Our roots empower us to grow. In the almost 100 years since it was founded, STIHL has gone from a family business in Württemberg to a global market leader. Our actions are centered around people and the environment, and their power to grow. This has been our purpose since the very beginning – and so it will remain.
The STIHL Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of chainsaws and outdoor power equipment. We have been the world’s top-selling chainsaw brand since 1971. Andreas Stihl founded his company in Cannstatt, Baden-Württemberg, in 1926 – today our production and sales locations span the entire globe.
Our manufacturing is organized in a production network with legally independent plants in eight countries. The respective companies are independently responsible for manufacturing cast magnesium components, saw chains, carburetors, and other components, as well as finished goods.
STIHL develops, manufactures, and distributes power tools for forestry and agriculture, landscape maintenance, the construction industry, and all gardening enthusiasts. Chainsaws are the products we are best known for. Our core technological expertise also includes brushcutters, hedge trimmers, blowers, mistblowers, cleaning systems, cut-off machines, earth augers, lawn mowers, and robotic mowers.
We have been a market pioneer in the development of battery-powered tools since 2009. While we continue to operate our combustion-engine device business and constantly advance its environmental performance, battery technology represents our primary engine for business growth. We intend to raise the share of sales attributable to battery-operated tools to at least 35 percent by 2027, with a target of 80 percent by 2035. In 2024, this figure was 25 percent – a slight increase on 2023 (23.6 percent). In Germany, we have been selling more battery-powered tools than gasoline-powered ones since 2020. Our battery strategy is also crucial for key decisions concerning production sites. Since the reporting year, we have also manufacturing professional battery-powered tools at our founding company in Waiblingen. In addition, our new plant for battery-operated and electric tools in Romania is scheduled to start production in 2025.
The STIHL portfolio includes fuels and lubricants, accessories, and personal protective equipment, as well as digital solutions and services for our customers. Our magnesium diecasting plant in Weinsheim, the Asian carburetor manufacturer ZAMA, the U.S.-based company COSMOS STIHL Manufacturing, and Mogatec in the German state of Saxony also serve customers outside the STIHL network, in industries such as the automotive sector.
Sustainability has been at the heart of our family-owned business since day one. STIHL focuses on more than just short-term profit. Instead, we do business with a view to the long term, and with present and future generations in mind – in the interest of the Group, its customers and employees, the environment, and society. Our core values have always included a strong sense of responsibility toward the environment and all people who come into contact with STIHL – whether as employees, customers, business partners, or interested citizens. All of those things together ensure our long-term success.
STIHL’s equity ratio is around 69 percent. We can generally finance investments without the need for borrowing, allowing us to preserve our independence. Based on the ongoing vertical expansion of our value chain, we aim to strengthen our competitive position and ensure our resilience during crises.
We aim to systematically build on our Group’s core capabilities. To achieve this, our strategy incorporates sustainability-focused collaborations with innovative start-ups. Our corporate venture unit STIHL Ventures GmbH invests in and collaborates with young companies that help us to develop or expand sustainable products and services. In addition to start-ups, STIHL Ventures maintains close dialog with other investors and partners such as the Swiss venture capital investor Emerald Ventures. Through regular exchanges with Emerald’s team of experts, we learn about the latest trends, developments, and opportunities in sustainable industrial transformation that we can either tap into for ourselves or financially support. Another cooperation took place in 2024 with refurbed.at, an Austrian online marketplace for refurbished products. An interview discussing the cooperation can be found here.
The first half of 2024 proved to be particularly challenging. Both sales and revenue were significantly lower than expected. However, despite a difficult start, we ended the second half of the year ahead of target and with a slight increase in revenue. More than 19,700 employees helped us achieve revenue of 5.33 billion euros (previous year: 5.3 billion euros) – an increase of 1.12 percent.
