Basis of sustainability reporting

General basis for the preparation of the sustainability report (BP-1)

The Group sustainability statement (‘Group sustainability report’) for 2025 was prepared in accordance with the requirements of Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, CSRD) and in conjunction with sections 315b and 315c of the German Commercial Code (HGB) regarding consolidated non-financial statements. In accordance with section 315c (3) HGB, the non-financial Group statement was prepared using the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) as a framework. The taxonomy reporting for 2025 takes account of the versions of Delegated Regulations (EU) 2021/2178, (EU) 2021/2139, and (EU) 2023/2486 that applied as at December 31, 2025. In accordance with the revised delegated act amending the Taxonomy Regulation ((EU) 2026/73) of January 8, 2026, the option of simplified reporting was not exercised for 2025.

KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Berlin, was commissioned to perform a voluntary limited assurance engagement on the Group sustainability statement.

As in 2024, and in preparation for the transposition of the CSRD into national law, the KION Group followed ESRS on a voluntary basis when preparing this sustainability statement. Based on the KION Group’s material topics, and in addition to the sector-agnostic standard ESRS 2 – General disclosures, the reportable aspects outlined in HGB have been covered as follows in the topic-specific ESRSs.

The transition of the individual HGB aspects to ESRS is presented in the following table:

Definition of the basis of consolidation and information on the upstream and downstream value chain

In addition to KION GROUP AG, all material subsidiaries were included in the sustainability reporting that are controlled by KION GROUP AG and therefore contribute to the Group’s business activities (see the basis of consolidation in the notes to the consolidated financial statements, note [4]; ESRS 1.123).

In addition to the entities consolidated for financial reporting purposes, the unconsolidated subsidiaries and equity investments were also evaluated with regard to their materiality for sustainability reporting. This assessment confirmed that the former are not material, based on the non-financial material thresholds defined for non-financial reporting of the Group. This review includes the required disclosures on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG emissions) of the value chain according to ESRS E1.44. The basis of consolidation for sustainability reporting is therefore in line with that for financial reporting.

For these disclosure requirements, no joint ventures, joint operations, or equity-accounted material equity investments were identified as part of the Group’s value chain (ESRS 1.67) over which it had operational control (ESRS E1.50 (b)).

As part of the KION Group’s double materiality analysis, the Group’s entire value chain – i.e. its own operations plus the upstream and downstream value chain – was included in the evaluation of the impacts, risks, and opportunities (IROs). Policies, actions, metrics, and the value chain or its individual elements are highlighted accordingly in this sustainability report.

No information has been omitted on grounds of confidentiality or in order to protect intellectual property. Unless stated otherwise, the qualitative and quantitative disclosures in this sustainability report relate to the period of the KION Group’s financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2025.

Disclosures in relation to specific circumstances (BP-2)

The KION Group has voluntarily applied ESRS, specified as the authoritative reporting standards by the CSRD, to prepare this sustainability report. In accordance with ESRS 1.110 and section 289b (1) and (3) and section 315b (1) and (3) HGB, this Group sustainability report has been integrated into the KION Group’s combined management report and follows the applicable requirements of the CSR Directive Implementation Act (CSR-RUG).

Voluntary ESRS implementation brings with it the following changes to sustainability reporting defined by section 315 in conjunction with sections 289c to 289e HGB:

• A double materiality analysis carried out in accordance with ESRS for the purpose of identifying material IROs in the KION Group’s own operations and in its upstream and downstream value chain

• New or expanded disclosure requirements, metrics, and other key performance indicators in line with ESRS requirements, including descriptions of the material IROs and policies, actions, metrics, and targets

The prior-year figures disclosed in this Group sustainability report underwent a voluntary review with limited assurance in 2024.

Disclosures stemming from other legislation or generally accepted sustainability reporting pronouncements

The KION Group reports on requirements beyond ESRS by providing additional disclosures in its Group sustainability report that have been included based on other legislation or generally accepted sustainability reporting pronouncements. These disclosures, which are voluntary for the purposes of ESRS, are labeled as such in accordance with ESRS 1.114 (a).

Voluntary additional disclosures, including sources

References to websites do not form part of this Group sustainability report or the combined management report and are therefore not labeled as voluntary disclosures of sources. All other additional voluntary information and disclosures of sources have been clearly marked in the relevant text passages by the use of double chevrons (» … «).

Incorporation by reference

The KION Group uses the option to incorporate information by providing references to the group management report in conjunction with ESRS 1.119. These are listed in the > table ‘References to the general part of the combined management report’ below.

General information in the context of material non-financial metrics

Some amounts and metrics in the sustainability report are subject to a degree of estimation and measurement uncertainty. The reasons for this and the methodological basis are explained in the respective chapters. The following metrics are subject to a high degree of estimation and measurement uncertainty:

• GHG emissions in categories ‘3.1 Purchased goods and services’ and ‘3.11 Use of sold products’ (‘Metrics for greenhouse gas emissions’)

• Resource inflows (‘Resource inflows and outflows’)

In line with the voluntary application of ESRS, the KION Group generally applied the exemption provisions in 2025 too. Prior-year adjustments for possible material errors or changes to estimates for the metrics and other key performance indicators were applied in accordance with the KION Group’s materiality policy for determining changes to estimates. Potential corrections where there have been adjustments are labeled accordingly.

The metrics form part of the Group sustainability report, which in its entirety is subject to a separate limited assurance engagement by the independent auditor. No additional validation of the metrics was carried out by an external third party.