To Our
Stakeholders

A Message From
Marc Bitzer Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer

The past year presented many unprecedented challenges for our people, communities, industry, and world alike. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our number one priority has been the health and safety of our people.

Our employees have quickly adapted to new, and in some ways more difficult, ways of working that include strict protocols necessary to protect them, their families, and the communities in which we operate. This resilience has been crucial in taking care of our consumers when they’ve needed us most. While we’ve shown great flexibility in how we operate throughout a pandemic, we also remained steadfast in our ongoing dedication to our environmental, social, and governance commitments.

Throughout the year, we focused on responding to the needs of employees and our communities in the face of a global pandemic, while also making notable progress on our environmental commitments, advancing our racial equality efforts, and driving a culture deeply rooted in Our Enduring Values. We are continually guided by the Whirlpool Way, where there is no right way to do a wrong thing. In this report, you will read stories and examples of how we continued to invest and meet our commitments. The following are a few of our key achievements from the year:

Environment

  • Through the continued implementation of World Class Manufacturing (WCM) methodology, we continued to drive our commitments to environmental sustainability. Over 70% of our manufacturing sites are now zero waste to landfill. We also achieved record low levels of energy and water usage per appliance built, and we obtained external assurance on the reporting of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We are on track to exceed the targets set by the Paris Climate Accord, which is in line with our targets set and certified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
  • Collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and other member companies enabled Whirlpool to develop a universal and consistent framework to measure circularity. At 18%, Whirlpool has set one of the highest circularity targets in our industry within Europe to drive recycled plastic content into our product and packaging in an effort to address plastic pollution.
  • We formalized our commitment to the UN Global Compact with a letter addressed to the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General. As a participant of this globally-recognized initiative, we continue to expand our efforts to uphold sustainable and responsible business practices in day-to-day global operations.

Social

  • Since the onset of the global COVID-19 crisis, our employees were ready to take action to protect each other and our communities, from donating supplies and critical personal protective equipment for local hospitals and health organizations to designing and manufacturing the Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR), a life-saving innovation, in just seven weeks.
  • In 2020, we dramatically accelerated our efforts to drive a sustainable, positive impact for all our current and future Black colleagues and our local communities. Through OUR PLEDGE to Equality and Fairness for our Black Colleagues, a multi-year action plan in the U.S. to drive sustainable, positive impact for all current and future Black colleagues and the local community—which will ultimately help all underrepresented groups within the company. I am also honored to be a founding member of OneTen, an organization with the mission to train, hire and advance one million Black Americans over the next 10 years into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement.

Governance

  • For the first time, we are formally sharing information on our climate-related risks and opportunities under the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework in addition to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) frameworks. We have also expanded the integration of ESG principles throughout our business with the formation of ESG Councils led by members of our Executive Committee and an expanded ESG Task Force.
  • Our commitment to improving gender and underrepresented minorities at all levels of our company includes Whirlpool Corporation’s Board of Directors. In 2020, we achieved 33% female representation and 25% racial and ethnic minority representation of non-employee directors. We still have progress to make in these areas and we will continue to focus on representation at all levels in 2021 and beyond.

As we navigate our new reality, we continue to be guided by our vision to be the best kitchen and laundry company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home. Throughout this report, you will find examples of our employees’ work, together as One Whirlpool, to deliver on our current goals and set even more aggressive targets for years to come. It is this commitment that uniquely positions us to both aid the energy transition and deliver compelling innovation with meaningful societal impact.

Marc Bitzer
Chairman & CEO
Whirlpool Corporation