Global truck manufacturer, Linde Material Handling, has published its first sustainability report describing the impact of the company’s corporate activities on society and the environment.

Both Linde’s sustainability management system, introduced as a pilot project throughout the KION Group in 2015, and the company’s associated sustainability strategy, provided the substantive basis for the report.

The aims of Linde’s sustainability strategy are to ensure the company delivers future-proof, safe and efficient products throughout the company. As part of this strategy, Linde has been working to reduce the energy consumption and exhaust emissions of its industrial trucks, using electric service vehicles wherever possible.

To become more sustainable, Linde has prioritised its activities based on a list of twelve global challenges which include human rights, health and demographic change and urbanisation. It has identified and assessed the most relevant activities based on their influence as a business and their importance to stakeholders.

These global challenges have resulted in the following core points for the sustainability program, and are also the focus of the sustainability report:

· Sustainability strategy and management
· Corporate governance
· Environmental protection
· Products and solutions
·　Good employer
·  Community engagement

Head of Sustainability Management for Linde Material Handling and the KION Group, Dr. Holger Hoppe, said: “Linde Material Handling is already practicing much of what is considered to be sustainable - occupational safety, efficient products, health care and environmental protection. With our product life cycle assessment and management systems for health, safety and environment (HSE), we already have valuable tools in place to steer our activities to be more sustainable.”

Compiled in accordance with the G4 Guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the report includes data from 12,144 employees across 175 production and sales locations in 13 countries.

CEO and Chief Financial Officer of Linde Material Handling, Andreas Krinninger, sees the publication of the report and the sustainability strategy as an important contribution to the future viability of the entire group.

Andreas said: “The comprehensive reporting of sustainability data, which will be established in twelve subsidiaries initially and later on in all Linde units, will provide the basis for defining and implementing future priorities, objectives and measures on the way to becoming one of the most sustainable manufacturers of industrial trucks.

“Along with a corresponding organisational structure, clearly assigned responsibilities and the appropriate reporting infrastructure, we have laid the necessary foundations for sustainability, which are now being established throughout the KION Group.