One of the principles of good corporate governance at STIHL is to assume responsibility and act sustainably. All STIHL companies are united under the umbrella of STIHL Holding AG & Co. KG. Since 2002, the Group’s business operations have been overseen by an independent Executive Board. In September 2024, Sarah Gewert, Executive Board member for Marketing and Sales, left the company. The Chairman of the Executive Board, Michael Traub, will take over her duties on a permanent basis. The Executive Board now consists of five members. The responsibilities of the individual members are defined in the rules of procedure and bylaws of the Executive Board. The Executive Board is appointed by the Supervisory Board of STIHL AG.
Avoiding environmental pollution Avoiding environmental pollution family and five external representatives appointed by the shareholders. The Supervisory Board of STIHL AG has twelve members and its tasks are defined by law. Pursuant to German codetermination statutes, the Supervisory Board consists of six shareholder representatives and six employee representatives. The Annual General Meeting of STIHL AG elects the six shareholder representatives as proposed by the shareholders. The workforce at the German locations elects four of the employee representatives every five years, with two further representatives being appointed by the trade union IG Metall. Both the Supervisory Board and the Advisory Board have formed a personnel committee.
When selecting representatives for the boards, the shareholders mainly look at whether candidates have outstanding qualifications. The external representatives advise the Group with expertise, experience, and know-how gained outside the STIHL Group. There are no cross-shareholdings with suppliers. Likewise, all transactions between members of the Advisory Board and Supervisory Board, as well as related persons or companies, are conducted at arm’s length.
The members of the Advisory Board and the Supervisory Board receive fixed monetary compensation and attendance fees. Executive Board compensation consists of a fixed component and a variable component that is based on the Group’s success. Sustainability aspects are not taken into separate consideration. STIHL consults market comparisons by external remuneration experts to determine Advisory Board, Supervisory Board, and Executive Board compensation.
The Chairman of the Advisory Board and the Supervisory Board is Dr. Nikolas Stihl, who took over the position from his father, Hans Peter Stihl, in 2012. Hans Peter Stihl is the Honorary Chairman of both boards and the general partner of STIHL Holding AG & Co. KG.
At forward-looking businesses like STIHL, proactive risk management plays an important role in all decisions and business processes. It is just one of many management systems that the STIHL Group employs to measure, monitor, and manage risks. Each segment of the business tailors its risk management approach to its regional or global responsibilities. Those responsible regularly discuss, evaluate, and report identified risks for the Group. They also annually review and adjust the risk areas to identify, assess, and address potential new risks at an early stage. Such risks include ones associated with IT security or resulting from climate change. To this end, the STIHL Group relies on globally standardized assessment principles and processes that are laid out in corresponding guidelines and directives.
In organizational terms, the Internal Audit department coordinates the STIHL Group’s risk management system. It reports directly to the Chairman of the Executive Board. Risk management is the responsibility of the Executive Board and related findings are regularly communicated to a defined group of shareholders. Together, they define further risks, which are then tracked by the individual departments and members of staff that are responsible for them. Appropriate measures for monitoring and mitigation are in place for every risk identified in the risk assessment.
Compliance refers to an organization’s or person’s adherence to statutory and internal rules and regulations. It applies to all STIHL employees within the Group as well as business partners. The fundamental values that guide our actions are integrity, legal compliance, and fairness. We are committed to complying with the laws of the countries in which we operate.
STIHL takes a firm stance against corruption and bribery. Our values are set out in our Code of Conduct. The code of conduct provides guidelines for our employees both within the Group and in dealings with business partners. The Code of Conduct for Suppliers defines requirements for suppliers and STIHL’s expectations of them.
In addition, STIHL’s internal directives are designed to avoid compliance violations by stating how employees should behave in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations. A key objective is to prevent corruption and conflicts of interest and to avoid breaches of antitrust law. We continuously monitor legislative processes to stay informed about relevant new requirements. We also discuss these matters with external experts, including experts from industry associations. STIHL employees receive regular compliance training relevant to their roles. Organizationally, we minimize the risk of corruption through the separation of functions, approval procedures, and the dual control principle.
