Sustainability statement

The Liebherr Group’s environmental and energy management has a decentralised structure. The divisions implement measures independently, supported by environmental and energy officers and cross-regional working groups. Clear processes and regular audits monitor and ensure compliance with all environmental regulations. The goal is to keep reducing the impact our production and our products have on the environment. The divisions independently evaluate and implement measures, such as the use of renewable energies or low-emission technologies. Work is currently underway to standardise the data across the entire Group.

In 2025, the Group took additional targeted steps to deepen understanding of the company-related environmental impact. Several of Liebherr’s divisions have already made a start on identifying and implementing measures to reduce their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The most important activities in this regard are focused on the transition to renewable energy sources. This includes measures such as installing photovoltaic panels and heat recovery systems. Liebherr is also working intensively on alternative drive technologies. These initiatives make a major contribution to decarbonisation along the downstream value chain.

Since a large part of the environmental impact occurs during the production process, Liebherr has set itself the target of certifying all its production facilities to the key ISO standards by 2030 – this includes ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and 50001. These standards underpin efficient use of resources, contribute to lower emissions and ensure a high standard of health and safety in the workplace.

In the coming years, Liebherr is developing an extensive climate change mitigation plan, which takes into account the targets of the Paris Agreement. A key initial step has been the establishment of a consistent methodological framework for carbon accounting across all product segments. This facilitates the collation of reliable and comparable emission data at Group level and forms the basis for decisions surrounding the development of the transition plan for climate change mitigation.

In 2025, nearly one third (28 %) of energy consumed by Liebherr came from renewable sources. The Group is gradually transitioning its operations to green energy. Self-generated energy comes from both non-renewable sources – primarily electricity and heat generation on engine test rigs – and renewable sources, such as photovoltaic systems.

Liebherr is calculating its greenhouse gas inventory on the basis of the international Greenhouse Gas Protocol to ensure the transparent and comparable recording of the emissions in CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e). Direct Scope 1 emissions from our own sources and indirect Scope 2 emissions from purchased energy were already calculated in previous years; in 2025, Liebherr updated the greenhouse gas inventory to include the calculation of Scope 3 emissions throughout the value chain at Group level. Parallel to this, the emission factors and calculation methods were harmonised for all product segments to ensure consistency and comparability.

Scope 3 emissions account for the majority of the carbon footprint, especially category 3.11 ‘Use of sold products’ followed by category 3.1 ‘Purchased goods and services’. Liebherr is working hard to reduce this environmental impact through continuous improvements to its products, alongside alternative drive systems and low-carbon fuels.

The local boards of directors for the individual Liebherr sites are responsible for the operational management of water-related matters. Over the next two years, Liebherr is reviewing the need for Group-wide guidelines, based on the data gathered and evaluated.

Potential water scarcity in different regions is being monitored and factored into the risk analysis. The findings are used to optimise the management of water resources and to address financial risks, such as rising water costs in risk areas, at an early stage.

The water demand of most Liebherr companies is low and is largely attributed to toilet facilities, hygiene, landscape maintenance and cleaning of machines and parts. The majority of the used water is directed back into local water treatment systems. Very few industrial processes – such as surface treatment or dust binding – consume any water.

In 2025, various initiatives to reduce water withdrawal were implemented. At the Toulouse site (France), for instance, a system was installed to recover grey water for use in toilet facilities. Several production sites for refrigerators and freezers also updated their toilet facilities to further reduce water consumption. In Pune (India) a new wastewater treatment system makes it possible for grey water to be used to water plants. At its Ehingen factory (Germany), Liebherr is also reducing its fresh water demand by recirculating internally treated water to the wash stations for cranes.

Liebherr is currently pursuing a decentralised approach, whereby waste management is primarily determined by the local legal provisions and the operational circumstances of each site. Many Liebherr sites have already implemented local measures to reduce waste and to promote recycling. These initiatives are devised on the basis of the requirements for health, safety and environmental protection at a site level.

Liebherr will systematically collect and analyse data on waste in the next two years. This will establish a clearer understanding of waste volumes, types of waste and waste management practices in the company as a whole. The results of this analysis can be used as the basis for considering group-wide measures, especially for sites operating in regions with increased ecological or regulatory risks.

For the 2025 business year, Liebherr collected waste-related data for all companies for the first time.

In the business year, no radioactive waste was generated in the Liebherr Group. During this period, Liebherr companies kept working to reduce hazardous waste and to increase the proportion of recyclable materials. Important measures included the switch to reusable packaging, initiatives to reuse and recycle materials and methods to reduce hazardous substances. Additionally, separation of waste streams was improved, internal processes were optimised and waste disposal service providers were audited.

