About this report

This Sustainability Report (‘SR’) shows the progress the KION Group has made in terms of its sustainable business development during the reporting period. Through this report, the KION Group also fulfils its obligation to submit a separate Group non-financial report as required by §§ 315b, 315c in conjunction with 289c to 289e HGB (German Commercial Code). The sections that form part of the Group non-financial report (NfR) are identified in the Sustainability Report by the symbol  and, if applicable, by stating the material topic. The SR also contains further information on the KION Group’s sustainability activities that goes beyond statutory reporting requirements.

The design of this report is based on the GRI Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Core option.

The KION Group Supervisory Board commissioned an auditing firm with an external limited-assurance audit of the contents of the Group non-financial declaration pursuant to § 315b HGB for the fiscal year 2018. The Supervisory Board has included the auditor’s assessment in its independent review of the Group non-financial declaration and respective final assessment.

Complementing this, a limited-assurance audit of this report was carried out in accordance with the GRI Standards’ ‘Core’ option. The audit mandate and audit result are available in the Assurance Statement.

Materiality analysis

To identify the material sustainability topics for reporting, the KION Group reflected on the results of the materiality analysis carried out in 2015 by Linde Material Handling GmbH and transferred these to the Group in 2016 (see Key challenges for the KION Group).

In 2018, the KION Group carried out a review of the materiality analysis at the level of the KION Group and its operating units. The results of this analysis will be reflected in the Sustainability Report 2019.

In 2017, the KION Group Sustainability Committee checked the materiality analysis and carried out a complementary review of the risks and negative implications for the environment and society in order to identify the key issues for the Group in accordance with the German CSR Directive Implementation Act (CSR-RUG). The findings can be summarised into the following six key material topics: location-specific greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (aspect ‘Environmental matters’, see Climate protection); product-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (aspect ‘Environmental matters’, see Energy- and resource-efficient products); extraordinary environment-related events (aspect ’Environmental matters‘, see Environmental protection); employee health and safety (aspect ’Employee matters‘, see Health and safety); prevention of corruption and bribery (aspect ’Anti-corruption and bribery matters‘, see Preventing corruption and bribery); and product safety (further aspects, see Product responsibility). No material topics for the KION Group regarding the CSR-RUG aspects of ‘Social matters’ and ‘Respect for human rights’ were identified in this process, as no related statements were assessed by the Sustainability Committee as necessary for an understanding of the performance or results of the business, the situation of the incorporated company, or impacts of KION’s business activities on social matters or respect for human rights. The KION Group will review this assessment again in 2019, especially with regard to the aspect of ‘Respect for human rights’.

Non-financial risks to the KION Group’s business activities are addressed by the KION Group’s risk management, which is explained in detail in the Risk Report of the KION Group Annual Report. Furthermore, no material risks were identified with a very high probability of serious negative impacts regarding the aspects set out in the CSR-RUG that are related to the KION Group’s own business activities, business relationships, products and services.

References to specific financial items in the Financial Statement are not required to understand the Group non-financial report.

The contents of the report relate to the KION Group and its consolidated subsidiaries. A list of the consolidated entities is provided in Table 131 of the KION GROUP AG Annual Report 2018.

The key performance indicators (KPIs) in this report were essentially produced based on data from 117 reporting units. In doing so, data for 33 production and administration locations (referred to as ‘plants’) was gathered individually, while 84 disclosure points for sales and service companies in some cases comprise aggregated data from several locations. Varying degrees of data-gathering aggregation are indicated wherever relevant, where in exceptional cases the data does not cover all KION Group employees or subsidiaries. The report therefore covers all consolidated KION Group companies based in 33 countries and at approx. 400 locations.

The Sustainability Report 2018 relates to the fiscal year 2018 covering the period 1 January to 31 December 2018.

The data collection which provides the main basis for the KPIs presented in this report is supported across the company by WeSustain software. Data on around 800 sustainability indicators is currently gathered Group-wide.

The figures in this Sustainability Report have been rounded up or down in accordance with standard commercial practice. This may result in differences between the sum of the individual amounts given in the tables and the overall totals stated, as well as between the figures stated in the tables and their analysis in the main text of the Sustainability Report. All percentage changes and KPIs were calculated based on the underlying data. Possible deviations from data provided in previous reports may be the result of subsequent improvements in the underlying data or a modification in the calculation method applied. Significant changes from previously reported data, i.e. >15 per cent of the overall totals, are indicated as such where they occur.

As of the fiscal year 2018, the KION Group has retrospectively applied the new standards IFRS 9, IFRS 15 and IFRS 16. Consequently, certain previous year’s figures and Group key financials were also adjusted.

This Sustainability Report contains forward-looking statements that relate to the current plans, objectives, forecasts and estimates of the management of the KION Group. The management of the KION Group cannot guarantee that these forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. The future development of the KION Group and its subsidiaries, and the results that are actually achieved, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements.

In the interests of legibility, the KION Group avoids the use of multiple-gender pronouns.
No significance is implied, and any mentioning of personal pronouns is to be understood as gender-neutral.

The Sustainability Report 2018 is available in English and German in both online and PDF editions. For further and more detailed information, see the corporate website, www.kiongroup.com, and the Annual Report.

The company will publish its next sustainability report for the fiscal year 2019 in spring 2020.