“People and sustainability belong together”

Nadine: Stefan, today when you look back to 2019, could you have imagined back then that we’d enter the DAX by 2025?

Stefan: To be honest, no. The capital market’s confidence had been shaken. Entering the DAX was out of the question. But from day one, I was convinced that this company had enormous potential: technologically, in its markets, but above all in its people. We just had to unlock that potential and strategically develop sustainability into a unique selling point.

Nadine: What pleases me most in hindsight: That's exactly what worked. From the very beginning, we deliberately linked our financial development to our sustainability agenda. When I joined GEA, sustainability was more of an add-on topic. Today, it is an indispensable part of our business strategy.

Stefan: This has developed step by step. Davos 2020 provided important momentum.

Nadine: That was the moment. You came back from the World Economic Forum convinced of the need for a truly ambitious sustainability program. I asked you very directly at the time: On a scale of one to ten, how seriously do you take sustainability as a strategic priority? Your answer was: “Make it an eleven.” That’s when I knew: This wasn’t just for show.

Stefan: This commitment remains as valid as ever and is a fundamental principle of our strategy. Anyone who wants to make a difference in sustainability must go beyond what is expected. Anything less is not enough. Those who merely follow the crowd will be left behind.

Nadine: That eleven has become a symbol. It set both the ambition and the pace. This led to very concrete steps: first the climate strategy, then the comprehensive sustainability strategy. The impact came quickly: better ESG ratings, greater investor interest and noticeably higher visibility.

Stefan: What moved me the most was the response from our teams. Employees I don’t even know personally write to me to say they’re proud to work at GEA. Because “Engineering for a better world” is a philosophy we live by. And that’s why it made perfect sense to anchor all of this structurally at the Executive Board level.

Nadine: With “People & Sustainability,” we are taking this step. In my portfolio, we bring together environmental and social topics, corporate culture and co-determination. Alongside governance, compliance and legal functions, this creates a holistic framework that clearly illustrates how we understand responsibility at GEA. People and sustainability are inseparable, and the People area forms the foundation of it all. Because our employees are not just part of the company – they are the company.

Stefan: The Supervisory Board gave you a clear mandate in this regard.

Nadine: “Do within HR what you’ve done with sustainability.”

Stefan: That's no small feat.

Nadine: I accept their challenge: to establish a clear ambition, a structured strategy and deliver measurable results. For the people side, that means: We want to be the most attractive employer in the mechanical and plant engineering sector. Period.

Stefan: What does that look like in practice – right now, in the first few months?

Nadine: Listening, understanding and then acting. I spend a lot of time visiting our sites, talking to teams and local works councils to get a firsthand understanding of the situation. At the same time, we are sharpening our strategic agenda: What exactly do we want to achieve in areas such as culture, working conditions, leadership and learning opportunities? And how do we shape a modern, constructive culture of co-determination?

Stefan: Good point. What are your plans for working with the employee representatives?

Nadine: To form true partnerships based on mutual respect. This means involving everyone early on, communicating openly and tackling challenges together in a constructive manner. It is precisely when dealing with difficult issues that we see whether partnership is just a word or a lived reality. I am convinced that cooperative participation leads to more robust decisions.

Stefan: Let’s talk about our climate goals. Where do we stand as of the end of 2025?

Nadine: The measures we’ve taken in recent years are having a clear impact. We achieved our Scope 1 and 2 targets ahead of schedule: a 62 percent reduction compared to 2019. And we did this without using offsets – relying instead solely on actual reductions and avoidance. In Scope 3, we are also within our target range, with a 38 percent reduction.

Stefan: That’s a great achievement we can be proud of. But we’re not there yet.

Nadine: Exactly. And the easy solutions have largely been exhausted. The remaining roughly 18 percentage points by 2030 will be the hardest to reach: more technically challenging, requiring greater investment and involving more extensive changes to our building infrastructure.

Stefan: This is where the wheat is separated from the chaff. Many companies talk about the first 40 or 50 percent. What really matters is the ability and willingness to go beyond that. The final 20 percent requires a great deal of expertise, capital and perseverance – and that is what determines whether ambition becomes real transformation.

Nadine: We have everything it takes. We’re going beyond financial investments; we’ve also developed the culture and capabilities that make this possible – and that brings us right back to “People & Sustainability.”

Stefan: The greatest lever we have is with our customers. By 2030, we aim to generate more than 60 percent of our revenue from sustainable solutions.

Nadine: That is why we consistently combine sustainability and innovation. Today, every division has a Head of Sustainability & Innovation – with the authority to shape decisions and a deep understanding of the business. Our new innovation process considers energy efficiency, emissions intensity and resource use from the very beginning. It was approved in 2025 and will be rolled out globally in 2026.

Stefan: For our customers, this approach makes a real difference. Today, companies that want to produce more efficiently don’t need just a machine supplier. They need a partner who understands the entire process and can optimize it.

Nadine: That is precisely our strength. Another key focus is circularity. This includes systems that require fewer resources, have a longer service life and are easier to maintain – complemented by a well-designed end-of-life management strategy: easier recycling and reprocessing.

Stefan: We’ve talked a lot about climate and the environment. But for me, another major highlight of 2025 was the founding of the GEA Foundation.

Nadine: A milestone in our social commitment. Because we bear a responsibility that goes beyond our core business. The GEA Foundation works with strong partners such as UNICEF, SOS-Kinderdorf and Viva con Agua. This allows us to achieve maximum impact. We also reached our donation target of one percent of net profit annually in 2025 – totaling over 4 million euros!

Stefan: That was very important to me personally. It can make a big difference.

Nadine: Stefan, here’s a question I’m curious about: Sustainability is no longer part of your remit. Are you mentally moving on to focus on other things?

Stefan: On the contrary. Sustainability is and will remain a key factor in GEA’s success. I know this issue is in excellent hands with you, but I will continue to stay closely involved – including through my engagement with the CEO Climate Leaders at the World Economic Forum. And within the Executive Board, sustainability remains a shared responsibility to which everyone contributes.

Nadine: This shared responsibility will also guide us in another key issue for the future – one that is currently very much on my mind: artificial intelligence.

Stefan: Probably the most fundamental change of our time.

Nadine: AI is having a profound impact on the way we work and on our roles. It has the potential to affect every position in the company – production, engineering, sales, service and administration.

Stefan: This also unsettles a lot of people. They ask themselves: What does this mean for my job?

Nadine: Yes. That’s why we’ll support our employees throughout this transformation with concrete initiatives. A systematic program for upskilling and reskilling – not just for a small group of experts, but for everyone. The GEA Academy plays a central role in this. Our goal: to empower people through AI.

Stefan: That is exactly why AI needs to be on the People agenda. If we get this right, AI will be viewed as a tool that supports and empowers us – not as a threat.

Nadine: That is the challenge. Technology alone does not bring about change. It is always people who decide how it is used.

Stefan: In conclusion: How will we know by the end of 2026 whether “People & Sustainability” has gotten off to a successful start?

Nadine: By hard facts: Whether we achieve our climate goals, whether the share of revenue from sustainable solutions continues to grow, and whether we make measurable progress in terms of corporate culture, employee development and employer attractiveness.

Stefan: And beyond that?

Nadine: When People & Sustainability feel like two sides of the same coin – not just on the org chart, but in everyday life.