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Key Sustainability Indicators

Unless otherwise indicated, the key indicators presented in this report are based on the following principles: all key indicators include the German and foreign subsidiaries that are directly or indirectly controlled by Eppendorf SE. Key environmental indicators refer to all production locations, with the exception of Eppendorf Himac Technologies Co., Ltd. in Japan. As a result, the environmental data relate to a total of eight production sites. In the future, data from Eppendorf Himac Technologies Co., Ltd. will also be included in the key environmental indicators. The key indicators for emissions and energy include all locations employing 20 or more FTEs that are under the operational control of the Eppendorf Group. Smaller locations are extrapolated. As a rule, the key indicators for employees are reported as of December 31, 2022.

Organizational profile 2022 2021
Number of countries 33 33
Total active companies 55 51
Net sales in € million 1,234 1,100
Debt in € million 517 591
Equity in € million 1,160 1,018
Number of product categories 151) 25
Number of services 7 7
1) Data differs from previous reports due to new counting method.
Total water withdrawal 1) in m3 GRI 303-3 2022 2021 2020
Total water withdrawal 48,070 41,385 41,548
Water withdrawal from areas affected by water stress 2) 0 0 0
Total waste water 24,772 26,857 27,373
1) The water withdrawal relates to the production sites, with the exception of Eppendorf Himac as this site was not taken over by Eppendorf until 2021.
2) According to the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, no production site is currently affected by very high levels of water stress. The sites in Jülich, Leipzig and Shanghai are assessed at between 40% and 80%.
Total waste in t 1) GRI 306-3, -4, -5 2022 2021 2020
Total waste 2,685 2,409 2,430
Commercial waste 690 694 635
Construction waste (soil, rubble and demolition material) 65 50 239
Electrical and electronic devices 26 29 22
Scrap metal 350 325 378
Paper and cardboard 582 539 506
Plastic 523 378 328
Other 450 394 321
Waste diverted from disposal
Hazardous waste diverted from disposal 21 22 41
Share of recycling 0 12 26
Share of other recovery options 2) 21 1 15
Non-hazardous waste diverted from disposal 1,754 1,798 1,675
Share of preparation for reuse 451 325 238
Share of recycling 1,267 1,062 1,010
Share of other recovery options 2) 36 484 428
Waste directed to disposal
Hazardous waste to disposal 129 111 67
Share of incineration (with energy recovery) 118 96 65
Share of landfilling 0 1 0
Share of other disposal options 2) 11 13 2
Non-hazardous waste to disposal 781 479 645
Share of incineration (with energy recovery) 700 472 609
Share of incineration (without energy recovery) 7 0 0
Share of landfilling 62 3 33
Share of other disposal options 2) 12 4 3
1) The volume of waste generated relates to the production sites, with the exception of Eppendorf Himac as this site was not taken over by Eppendorf until 2021. The figures have been extrapolated.
2) Including waste that cannot be allocated to a specific method of disposal or further processing.
Greenhouse gas emission in tCO2e 1) GRI 305-1, -2, -3 2022 2021 2020
Total emissions Scope 1 and 2 market-based 8,814 9,099 20,935
Scope 1 2) 7,009 7,193 6,955
Scope 2 market-based 3) 1,805 2,023 14,097
Scope 2 location-based 3) 8,875 10,149 9,498
Scope 3
Category 4 + 9: Up- and downstream transportation 5,757 7,588 6,618
Category 6: Business travel (flights) 2,256 885 828
Category 11: Use of sold products 4) 246,561 232,434 242,422
CO2 intensity
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions per € thousand in sales 5) 0.0071 0.0083 0.0216
1) Eppendorf calculates greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol, operational control approach. All relevant greenhouse gases are included and converted into tCO2 equivalents. Carbon accounting includes all Eppendorf locations, with the exception of Eppendorf Himac as this site was not taken over by Eppendorf until 2021. Emissions were modeled and extrapolated for units with fewer than 20 FTEs. 
2) BAFA emission factors from the Informationsblatt CO2-Faktoren (CO2 factors fact sheet) and the German Federal Environment Agency’s Kohlendioxid-Emissionsfaktoren für die deutsche Berichterstattung atmosphärischer Emissionen (carbon dioxide emission factors for German reporting of atmospheric emissions) were used to calculate the sites’ Scope 1 emissions. Emission factors from the GHG Protocol (Emission Factors from Cross Sector Tools) were applied for the vehicle fleet. CO2 emissions for Eppendorf vehicles were corrected retroactively for 2021 and 2020.
3) The various methods used to account for Scope 2 emissions applied different emission factors: market-based emissions relate to the emission factors of the individual electricity supplier. If such factors were not available, the AIB’s European Residual Mixes 2020 were applied for locations in Europe, with the EPA eGRID being used for locations in the U.S. The remaining sites were evaluated using the carbon footprint country specific electricity grid greenhouse gas emission factor. Location-based emissions relate to the average emission factors of the power grid in which electricity is consumed. CO2 emissions for location-based Scope 2 emissions were corrected retroactively for 2021 and 2020.
4) Typical utilization and a life cycle of 10 years per product have been assumed for Eppendorf electronic products. For our bioprocess units, no useful information is available; therefore, they have been omitted from the analysis. The data for 2020 and 2021 were corrected retroactively.
5) CO2 intensity describes the Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions divided by net sales in thousands of euros (€).
Total energy consumption in MWh GRI 302-1, -3 2022 2021 2020
Total energy consumption 66,791 66,451 61,781
Electrical power 33,746 32,301 28,747
Sourced form renewables energies 30,599 29,155 0
Fossil fuels 31,474 32,430 31,388
District heating and cooling 1,571 1,720 1,646
Energy intensity
Energy consumption per € thousand in sales 1) 0.0541 0.0604 0.0639
1) Energy intensity describes the sum of electricity consumption, fossil fuels and district heating divided by net sales in thousands of euros (€). 
Employees GRI 2-7, 401-1, 405-1 2022 2021
Total employees 1) 5,131 4,627
Female 1,813 1,666
Male 3,317 2,961
Diverse 1 n.a.
Employees by age
Under 30 733 958
Between 30 and 50 3,183 2,640
Over 50 1,215 1,029
Employees GRI 2-7, 401-1, 405-1 2022
Total external employees 2) 319
Total apprentices in Germany 79
Start of apprenticeship in 2022 33
Employees by region
Europe 3,254
Americas 882
Asia/Pacific/Africa 681
China 314
Employees by function
Management and Administration 1,646
Manufacturing and Production 1,283
Marketing and Sales 1,192
Services 742
Research and Development 269
1) Employees include full-time and part-time employees with permanent and temporary employment contracts who receive salary payments from Eppendorf SE. Student employees, interns and apprentices have been omitted.
2) External employees include employees with temporary employment contracts.
Employees GRI 2-7, 401-1, 405-1 2022
Employees by contract 1)
Permanent contract 4,625
Europe 2,975
Americas 882
Asia/Pacific/Africa 661
China 107
Temporary contract 506
Europe 280
Americas 207
Asia/Pacific/Africa 19
China 0
Employees by working time model 1)
Full time 4,145
Female 1,393
Male 2,751
Diverse 1
1) Employees include full-time and part-time employees with permanent and temporary employment contracts who receive salary payments from Eppendorf SE. Student employees, interns and apprentices have been omitted.
Employees GRI 2-7, 401-1, 405-1 2022
Part time 985
Female 420
Male 565
Diverse 0
Employee turnover GRI 401-1 2022
Total number of employees who have left the company 644
General turnover rate 12.55
Permanent employees who have left the company 537
Turnover rate, permanent employees 11.61
Temporary employees who have left the company 107
Turnover rate, temporary employees 21.17
Employees who have left the company voluntarily 572
Voluntary employee turnover rate 11.15
Employees who have left the company involuntarily 72
Mandated turnover rate 1.40
Employee turnover by age 1)
Under 30 148
Between 30 and 50 353
Over 50 143
Employee turnover by gender
Female 238
Male 406
Diverse 0
Employee turnover by region
Europe 432
Americas 141
Asia/Pacific/Africa 40
China 31
1) Age at the time of termination of contract.
New employee hires in 2022 GRI 401-1 2022
New employee hires 1,135
New hires by age 1)
Under 30 334
Between 30 and 50 631
Over 50 170
New hires by gender
Female 420
Male 714
Diverse 1
New hires by region
Europe 724
Americas 249
Asia/Pacific/Africa 106
China 56
1) Age at the time of signing of contract.
Payment indicators GRI 2-12, 405-2 2022
Gender pay gap 1) 4%
Ratio of total annual compensation 2) 93%
Percentage increase in the median annual total compensation of all employees 3.2%
Percentage increase in the annual total compensation of the highest paid person 3.0%
1) The gender pay gap data covers Germany, Canada, USA and China, resulting in a share of the global workforce of around 73%.
2) Describes the ratio between the total annual compensation of the highest-paid person at Eppendorf and the median level of total annual compensation of all employees.

