Our impact on the Sustainable Development Goals
Danfoss has worked with the SDGs since their adoption in 2015. With our focus on electrification and energy efficiency, we have chosen to focus on four of the Global Goals. These goals cover areas where we consider our products and solutions to have the highest impact.
SDG 6 l SDG 7 l SDG 11 l SDG 12
Our impact however is not limited to these four goals. Our policies on climate neutrality by 2030, our “Safety First” approach in the workplace, our devotion to human rights and our effort to foster diverse teams. Therefore, we have expanded the list of goals that we consider in our actions.
SDG 3 l SDG 5 & SDG 10 l SDG 8 l SDG 13 l SDG 16
Fresh, clean water is a basic element of life - it is vital for agriculture and important for industries. At Danfoss, we provide solutions with optimized energy consumption for water and wastewater handling, and desalination, which is important in water-scarce areas. Our technology helps to reduce water loss in city pipes networks and secure more efficient water use within food production.
Optimizing energy use and minimizing water loss
At Danfoss, we engineer technologies for an energy-neutral water sector, by optimizing energy use and minimizing water loss in water-treatment applications and irrigation networks. With use of sensors and variable speed drives coupled with advanced process control we can reduce both water leakage and energy consumption by at least 25%.
To reach carbon neutrality; energy-efficient technology and renewables must be implemented together and on a large scale. We must not only turn our energy supply green but decouple economic growth from energy demand. An enabler for the energy transition is electrification. Danfoss engineers solutions for an electrified mobility sector on land and sea.
Navigate without carbon emissions
At Danfoss, we engineer electric solutions for maritime transport to reduce CO2 and improve energy-efficiency. Ellen is a first of its kind electric ferry powered by Danfoss’ motors, and she navigates without carbon emissions.
This holds a great potential. That’s why we joined the Global Maritime Forum’s multi-stakeholder initiative “Getting to Zero Coalition”, aiming at zero-emission vessels by 2030.
To ensure our future, cities must scale up urban efficiency and transform their energy systems. At Danfoss, we provide energy-efficient solutions for sustainable buildings, heating and cooling, district energy systems and electric transport to develop carbon-neutral cities as the world’s first responders to the climate emergency.
District energy
At Danfoss, we engineer energy-efficient solutions for district energy systems, solutions for sustainable buildings and electric transport. Our Leanheat solution uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and The Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to adjust indoor climate and reduce both energy consumption and cost.
We work with the Three Percent Club together with other partners to support countries and cities to develop energy-efficient buildings and district heating and cooling systems for future-proof and sustainable cities.
With a growing population, consumers are demanding more, safer and healthier food. This means that the need for efficient and effective food supply and cold chain management has never been more important. We offer technologies that enable the reduction of post-harvest food losses and ensure perfect conditions from farm to fork.
Cold chain technologies
At Danfoss, we provide technologies for every step of the food supply chain. In the state of Tamil Nadu, in India, farmers reduced post-harvest food losses by 20% by implementing cold chain technologies, while farmers’ income increased by 200%.
We have joined the UN’s Cool Coalition to share the knowledge and, together with others, to help governments develop cooling action plans and increase their farmers' income and productivity.
We strive to create a safe working environment and continuously improve the health and well-being of our colleagues across our global organization. Every year we set ambitious safety targets, and it is our vision to be a workplace without work-related accidents. Our "Safety First" program has substantially reduced our Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF).
In 2022, we focused our efforts on further reduction of LTIF and other safety indicators. A new “Safety First” campaign introduced tools for employees and leaders for further engagement in safety activities. In a combined effort between leaders and employees, Danfoss is a safer and a healthier place to work.
At Danfoss, we aspire to foster an inspiring and inclusive workplace that unleashes the full potential of our people and empowers them to thrive in a purpose-driven career. We are committed to delivering an engaging employee experience that values and respects all aspects of diversity and creates an environment of belonging.
This approach addresses multiple dimensions of diversity, equity, and inclusion across the entire employee experience, including recruitment, retention, development, and representation across all levels, functions, and teams.
It takes real action and commitments to achieve equality, and that is why we committed to have 30% women in leadership positions by 2025. To make better progress on gender representation, we have prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion within our ESG ambitions and reframed our focus and approach.
In 2022 there was an extra focus on health, safety, and wellbeing due to COVID-19. In Europe, Danfoss took a precautionary step by distributing 15,000 antigen texts across our organization. This enabled us to act fast to secure our employees’ health during the pandemic as well as keep business continuity.
As a part of our climate strategy, we have committed to becoming carbon-neutral in 2030 through decarbonization of electricity consumption in our factories and continuous energy savings in line with our “energy efficiency first” principle. This will bring a significant reduction in our global carbon footprint.
We have committed to set Science Based Targets as a part of the UN Global Compact campaign “Business Ambition for 1.5°C”. In 2022, our emission reduction targets were validated and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. This also includes targets for reduction of our carbon emissions in our entire value chain.
Our results must always be created with a strong moral compass and respecting human rights. Our Ethics Handbook address our commitment to human rights, labor rights, anti-corruption and fair competition. As a global organization, we commit to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP), guidelines that require companies to prevent and address human rights abuses committed in business operations.
We anchor integrity and compliance in our organization through internal compliance programs and control mechanisms. We also engage with our suppliers on strong standards in business practices, environmental requirements, and labor welfare.