3. Organisational Profile

GRI 102-1 Name of the organisation

Geberit Group

GRI 102-2 Activities, brands, products and services

Geberit offers customers high-quality sanitary products for applications in private residential construction and public buildings. The products are used in both renovation projects and new buildings.

The product area Installation and Flushing Systems comprises all sanitary installation technology plus a broad range of flushing systems for toilets including cisterns and fittings. The product area Piping Systems includes building drainage and supply systems and comprises all piping technology found in buildings for drinking water, heating, gas and other media. The Bathroom Systems product area comprises virtually all relevant furnishings in a bathroom such as bathroom ceramics, furniture, showers, bathtubs, taps and controls and shower toilets.

For further information on the product range, see www.geberit.com > Products > Product range.

For net sales by product areas in 2020, see Business Report > Business and financial review > Financial Year 2020 > Net sales.

GRI 102-3 Location of headquarters

The Geberit Group has its headquarters in Rapperswil-Jona (CH).

GRI 102-4 Location of operations

Geberit has its own representatives in 50 countries. The products are sold in 119 countries throughout the world. The company has 29 specialised production companies in 14 different countries close to the most important sales markets and a central logistics centre in Pfullendorf (DE), as well as a network of 13 European distribution sites for the ceramics business.

For a list of the countries in which Geberit operates, see Financials > Consolidated financial statements Geberit Group > Notes > Note 32.

GRI 102-5 Ownership and legal form

Geberit AG, the parent company of the Geberit Group, is a stock corporation (AG) under Swiss law.

GRI 102-6 Markets served

In terms of market cultivation, Geberit relies on a three-stage distribution channel. The vast majority of products are distributed via the wholesale trade. Dealerships then sell them to plumbers and present them at exhibitions and other events where end customers can gain information. At the same time, Geberit provides plumbers and sanitary engineers with intensive support through training and advice. This leads to increased demand for Geberit products from wholesalers.

For net sales by markets/regions as well as by product areas, see Business Report > Business and financial review > Financial Year 2020 > Net sales.

GRI 102-7 Scale of the reporting organisation

The Geberit Group’s market capitalisation reached CHF 20.5 billion at the end of 2020 (previous year CHF 20.1 billion). For the consolidated balance sheet with details of current assets, non-current assets, equity and liabilities, see Financials > Consolidated financial statements Geberit Group > Balance Sheet. In 2020, net sales amounted to CHF 2,986 million (previous year CHF 3,083 million).

At the end of 2020, the Group had 11,569 employees. For the number of business sites, see GRI 102-4.

GRI 102-8 Composition of the workforce

At the end of 2020, the Geberit Group employed 11,569 staff worldwide (previous year 11,619 employees), equivalent to a small decline of 50 employees or 0.4% compared to the previous year. Above all, this reduction was due to the lower number of temporary staff and natural fluctuations seen in production and logistics. In contrast, there was an increase in employees in IT, marketing and development. The additional employees were mainly employed in digitalisation projects.

For key figures on the workforce by employment type, employment contract, region and gender, see Key figures sustainability > Employees and society.

GRI 102-10 Structural changes

There were no major changes in the reporting year to the Group structure, see also Financials > Consolidated financial statements Geberit Group > Notes > Note 2.

GRI 102-11 Consideration of the precautionary approach

The precautionary approach plays an important role for Geberit as a production company. This approach is described in the Geberit Code of Conduct.

The Geberit Group has a Group certificate in accordance with ISO 9001 (quality), ISO 14001 (environment) and ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety) that is valid until 2021. All 29 production plants, central logistics, and the management company incorporating all Group functions at headquarters in Rapperswil-Jona (CH) are certified in accordance with these three standards. In addition, five German plants are certified in accordance with ISO 50001 (energy) and ten sales companies in accordance with ISO 9001 (quality). In 2020, an audit tool was developed (implementation in 2021), which enables the digital management of internal and external audits and provides an overview of the measures and their implementation status as part of the process improvement. The Group-wide availability of the platform makes it easier to share best practices.

In the environmental area, the company remains committed to its ambitious goals of improving the relative environmental impact and relative CO2 emissions by 5% annually. Furthermore, back in 2016, Geberit adopted the guidelines set out by the Science Based Targets Initiative in order to define a long-term reduction pathway and to reduce absolute CO2 emissions (Scopes 1 and 2) to below 240,000 tonnes by 2021 as an interim goal. Geberit already reached this goal ahead of schedule by the end of 2018. The current CO2 strategy expires in 2021 and is currently being revised. In the area of occupational safety, the aim is to halve the frequency and severity of accidents by 2025 based on the reference year 2015.

The Geberit Production System (GPS) is implemented at all plants. Best-practice standards in production are uniformly implemented using methods such as SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Dies), TPM (Total Production Maintenance), 5S (Workplace Organisation Methodology) and CIP (Continuous Improvement Process).

An extensive system for the control and management of all risks involved in business activities is in place throughout the Group. For further information, see Business Report > Corporate Governance > Board of Directors > Information and control instruments vis-à-vis the Group Executive Board.

GRI 102-12 External initiatives

In 2017, Geberit contributed to the establishment of a new platform for the European sanitary industry – the European Bathroom Forum (EBF). One of the first tasks was the launch of a new European water label as a voluntary and flexible instrument to support customers in the selection of resource-efficient products. This aims to help achieve the EU targets for resource efficiency. Furthermore, Geberit joined the Operation Clean Sweep initiative in 2020 with the aim of preventing pollution of the environment with plastic pellets from production.

GRI 102-13 Membership of associations

Geberit is involved in various associations and organisations that make a contribution toward sustainability. In addition, various Geberit companies are members of national associations on topics such as green building, environmentally friendly production, energy, waste management and employee protection.

The company has been a member of the Transparency International organisation since June 2000 and supports its objectives for combating corruption. Since 2000, Geberit has also been an active member of TEPPFA, the European organisation for plastic pipes and fittings, where the topics of sustainability and circular economy are central. Since 2006, Geberit has voluntarily applied the comprehensive guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) for sustainability reporting and has thereby made an active contribution towards ensuring transparency and comparability in this reporting. Geberit has also been a formal member of the UN Global Compact since October 2008 and was a founding member of the local Swiss network in 2011. Geberit has been a member of the non-profit organisation Swiss Water Partnership since 2012. This platform seeks to bring together all those involved in the topic of water supply (from academic, economic as well as public and private spheres) to collectively address future challenges and promote international dialogue on water.

For major commitments, see www.geberit.com > Company > Sustainability > UN Global Compact and Memberships.

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