Sustainable Operations

We know our ability to operate in the future depends on producing innovative products without leaving a negative footprint and helping to protect our employees and the communities in which we operate. This ideal of a resilient, sustainable operation drives our strategy to establish firm goals and targets with detailed transition plans to achieve them. We have set into place commitments on reaching Net Zero emissions, Zero Waste to Landfill, and reduced energy and water intensity, while protecting the health and safety of our employees.

A robust governance structure with our Board of Directors, Executive Committee and our ESG Councils monitors and tracks our performance and makes sure we are properly investing in those plans. These transition plans are detailed in this report, and they show how we can grow our top line and support our financial goals, while creating more resilient, efficient and safer operations. This year, we have seen record results in many of our normalized environmental KPIs again, showing not only absolute improvement, but also intensity improvements. Through our “We Care” commitment to protecting our employees, we have shown progress on reducing work-related incidents. With new data and reporting systems and capability, we recognized that a majority of incidents and injuries happen to employees in their first year on a job, so we are focusing on how to better support and train our teams to identify risky behaviors and potential WCM safety issues before they happen. WCM is a comprehensive methodology for improving productivity and quality and reducing losses in production systems through strong employee involvement.

Zero Waste to Landfill

We set our goal to reach Zero Waste to Landfill at our manufacturing sites in 2012 and have continued to invest in plant efficiency and waste reduction. We work closely with waste vendors and recyclers that service our sites, giving us confidence that we will achieve our target by the end of 2022. In 2021, 28 sites achieved Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWtL) Gold or Platinum status, aligned with the UL ECVP 2799 Zero Waste to Landfill standard. The UL Standard sets levels of achievement: Silver, Gold and Platinum. The Silver Level requires at least 90% diversion from landfill without waste to energy (recycling, reusing, reducing, rejecting) and up to 94% with waste to energy included. The Gold Level requires sites to divert 90% of their waste from landfill without waste to energy, and between 95% and 99% diversion with the waste to energy included. The Platinum Level is reserved for sites that reach between 99% and 100% diversion from landfill. Whirlpool Corporation expects all manufacturing sites to reach the Gold or Platinum level by the end of 2022. In 2021, five sites evolved to Platinum, and nine sites are now self-declared Platinum level.

Site-Specific Actions to Reduce Waste

For the purpose of improving our waste management practices and continuing our alignment to the UL ECVP 2799 Zero Waste to Landfill standard, Whirlpool Corporation plans to start 2022 with a pre-assessment at one site in each region and a training for all global sites to ensure that each facility is equipped to meet ZWtL Gold or Platinum level by the end of 2022. As the deadline for sites to reach ZWtL Gold or Platinum level approaches, Whirlpool Corporation is looking ahead for a new level of waste achievement on the journey. Our sites have set internal targets to reduce the total volume of waste generated at the site, and each site is working to shift from recycling to reuse, reduce and reject rather than wasting materials at all. Such initiatives are guided by the WCM Environmental pillar.

Water

The Environmental pillar of our WCM system is responsible for managing water consumption at the manufacturing sites, and uses a cost analysis tool to address losses in our systems. Using WCM methods, sites consistently perform much better than our 1% reduction per year target. Over the past five years, 34% reduction on water consumption has been achieved globally.

Our water stewardship plan is part of the environmental management system and focuses on continuous improvement of water efficiency in our sites and supporting projects that improve water reuse and recycling. The sites use metering that feeds into KPIs for water management and conservation, and some sites interact with local groups within the watershed in order to make water-related decisions. Our employees receive WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) services in all sites, including training on safe water practices, hygiene and general health.

For the past two years, the Latin America region (LAR) has been piloting a new water recirculation measure to go beyond reducing water consumption each year. In 2021, the LAR sites recirculated 98% of their water intake and captured rainwater to reduce their water intake requirements. At the Joinville site, rainwater accounts for 8% of the total water intake. The water-saving initiatives at Whirlpool Corporation sites in Brazil were recognized with the 2021 National Water Agency (ANA) award in the category of “medium and large companies.”

Compliance with local and national laws and regulations is a priority for Whirlpool Corporation’s manufacturing facilities. In order to track performance and implement changes if necessary, all incidents related to wastewater exceedances are registered and investigated. In North America, the sites are going beyond compliance and striving for improvements in wastewater treatment.

At the Marion, Ohio site the project team identified that the on-site wastewater treatment plant was consuming a large amount of lime to treat the incoming process fluid in order to meet standards set by the municipality, which resulted in large amounts of sludge being generated. After testing with multiple vendors and checking different technologies, the project team decided to replace lime with caustic for pH control. The new solution reduced the amount of sludge generated by 20% and completely eliminated the use of lime.

Biodiversity

In addition to promoting energy and water efficiency and waste management practices, the WCM Environmental pillar establishes proactive steps to preserve biodiversity in areas where Whirlpool Corporation operates. Natural ecosystems are vitally important for sustaining life on Earth, and they can be the basis for climate change adaptation and securing a thriving future for our communities. That’s why our efforts focus on control, protection and restoration of green areas, fauna and flora surrounding our sites, by partnering with key stakeholders in our communities.

Employee & Community Engagement with Sustainability

Aligned with our commitment to maintaining strong, lasting connections in the communities in which we do business and with our employees, Whirlpool Corporation continued to promote environmental stewardship through conservation and sustainable practices.