Liebherr products are designed to facilitate a long useful life, whether through repair with spare parts or in some cases reconditioning. A global service network is extending the service life of machines through expert maintenance and repair. The remanufacturing programme to recondition components, such as engines and gearboxes, and the provision of refurbished used machines is reducing the consumption of raw materials and cutting CO₂ emissions while extending the product life cycles. When they do eventually reach the end of their useful life, many machines and other products from Liebherr can still be dismantled into individual parts for recycling. Through these measures, Liebherr is reinforcing the circular economy – whether it’s product design that lasts, reuse and reconditioning, or even recycling.

The Liebherr Group places great importance on protecting the rights of its employees, creating fair and safe working conditions and actively promoting a diverse corporate culture that respects human rights. This also extends to key topics such as occupational health and safety, personal development opportunities, diversity and equal opportunities, working conditions and fair pay. To establish consistent and future-oriented Health, Safety and Environment management (HSE) throughout the entire Group, a new expert group was established in 2025 with representatives from multiple departments. This group supports the international exchange between the participating departments and forms the basis for an efficient, Group-wide approach. Its tasks include formulating suggestions for a permanent organisational foundation for HSE management at Group level and within the Liebherr divisions – including clearly defined roles, tasks, responsibilities and necessary standards and improvement measures.

Human resource management at Liebherr is organised at a local level. Strategic and operational tasks are divided between the Human Resources (HR) corporate function and the HR units of the divisions and companies, so as to ensure the necessary flexibility to fulfil country-specific legal and social requirements. Most operational HR work, such as training and HR management, is undertaken at a local level. Parallel to this, Liebherr is currently developing a central framework for standardised management, target definition and reporting.

Liebherr creates jobs with a focus on job security and a work environment that supports equal opportunity, diversity and respect of human rights. The group of companies conforms with international standards, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines. The Liebherr code of conduct obligates all employees to comply with legal requirements, to perform their work safely and to exclude child labour and forced labour, as well as discrimination. A confidential whistleblower system – including for external stakeholders – is in place to assist with the reporting of tip-offs.

Employees are actively involved through works councils, annual dialogues and ideas management.

As already cited in this year’s annual report, the Group had a total of 55,963 employees at the end of the reporting year, of which 2,708 were non-guaranteed hours employees. The employee figure used here appears lower by 1,345, because inactive employment relationships are not included in sustainability reporting.

Of the 54,618 people in active employment contracts, 81 % were male and 19 % were female, one person did not wish to declare their gender. In the reporting year, the Group had 3,186 interns and apprentices, highlighting the importance placed on developing young talent and professional qualifications. The workforce also included 3,323 people not employed by the company (e.g. external contractors).

3,525 people left the Group during the reporting period. This puts the staff turnover rate at 6 %.

In terms of the contract length, 51,065 employees (93.5 %) were on permanent employment contracts on the reporting date; of these, 41,793 were men (76.5 %) and 9,272 were women (17.0 %). 3,553 employees (6.5 %) were on temporary employment contracts; of these, 2,705 were men (4.9 %) and 847 were women (1.6 %).

At 6.5 %, temporary employment contracts represent a far lesser proportion than the permanent employment contracts, highlighting the high level of job security within the Group. At the same time, temporary contracts afford employees flexibility, especially for career starters, and enable the company to cover parental leave or capacity peaks.

Gender distribution in senior management

The senior management is made up of the executive board and the senior managers from the divisional controlling companies and companies. At the end of the business year, this accounted for 392 people, made up of 371 men (94.6 %) and 21 women (5.4 %). It is a strategic goal of the Group to increase the proportion of women in managerial positions.

The age structure of the employees reveals that the Group’s workforce is centred around 30 to 50 year olds, who make up 54.9 % of the workforce with 29,988 employees. Younger employees under 30 account for 11,078 people or 20.3 % of the workforce. 13,552 employees are aged over 50, representing a 24.8 % share.

This balanced distribution of ages lays the foundation for stable teams, makes the transfer of knowledge simpler and forms a solid basis for targeted development of young employees and age-appropriate HR development.

Remuneration metrics (pay gap and total remuneration)

In 2025, the average gross hourly wage was €25.60 for men and €22.40 for women. This gives rise to a gender pay gap of 13 % in favour of men. At present, this salary comparison is made with no regard for other factors such as professional experience. Liebherr is constantly working to improve the availability and quality of data so that this figure might be more meaningful.

In 2025, the ratio of the total annual salary of the top earner to the median annual salary of all employees in the company (excluding the top earner) was 10.13.