All operational compliance issues are coordinated by the Group Compliance Officer, who is the first point of contact for compliance issues and reports to the Executive Board member for Human Resources and Legal Affairs. The Group Compliance Officer and the Group Compliance department work closely with the Internal Audit, Risk Management, and Legal departments as well as the local compliance contacts at all STIHL companies.
We keep developing our compliance management system in terms of prevention, early detection, and response. STIHL implemented additional standardization of its internal policies in 2024, alongside other initiatives. A functional Group Compliance Standard now sets out and formalizes the structure for global collaboration between the founding company and its affiliated entities. A Group standard to combat corruption is also in the works and is intended to replace the existing guidelines and local standards. We have also further developed the tool-based business partner check with regard to combating corruption.
One key underlying requirement for compliance management is effective risk management. In accordance with the requirements of the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (LkSG), STIHL continuously analyzed human rights and environmental risks during the reporting period. The risk analysis covered the STIHL Group’s own business area (defined in the LkSG) as well as the business of direct suppliers. In 2024, the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA) also reviewed the implementation of the LkSG at STIHL as part of various requests for information. Due to the update of the DICO (German Institute for Compliance) risk catalog in 2024, we are also reviewing the relevance analysis we carried out previously.
The code of conduct for employees developed in 2022, which is based on the principles of the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialist agency of the United Nations, was supplemented in 2024 by a Dutch language version. As a result, the code is now available to all employees in seven language versions.
Alongside anti-corruption policies and antitrust law, the code of conduct is a focal point of our compliance training. In the reporting year, we launched a mandatory, target group-specific e-learning course on the code of conduct. With a few exceptions, it has been rolled out across the entire Group. In addition to the aforementioned focal points, the code of conduct also addresses human rights. In a bid to maximize learning success, the e-learning course involves practical case studies, decision-making aids, and a quiz at the end. A video message from the Executive Board member for Human Resources and Legal Affairs reinforces compliance as a top priority at STIHL.
As a further precautionary measure, STIHL has set up a whistleblower system, giving employees, business partners, and third parties alike the opportunity to report suspected compliance violations, anonymously if preferred. All information received is reviewed confidentially by STIHL in a defined process so that suitable measures can be taken to remedy the situation if necessary. STIHL does not tolerate any discrimination or penalization of any person who submits a report in good faith.
The STIHL Group has been cooperating with the Bundeskartellamt, the German market competition authority, in an information procedure that has been ongoing since 2020. The matter relates to a clause in some contracts between the STIHL sales company responsible for the German market and STIHL dealers, which was voluntarily waived by STIHL while proceedings were still ongoing. The authorities believe that the clause in question violated antitrust law. At the end of August 2024, the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court overturned the corresponding decision by the Bundeskartellamt. The Bundeskartellamt has lodged an appeal against this decision with the Bundesgerichtshof, the Federal Court of Justice. A decision is not expected until mid-2025 at the earliest.
STIHL Group companies and their employees are involved in a variety of associations and initiatives (selection):
Sustainability has been at the core of our actions since STIHL was founded. With its focus on the environment, people, and companies, sustainability provides us with reliable guidance even in uncertain times. To maintain our focus on all these aspects, STIHL promotes sustainability both at the strategic level and in day-to-day business operations.
The violence in the Middle East and Ukraine continued to dominate the headlines in 2024, as did the intensified reporting on the U.S. election and the political upheavals in Germany following the collapse of the “traffic light” coalition. However, these issues cannot mask the challenges posed by climate change: The extreme weather events of 2024 have underscored both the imminent threat we face and the critical need to strengthen climate protection measures. We all have a role to play, from political decision-makers to citizens and companies. Peace is just as important to sustainable development as the awareness that our economy cannot continue to consume resources and emit greenhouse gases on such a massive scale. The same goes for human rights violations all over the world, which have no place in an economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable world.
That is why STIHL is dedicated to actively promoting greater sustainability within its sphere of influence. Because we want to be part of the solution, we made a decision in 2021 to only do business in a way that allows us to further reduce negative ecological impacts while meeting our due diligence obligations in the supply chain on a broader scale.
