Whirlpool’s Sustainability Achievements Recognised by Gold EcoVadis Medal

Whirlpool, the home of Hotpoint, Indesit, Whirlpool and KitchenAid brands, has been awarded a gold medal from EcoVadis. The medal, which was presented as part of the EcoVadis 2022 Sustainability Ratings, recognises the company’s long-standing commitment to sustainability and the environment.
EcoVadis is an international rating agency that evaluates the performance of businesses, and their supply chains, on environmental, social and ethical factors. As the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, EcoVadis rates companies on their performance across four categories; environment; labour and human rights; ethics and sustainable procurement. The gold medal awarded to Whirlpool EMEA recognises its strong performance across all four categories, and the company has been further commended by EcoVadis for demonstrating an advanced management system on both environmental and ethical issues.
Since Whirlpool was founded over 110 years ago, it has placed its pursuit to improve life at home at the heart of everything it does. The route to fulfilling this vision is seen as not only including the four walls around us and the communities in which we live, but also the planet that sustains us. Consequently, Whirlpool is committed to improving sustainability across its entire operations, including its plants, products and practices.
This is demonstrated by several of the initiatives and programmes that Whirlpool has established to improve sustainability across its operations in the UK. On a global scale, the company announced its commitment to reach net zero emissions in its plants and operations by 2030, covering over 30 of its manufacturing sites and large distribution centres around the world. In addition to being on track to achieving this target, Whirlpool UK’s Peterborough headquarters and its manufacturing site in Yate have both achieved the ambitious goal of zero waste to landfill. Alongside this, all the company’s 14 UK sites are powered 100 per cent by renewable energy, generated by wind and hydro power.
Whirlpool UK is also committed to investing in technology and innovations to drive sustainability in household appliances to help consumers lower their carbon footprint. The company has invested in several innovations to improve energy and water efficiency, including laundry technology that automates water levels, utilises cold water settings as default and auto-dose detergent dispensing to reduce the environmental impact of its products. Furthermore, its products are manufactured to contain more recyclable components.
Additionally, Whirlpool UK has implemented a number of initiatives to improve sustainability across its practices. For example, the company recycles, or refurbishes, the old appliances it collects from its customers’ homes. Also, all of the appliance delivery packaging is removed and recycled free of charge. In addition to Whirlpool UK’s on-site vehicles using biofuel, the company is currently trialling electric vehicles, with the ambitious target of its entire fleet becoming 50 per cent electric by 2025. Furthermore, single-use plastics, including bottles, cutlery and cups, have been removed from all of its 14 UK based sites.
To further reinforce its long-term commitment to sustainability, Whirlpool UK has established several educational projects to engage and inspire the next generation on topics surrounding sustainability, food waste and the environment. Its Moments Not To Be Wasted project, which has involved 600 primary schools in the past two years, engages children on sustainable and ethical food consumption. Furthermore, in April 2022, Whirlpool UK launched its brand new Purposeful Innovation competition, which tasks secondary school pupils with re-designing a popular kitchen appliance to be more environmentally friendly.
Ian Moverley, Communications Director, Whirlpool UK Appliances Limited comments: “We are incredibly proud to announce that we have been awarded a Gold Medal by EcoVadis. Alongside our commitment to caring for our customers, communities, colleagues and the planet, we have a long history of driving sustainability within our industry, and this prestigious medal recognises our many achievements. At Whirlpool UK, we are constantly looking to the future to improve and enhance our business. We will continue to develop products and technologies that deliver on this vision, while maintaining and further strengthening our commitment to sustainable operations in the years to come.”
For more information on Whirlpool UK’s sustainability progress and achievements, please see Whirlpool Corporation’s latest Sustainability Report: https://whirlpoolcorp.com/2021SustainabilityReport/