• Family-owned company joins initiative of the 2° Foundation for an ambitious cross-sectoral climate policy in Germany

• International appeal to the G20 Heads of State and Government in Rome sends another clear signal

At the start of in-depth exploratory negotiations in Germany, Miele is demanding, together with almost 70 other well-known companies, an ambitious comprehensive cross-sector climate policy in line with the Paris Climate Accords. As a leading industrial nation, Germany needs clear and reliable framework conditions for effective and competitive climate protection. To achieve this, the potential coalition partners in Berlin must now set an important course. Internationally, Miele is supporting the "We Mean Business Coalition" for more government commitment to climate protection before the G20 summit will take place in Rome.

‘Only if politics and the economy act together in the same way, do we have a chance to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Accords,’ says Dr. Markus Miele, Executive Director and Co-Proprietor of the Miele Group. As a manufacturing company, Miele is aware of its responsibility towards the environment and society. As early as this year, Miele has announced CO₂-neutrality at all its’ production locations with reference to greenhouse gas emissions from its own combustion processes (Scope 1) and its energy suppliers (Scope 2). At the beginning of September, the company further announced a concrete target for emissions during the usage phase of Miele appliances, which accounts for the bulk of what is referred to as Scope 3: By 2030, these emissions are to be reduced by 15% compared with 2019 - based on the appliances produced in each of the mentioned years.

‘The new German government will also be challenged here, because anyone who really wants to drive climate protection forward must not rely primarily on appeals for consumption renouncements, bans or financial burdens, explains Markus Miele. Technology-open market incentives are also decisive - as well as the innovativeness, creativity, and determination of companies in close cooperation with science and research. ‘At the end of the day, what we need is marketable climate protection - whatever the coalition partners decide in the end.’

Signing of international appeal in before the G20 summit

In addition to the national initiative of the 2° Foundation, Miele also supports the international appeal of the "We Mean Business Coalition" before the G20 summit in Rome at the end of October. This appeal is directed at the heads of states and governments of the G20 countries and demands that they support the goals of the Paris Climate Accord more intensively. For example, the appeal calls on the governments of the G20 states to publish long-term strategies as soon as possible that describe the pathways from 2030 to 2050. ‘A harmonised political environment within the G20 countries provides planning certainty and the framework conditions for the economy to further advance the issue of climate protection beyond national value chains and thus make an even greater contribution to sustainable development and the achievement of the Paris climate goals,’ says Markus Miele.

‘We Mean Business’ is a global coalition of non-profit organisations, including the 2° Initiative, CDP Carbon Disclosure Project, WBCSD World Business Council for Sustainable Development or the UN Global Compact. Together with more than 600 international companies, it strives for effective climate protection. We Mean Business was founded in 2014.

Company profile: Miele is the world's leading manufacturer of premium domestic appliances including cooking, baking and steam-cooking appliances, refrigeration products, coffee makers, dishwashers and laundry and floor care products. Their product portfolio also includes dishwashers, air purifiers, washing machines and tumble dryers for commercial use as well as washer-disinfectors and sterilisers for use in medical and laboratory applications (Miele Professional). Founded in 1899, the company has eight production plants in Germany, one each in Austria, the Czech Republic, China, Romania and Poland as well as two production plants belonging to its Italian medical technology subsidiary Steelco. Sales in the 2020 business year amounted to around € 4.5 bn (thereof 29.5% in Germany). Miele is represented with its own sales subsidiaries and via importers in
almost 100 countries/regions. Throughout the world, the family-run enterprise, now in its fourth generation, employs a workforce of around 20,900, of which approx. 11,050 employees work in Germany. The company has its headquarters in Gütersloh in Westphalia.