To ensure a structured and strategic approach, we appointed a Sustainability Officer at the start of the process. To guide our sustainability efforts, STIHL has created a specialized steering group and developed a basis consisting of a materiality analysis and Group-wide sustainability targets. This has given the corporate strategy a clear direction and the entire Group clarity on the issues we want to work on. The Group Sustainability Standard defines the global collaboration between the founding company and its affiliated entities. Through this process, the STIHL sustainability policy that has been in place since 2016 has been transformed into a sustainability strategy that is relevant for our business.
The strategy is intended to prioritize and push sustainability activities at STIHL. The bottom line is that we want to make a measurable contribution to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Three aspects are critical in this regard. STIHL aims to contribute where our expertise and influence can make a difference. There are also topics with which we position ourselves in the public eye. We are also meeting new legal requirements, such as the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (LkSG) and the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which is expected to become binding for us in fiscal year 2025. The sustainability strategy is a key component of our corporate strategy as it aligns STIHL with a more sustainable future. We developed the strategy with internal and external stakeholders. It was then discussed by the Executive Board in October 2021 and subsequently passed by the Advisory Board in December of the same year.
We have identified eleven key topics for STIHL, which we have clustered (with overlaps) into three strategic focal areas: ecosystems, circularity, and care. These elements form the basis of our sustainability management.
Our focal areas each correspond to two SDGs: Ecosystems corresponds to SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 15 (life on land), circularity corresponds to SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production) and SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), and care corresponds to SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) and SDG 3 (good health and well-being).
In 2024, we carried out a double materiality analysis in preparation for the CSRD. The findings from the analysis are in line with the topic priorities we set out in 2021, which were derived from our first double materiality analysis.
The Sustainability Officer operates within the remit of the Executive Board member for Human Resources and Legal Affairs, and advises the entire Executive Board and Advisory Board on all strategically relevant sustainability subjects on both a regular and ad hoc basis. The Executive Board approves and releases reports on sustainability, which are also submitted to the Advisory Board.
The Sustainability Officer and the sustainability steering group work together to implement the strategic focal areas in our operations. The Sustainability Officer is the technical head of the sustainability steering group, which meets four times a year, prepares Executive Board decisions, and offers recommendations. The steering group provides information, reports on all sustainability projects, and initiates new projects as needed.
The Executive Board members in charge of Human Resources and Legal Affairs, Manufacturing and Materials, and Research and Development attend all steering group meetings, with the first two acting as sustainability topic sponsors on the Executive Board. Each Executive Board unit is also represented in the sustainability steering group by a second-level executive, and additional STIHL experts are members of the steering group. In 2024, we also defined a sustainability structure for the entire STIHL Group, which was set out in a functional Group standard. The steering group is now supplemented by an ESG Committee. While the steering group decides on strategy-relevant sustainability topics, the committee addresses new issues.
In the reporting year, sustainability became more firmly established in STIHL’s day-to-day business. Our goal is to ensure alignment from top-level strategic objectives to individual operating measures. STIHL follows the same logic as the CSRD. At STIHL, policy, metrics, goals, and actions are reflected in target statements, KPIs (key performance indicators), objectives, and measures/tracking. At the end of 2024, target statements were available for almost all of the topic modules we had identified, each setting out sustainability targets and measures. The target statements for the “biodiversity” and “sustainable process chemicals” topic modules are to be adopted at the beginning of 2025.
In 2024, STIHL continued numerous sustainability initiatives from previous years and launched new ones. We have taken a significant step by signing and submitting our commitment letter to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). In 2025, our emission reduction targets will be independently scientifically validated by the SBTi.
We have taken various measures to achieve our goal of offsetting all STIHL-related emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2030: With the One SELMA project undertaken by STIHL Energy and Load Management, STIHL has introduced a Group-wide architecture for energy and load management, and the potential and necessary reduction measures are consolidated in a Group-wide list. We also continued to pursue our 2022 target of reducing the consumption of natural gas and oil across the company by 40% by 2030 compared to 2019 – as well as reforestation and carbon storage projects.
