Environment
Improving life at home.
Fulfilling our vision to be the world’s leading kitchen and laundry appliance company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home requires us to think of our house and home not just in terms of the four walls around us and the communities in which we live, but of the planet that sustains us.
This has been the Whirlpool way for 110 years. As our former CEO Elisha Gray II, said in his letter addressed to our shareholders in 1969, which led to the establishment of our Office of Environment in 1970:
“We cannot separate our business from the communities in which we operate, and hope to grow and prosper.”
We are taking a long-term view and making the changes we need in our operations and supply chain for our production to be more sustainable—without shortcuts or excuses.
So, what is Net Zero?
We’ll achieve these commitments through ongoing investments in energy efficiency improvements and renewables, and by tackling waste in all it forms—because we know there’s No Place For Waste on the planet we call our home.By designing for efficiency, we strive to help consumers decrease their energy and water use, while saving them time and effort. We innovate for homes and people with real needs.
SCOPE 1 & 2
In 2003, Whirlpool Corporation was the first appliance manufacturer to set an emissions reduction target, and we continue to raise the bar through additional actions and commitments. In 2020, we announced that we achieved our lowest levels of absolute plant emissions (Scopes 1 & 2) in over a decade. This progress was made possible through investments in energy retrofits, onsite renewable energy and driven by the dedicated people and processes of our World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Environmental and Energy pillars. It is through these actions that we were able to announce our most aggressive target yet: Net Zero emissions in our plants and operations by 2030. This commitment covers all of our manufacturing sites and large distribution centers around the world, spanning all direct (Scope 1) and power-related (Scope 2) emissions. We achieved a GHGs emissions reduction of 27% in Scopes 1 & 2 from 2016 to 2021 in our operations, and we plan to achieve greater reductions in emissions by continuing our strong focus on environmental and energy management, and continued focus on WCM methodologies.
SCOPE 3
Our products’ largest impact in terms of energy and water arises downstream in the use phase, consequently driving the largest climate impact for the company within Scope 3. We continue to progress towards our SBTi approved target of 20% reduction in emissions resulting from the use of our products (Scope 3, Category 11) by 2030, compared to 2016 levels. To achieve these goals, we invest in innovation to launch leading products that improve performance, while lowering their overall carbon footprint. In fact, we have achieved a 60% reduction since 2005, well above the current targets being set by the United States and the European Union for 2030.
Helping Our Consumers Live Sustainably
To help our consumers use their appliances more sustainably, we have a dedicated website, improvinglifeathome.com, that brings the best of our brands’ content to help families improve life at home, sustainably. It’s packed with tips to make the kitchen more sustainable, fun ways to get the family involved, ideas to help make environmentally-friendly choices, and seasonal tips and inspiration.
At the same time, we recognize the significant impact food waste has on people and the planet. To help address and raise awareness of this important issue, we run a series of initiatives across the globe to promote sustainable food consumption, including our “Moments Not To Be Wasted” campaign, an EMEA-wide educational effort designed to help raise awareness of food waste.
2021 Scorecard
We made significant gains in 2021 across several of our goal categories, including reducing our emissions and waste to landfill.
%
Scope 1 & 2 Emissions Reduction (compared to 2016 Baseline)
Zero Waste
%
of sites achieved Zero Waste to Landfill Gold or Platinum in 2021
Our ReNEWW House
The ReNEWW House (Retrofit Net-Zero Energy Water Waste) is a 1920s three-bedroom home on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, in the United States. The home was extensively retrofitted and refurbished to be as energy and water efficient as possible. Whirlpool Corporation operates it as a live-in research lab and sustainable living showcase. During the school year, Whirlpool Corporation engineers obtaining their Master’s degrees at Purdue University reside in the house and perform research on innovative projects related to sustainability.
