed in place of traditional flushing systems (with 9-litre full flush) since 1998 have so far saved around 38,300 million m³ of water. In 2024 alone, the water saved amounted to 3,130 million m³. Water conservation is the result of a balanced overall system. Reducing the flush volume in the cistern while at the same time ensuring that the WC ceramic appliance is optimally flushed out is just as important as correctly dimensioning the drainage system.
• Stagnation and dirt in the drinking water system are among the greatest risks that can adversely affect the quality of the water in domestic installations. Geberit offers various solutions (e.g. hygiene filters, sanitary flush units) for ensuring drinking water hygiene in a reliable and economical manner.
• Thanks to targeted investments in research and development in areas such as hydraulics and virtual engineering, Geberit is working on developing innovations for the future. Here, Geberit regards eco-design as the key to environmentally friendly products and as an integral part of the development process. Since 2007, eco-design has been adopted in over 200 development projects. One current example that helps to reduce water consumption and CO₂ emissions is the Acanto WC with TurboFlush. Thanks to optimised hydraulics it offers improved flushing-out performance with minimal water consumption.
• Geberit actively endorses assessment criteria that allow for an effective differentiation of water-saving products in an effort to meet EU targets for resource efficiency. In 2017, the company was involved in the establishment of the Unified Water Label Association (UWLA). The UWLA water label aims to support customers in the selection of resource-efficient products.
• With its social engagement strategy, the company also makes a significant contribution to improving the sanitary conditions in countries and regions where the sanitary infrastructure is lacking. Since 2008, Geberit has been carrying out projects with apprentices where they renovate sanitary facilities in educational or social institutions under professional supervision. In 2024, ten apprentices from Germany, Austria and Switzerland installed new sanitary equipment at the Svay Thom Primary School in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The new toilet facilities and washbasins benefit the 1,800 schoolchildren and 80 teachers.

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Modules in the Geberit sustainability strategy or chapters in the sustainability report that are relevant to this goal:

Climate change and environmental impact
Energy and CO₂

Relevance for Geberit

Geberit supports the Swiss net zero target for 2050 and the corresponding Swiss climate strategy. The company has been committed to reducing CO₂ emissions for many years. A core element of the Geberit climate transition plan is the comprehensive CO₂ strategy, according to which Geberit aims to reduce CO₂ intensity by 5% per year on average. By 2035, relative CO₂ emissions are to be reduced by 80% compared to 2015.

Geberit’s contribution

• The central element is the integration of the CO₂ strategy in all relevant and existing business processes as well as the handling of CO₂ emissions as external costs by means of internal CO₂ pricing. In this way, Geberit wants to ensure that the procedure of reducing the company’s carbon footprint is widely supported within the company, incorporated in daily business activities, and that the measures taken have a long-term, sustainable effect.
• Pivotal in energy management and the CO₂ strategy are measures for saving energy, increasing efficiency and procuring energy in the plants. The corresponding measures are drawn up and implemented as part of an energy master plan and a rolling CO₂ forecasting of the significant plants. The proportion of renewable energies is being further increased throughout the company, always taking the internal CO₂ reference price and the economic efficiency of the planned projects into consideration.
• In 2024, CO₂ intensity (CO₂ emissions in relation to currency-adjusted net sales) remained constant compared to the previous year. Compared to the reference year 2015, the CO₂ intensity has improved by 63.2%, or 10.5% per year on average.
• In the reporting year, absolute CO₂ emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) increased by 2.4% to 123,975 tonnes.
• In the reporting year, 134.6 GWh of green electricity with proof of origin was procured, which corresponds to 65% of the entire volume of purchased electricity. As a result, CO₂ emissions were reduced by around 61,900 tonnes. Taking into account electricity from renewable energy sources included in the standard electricity mix, renewable energy sources accounted for around 80% of electricity.
• Geberit also contributes to reducing Scope 3 emissions as part of procurement and product development. Since 2007, all new products have been optimised in terms of sustainability as part of eco-design workshops. The sustainable design of products makes a significant impact on Scope 3 emissions at Geberit. The selection of suitable raw materials with minimal CO₂ emissions plays an increasingly important role, and is addressed in discussions with suppliers and included in decision-making processes, see Procurement.