In collaboration with Capgemini, the KION Group creates a roadmap and integrates new data management processes that will drive the achievement of net-zero emissions by 2050. As a result, the company has backed up its commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and ensured that its suppliers follow suit, leading to real, enduring change.

Culture drives action

As a global leader for supply chain solutions the KION Group is renowned for orchestrating complex intralogistics and automation solutions with its premium warehouse trucks, advanced automation technologies, and intelligent supply chain software. With brands such as Linde Material Handling, STILL, and Dematic, the company enables seamless material and information flow across factories, warehouses, and distribution centers worldwide.

As part of its commitment to sustainability and long-term value creation, KION joined the SBTi and set itself the goal of achieving net-zero emissions. This commitment presented the company with both a strategic opportunity and challenge. Given that KION’s purchased goods and services accounted for approximately 20% of its total carbon footprint, achieving net-zero emissions required a transformation of how materials are sourced in the future.

When the organization discovered that a lack of data continuity would make it difficult to track emissions effectively, it engaged Capgemini and initiated a project to ensure data became an enabler to long-term sustainability goals.

Manufacturing a foundation for climate conscious innovation

Capgemini and KION split the project into two key phases that would foster a full understanding of the company’s broader situation and enable the organization to act based on data to drive desired outcomes.

First, the project team performed a feasibility study that assessed the potential for emission reductions across various procurement categories. As part of this review, Capgemini looked at risks related to technological readiness, cost implications, and market capacity. The outcome was a holistic overview of potential decarbonization levers for the supply chain and timelines required to achieve the desired results. This led KION to select 2050 as the target year for achieving net-zero emissions.

The partners split the second phase into two streams. One focused on supplier engagement, during which the project team evaluated the maturity of suppliers in KION’s CO2e intensive categories and initiated strategic dialogues on planned initiatives. Through this dialogue, a detailed blueprint per category was created, outlining key decarbonization levers and their technical feasibility tailored to KION.

To accomplish this, the project team established individual workshops for over 30 key suppliers from 14 high-emission categories, during which Capgemini

and KION improved transparency on product-level emissions, expanded their understanding of suppliers’ decarbonization targets and measures, and established next steps to improve data quality and accelerate product-level emission reductions.

Meanwhile, the second stream operationalized a net-zero approach for KION’s procurement processes by integrating emission data, reduction targets, and decarbonization measures into sourcing tools. In addition, the project team enabled standardized data collection and made it easier for emissions to be included in future awarding decisions. All this data was fed into supplier scorecards and category strategies while the insight drawn from the supplier workshops formed the basis of buyer guidance documentation, including maturity assessments and negotiation templates tailored to each category.

Finally, the partners rolled out a tailored training program that built foundational and role-specific knowledge to ensure that KION could raise awareness of and execute on new sustainability requirements.

A path to long-term sustainability

Following its engagement with Capgemini, KION has taken a major step forward in terms of emission data management and readiness for future action, providing the granularity needed to actively manage progress toward its net-zero targets. Working collaboratively, Capgemini and KION have laid a technical and strategic foundation for real-time, supplier-specific emissions tracking, which will enable the company to shift from passive reporting to active steering.

Upskilling KION’s procurement teams has ensured that they will be able to confidently and quickly take action on sustainability requirements. In addition, suppliers have been brought into this effort, ensuring that the company will be able to continue the drive towards net-zero emissions up and down the entirety of its supply chain.

By embedding CO2e into procurement operations and building the capabilities to act on it, KION is now equipped to drive measurable progress toward its climate goals. This transformation has not only improved transparency and accountability but also empowered the procurement function to take a leading role in the company’s sustainability journey.