Sustainability at Miele

Sustainability at Miele

Immer Besser: For the planet, our only home.

Why we care about sustainability

Our planet is going through some profound changes – changes that we are feeling the consequences of.

We all have a responsibility to do everything we can to ensure a brighter, more sustainable future – from the largest multinational company to the smallest family home.

'Immer Besser' defines Miele's commitment to always do better in everything we do. It keeps motivating us to make better, smarter appliances so the homes and businesses they serve become more sustainable, from one generation to the next.

On this page you can find out what we're doing on our journey to contribute to a better tomorrow.

Our pledges for the planet

As the race to save our only home is ever-accelerating, our commitment to evolve our ambitions is too. To continue our journey, Miele commits to the following sustainability pledges.

Make sustainability happen at every step

We continuously work towards making sustainability essential at every stage of our products and services' life cycle – as well as in all of our value chains, and in the homes of our customers.

Make appliances that won’t leave a mark

Miele is dedicated to producing the best possible products and services with the least environmental impact, with the ultimate aim to make them 100% carbon-neutral in future.

End waste by giving our appliances new life

We are working towards creating a circular value chain with net-zero waste for all materials used in our appliances to re-enter the loop at the end of their lifecycle.

You can find out more about Miele’s commitment to sustainability in our latest report.

2021 Report

Did you know?

To us, sustainability is a journey. We understand it as the accelerator to move Miele forward. In all of our projects and initiatives, we're continuously working towards sustainable innovations that will make a difference in the world.

Miele helps McDonald's with innovative laundry solutions

Miele creates smart service routes

Miele Forest

Miele Canada is committed to protecting and restoring local Canadian forests in two essential ways: new tree planting and the preservation of existing old growth forests.

Supporting local Canadian forests

New trees take years to develop their carbon-absorbing powers, while mature forests are already doing the job. Both play an important role in our fight against rising CO₂ levels and provide homes for a diversity of plants and animals. The Miele Forest projects seek to slow forest losses due to logging and development, as well as restore degraded lands with original native species trees.

Learn more

Green Projects

The race to save our planet, our home, is accelerating, and so is our commitment to evolve our ambitions. But we can’t do this alone. Here are some examples of projects we are working on with others to tackle the climate crisis.

Supporting research in energy efficiency

The house of the future combines innovation, design, and energy efficiency. In the "MIMO" (Minimal Input, Maximum Output) project, presented at the international competition for sustainable living Solar Decathlon, we co-developed an innovative heat pump system that uses heat generated from kitchen appliances to warm or cool homes. During the competition, the system was installed in a building to be tested and measured in common conditions, for the first time.

Supplying the fully sustainable home

One of the leading sustainability advocates in Australia, Joost Bakker, has created the ‘Greenhouse-Future Food System’ in collaboration with Miele. A self-sustaining, closed loop, two-bedroom home, it shelters, feeds and provides energy for its inhabitants. Every Miele appliance featured in the house has been carefully considered to ensure it meets the highest expectations for energy saving and efficiency.

Image credits: Earl Carter

Turning Copenhagen green

Miele is heavily involved in the creation of Denmark's first "Green City" as a standard equipment supplier. We are supplying around 15,000 domestic appliances for the project in a newly transformed quarter of Copenhagen.

Getting busy with bees

Miele supports various bee keeping initiatives of employees that keep the fields around some of the Miele plants buzzing and have a positive impact on the eco-system around our factories.

Using green steel

In a pilot project, Miele will be sourcing green steel from its partner Salzgitter AG. With the use of this material, the CO₂ emissions generated by the manufacturing process are reduced by more than 66% by harnessing climate-friendly energy sources and reusing steel scrap. In introducing this change, Miele is making an initial contribution to further reducing emissions from purchased goods and services.

Together, we can make a positive difference.

Small changes in our everyday lives can make a big difference for the planet. Here are just five 'Home Hacks' to help you use your Miele products more efficiently and ensure sustainability starts at home.

Reduce and reuse

Safe and smart food prep

Use detergents mindfully

Less food waste with smarter cooling

Go easy on your hands - and the planet

Preserve the planet by washing resourcefully

The Circular Economy

Our planet has a finite amount of resources. This means that we can't continue to simply use and discard products. Instead, we need to evolve to a more conscious, circular system. The aim is to make appliances last longer, repair them if necessary, and reuse and recycle parts and materials in order to avoid waste. All this will help reduce our environmental footprint.

Built better to last longer

Miele tests most of its domestic appliance series to the equivalent of 20 years‘ use. If you're interested in what products are tested, visit the Quality Ahead of Its Time website to learn more.

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CO₂ neutral in all our facilities

Miele is committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and we are carbon neutral in all of our locations (Scope 1&2). An important milestone on this path is the reduction of emissions in the use phase of our products (Scope 3.11) – which are the major contributors to our overall carbon footprint – by 15 percent from 2019 until 2030.

Your right to repair

We continuously stock over 70,000 Miele original spare parts in our central warehouse to ensure spare part availability, even years after discontinuation of production of the appliances model for up to 15 years, but at least 10 years from the end of series production.

'Immer Besser' means always better, always caring.

As a family-owned business, we believe that the future needs to be sustainable – and that our responsibility doesn’t end at the factory gate. That’s why we are driven to make everything we do more sustainable, and to help others do the same. For only together can we begin to solve the challenges facing our world.

We're serious about sustainability

More than 50% of our Research and Development budget goes into developing more sustainable appliances and services. The majority of Miele washing machines sold in 2020 achieved the highest efficiency class on the market.

Quality equals longevity

From day one, the core of our product philosophy has been to manufacture products of exceptionally high quality with a long service life, using premium-quality materials and sophisticated production methods. So, using a longer-lasting Miele appliance gives you peace of mind, knowing that you are consuming less.

Miele Cares

Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond industry goals to the social well-being, responsibility, and inclusivity of our own employees. Through Miele Cares, several ongoing organizational initiatives have been created, including:
- Support of local not-for-profit organizations, such as the Elizabeth Fry Society
- Hosting an annual Clean Up Day at our offices and warehouses across Canada
- Installation of EV stations at all Miele Experience Centres
We continue looking for ways to give back to the planet we call home.

Miele Sustainability Report

Miele's Sustainability Report is available as a download. In this report, Miele reinforces its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) published by the United Nations and subscribes to the 2°C target of international climate politics. As in the case of past reports, this issue follows the guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

2021 Report 2019 Report

Contact Us

For press enquiries, or if you have any questions relating to the content of this site, please contact Miele Canada at sustainability@miele.ca.