We plan to continue promoting e-mobility among our employees and make advancements in the field of sustainable materials. To this end, we have created a database to record the carbon footprints of materials and components. Our long-term ongoing initiatives include two technology platforms focused on maximizing product recyclability, alongside continued advancements in process chemicals.
We have also focused on the reporting obligations arising from the CSRD, the ESRS, the EU Taxonomy, and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). To meet our extensive obligations under the CSRD, we have initiated a two-year project involving over 100 employees across more than 15 divisions at our founding company and international companies. We consistently track and ensure compliance with sustainability regulations. In this context, STIHL also addressed the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in 2024. The regulation was originally due to enter into force at the end of 2024. However, at the suggestion of the EU Commission, companies have now been granted a twelve-month deferral. If changes in the legal situation relevant to STIHL are foreseeable, the ESG committee familiarizes itself with the topic in question and identifies the right contacts within the Group.
Our focal areas ecosystems, circularity, and care contain thematic modules, which we address by applying a standardized approach. We define the broad direction and set KPIs.
Ecosystems
Since 2022
Carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions across all production companies
Achieved in 2022 through a combination of carbon offsets and carbon capture through agroforestry in partnership with Fairventures
To section
Since 2023
Carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions across all sales companies
Achieved in 2023 through a combination of carbon offsets and carbon capture through agroforestry in partnership with Fairventures
To section
Since 2022
Development of reduction targets for Scope 3 emissions
Inventory launched in 2022, activated in 2023, and intensified in 2024
To section
By 2030
Reduce fossil fuel consumption by 40% compared to 2019
Since 2022
Development of a product carbon footprint
Roll-out of the biodiversity concept for specific customer groups
Construction of the first prototypes, training for key account managers and dealers, follow-up projects
in preliminary stages
To section
Development of a concept for tangible biodiversity in the production plant
Circularity
By 2024
Feasibility study and foundational development project for products optimized for the circular economy
2023
Potential analysis for increasing the percentage of secondary raw materials
By 2024
Development of a strategy for environmentally critical raw materials
By 2025
Action plan for avoiding hazardous process chemicals
From 2022
Reduction of plastic packaging and carbon emissions
Care
2022
Reviewing measures to further reduce the accident rate per 1 million hours worked
2022
Defining measures and targets for more transparency and strengthening diversity and inclusion in the workforce
Roadmap for the next steps completed, milestones have been defined
To section
From 2022
Supplier management in accordance with the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (LkSG)
Continuous monitoring of further legal requirements
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Incorporating sustainability criteria into all key decision processes
Ongoing process
Monitor legal requirements, for example relating to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), EU Taxonomy, Batteries Regulation
Ongoing process
The interests of STIHL stakeholders were incorporated into the development of the sustainability strategy based on surveys, workshops, and stakeholders’ publicly known positions, among other things. We maintain an ongoing dialog on sustainability issues with our customers, the scientific community, local authorities, and financial institutions.
The expectations and requirements that STIHL faces are regularly collected and assessed by external appraisers as part of the ISO certification process for quality, environmental, occupational safety, and energy management systems. Relevant findings are included in the design of products and processes.
In addition, we use a variety of communication tools for ongoing stakeholder dialog. For employees, these tools include internal channels such as the intranet, company meetings, video messages, notices, performance reviews, employee surveys, and the in-house suggestion system. We communicate with private and commercial customers, as well as authorized dealers, via surveys, trade fairs, congresses, the customer service team, our hotline, social media, and our website. By participating in book projects and publications, we engage in discussions with interested members of the public. In the event of construction projects, we hold roundtable discussions with local residents. Suppliers are consulted through face-to-face meetings, negotiations, self-assessments, and audits. Project partnerships are the method of choice for government authorities, while the research community is involved through targeted cooperative efforts with universities and collaboration on projects. We work with nongovernmental organizations on projects at local and regional level and support them in their activities. Proactive press relations as well as our website and its dialog options create communication channels to the media and the broader interested public. We encourage communication and feedback, and continue to grow on the basis of good suggestions.