Material and supply chain

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Total material consumption in t 1) GRI 301-1 2022 Share
Total material consumption 16,557
Renewable 3,899 24%
Non-renewable 12,658 76%
Total material consumption for non-consumables 5,883 36%
Packaging materials 742 55%
Material consumption for consumables 10,674 84%
Packaging materials 3,233 7%
1) The material consumption relates to the production sites, with the exception of Eppendorf Himac as this site was not taken over by Eppendorf until 2021. The figures have been extrapolated and are based on best possible estimate. 
Total marketing materials in t 1) GRI 301-1 2022 2021 2020
Total marketing materials 91.4 100.3 118.3
Renewable 87.8 90.1 102.4
Non-renewable 3.6 10.2 15.9
Materials by type
Paper 87.3 91.5 110.7
Promotional gifts (gummy bears, note pads, pens, etc.) 3.9 4.6 4.8
Other (primarily polymer-based) 0.2 4.2 2.9
1) The marketing materials for 2020 and 2021 were corrected retroactively.
Screening of suppliers 1) GRI 414-1 2022
Share of suppliers that have signed a code of conduct/charter for sustainable procurement 59%
Share of all suppliers with contracts containing clauses on environmental, labor and human rights requirements 18%
Target for the share of suppliers 95%
Share of suppliers that were subjected to a sustainability assessment 68%
Target for the share of suppliers 100%
Share of all employees in purchasing who have received sustainable purchasing training 97%
Share of new suppliers screened against environmental and social criteria 100%
Total number of suppliers screened for environmental and social impacts 139
1) Includes the units of the Instruments Technical Division in Hamburg, Leipzig, Maldon and Shanghai. All suppliers must agree to the Code of Conduct for Business Partners; new suppliers answer a sustainability questionnaire and are assessed on the basis of this.