Area of action: Environment & energy

Sustainable energy use

A globally sustainable, decentralized energy supply based on renewable energies is at the center of our business activities. Renewable energies also play an important role in our own energy supply.

Since 2020, we have been supplying our headquarters in Germany entirely with decentralized renewable power from the immediate surroundings. Our in-house PV systems also contribute to this.

By 2025, we have set ourselves the target of sourcing 100% of our electricity globally from renewable sources. We have already come very close to achieving this target, with a global ratio of 97.5% in 2022.

Climate protection

The SMA Managing Board is convinced that the target agreed at the 2016 UN Climate Summit to limit global warming to 1.5°C must be achieved in order to preserve the planet for future generations. For this reason, the Managing Board has geared the SMA group toward contributing to the achievement of this target both with its systems and solutions and in its operating activities.

Our technologies facilitate a climate-friendly energy supply all around the world. In 2022, SMA PV inverters with a total capacity of around 118 GW worldwide contributed to avoiding the emission of almost 63 million tons of CO₂.

We are also driving forward decarbonization within the company. By 2025, we want to supply the headquarters and all other major locations worldwide with 100% climate-neutral electricity and heat. Our climate neutrality rate is currently already over 95%.

Responsible use of materials

For us, the responsible use of materials means continuously increasing the material efficiency of our products, using more environmentally friendly materials and complying with regulatory requirements at all times. Improving our products’ sustainability performance is something that we consider in the product development process already.

By increasing the proportion of secondary raw materials and using fewer materials in SMA products, we conserve resources and thus protect the environment. In the past three years alone, we have reduced the specific weight of SMA inverters by more than 35%.

Waste & recycling

In dealing with waste, we use the measures of the waste hierarchy as a guideline. Waste prevention is thus our top priority. In the operational areas of the headquarters in Niestetal/Kassel, Germany, we have set ourselves the target of reducing the specific volume of waste per € million of SMA group sales by 25% by 2025 compared to the 2018 base year. The target also includes hazardous waste.

Where waste avoidance is not possible, we examine measures for reuse. The next step involves recycling measures. Based on our globally recorded waste figures, our recycling rate for 2022 is 91% in relation to the total waste volume.