Amplifon, the world leader in hearing solutions and services, has announced his new sustainability plan called “Listening Ahead”. The Plan is divided into 20 new achievements divided in four main areas (Products & Services, People, Community, Ethics), with perspectives up to 2026, 2028 and 2030.
Between the objectives there is the promotion of accessibility to hearing care, the introduction of increasingly innovative experiences for customers and the support for students and professionals who wish to enter the hearing care sector. Amplifon is also committed to talent development, ensuring a healthy and inclusive working environment with equal opportunities for all employees.
Another priority is the raising awareness among young people prevention and hearing well-being through socially useful projects and the active involvement of employees in the activities of the Group's Foundations. Finally, particular attention is paid tointegration of sustainability criteria in the responsible management of the supply chain and the adoption of new initiatives to combat climate change and promote circularity.
This is the second Sustainability Plan in Amplifon's history which follows the one announced in 2021 with objectives until 2023.
Amplifon: the new sustainability plan
The new sustainability plan has been revised taking into consideration the priorities of key stakeholders, including employees, communities, suppliers, investors and ESG rating agencies. To ensure complete alignment of the entire organization with the sustainability strategy, the objectives of the plan are incorporated into the Remuneration Policy of the Company, influencing the short and long-term variable remuneration of the Top Management. Finally, to progressively integrate the financial strategy with that of sustainability, the same objectives are linked to three ESG-linked credit lines.
Amplifon: the four areas of the plan
Here are the four main areas in detail (Products & Services, People, Community, Ethics) of Amplifon's "Listening Ahead" sustainability plan.
Products and Services:
- Offer free comprehensive hearing tests, saving over €600 million for customers between 2024-2026.
- Implement the New Store Protocol in at least one third of countries by 2026.
- Invest in professional programs for future audiologists and hearing aid specialists, involving at least 800 people worldwide between 2024 and 2026.
- Launch new reusable packaging for Amplifon products with renewed materials by 2025.
People:
- Guarantee at least 3 days of training per year per capita for staff, of which at least 2 hours on sustainability issues until 2026.
- Ensure that at least 40% of back office employees are rated as talent & high performers every year until 2026.
- Obtain Global Top Employer certification by 2026.
- Maintain female representation above 50% in the global back office population through 2028 and increase that of the global leadership population to at least 35% by 2028.
- Launch a new global DEIB Action Plan by 2024.
Community:
- Extend the “Listen Responsibly” program to reach at least 10 million people under 35 globally by 2028.
- Record at least 50.000 noise measurements via the “Listen Responsibly” App by 2026.
- Involve at least 5.000 employees in volunteering initiatives of the Group Foundations and Social Ambassadorship between 2024 and 2026.
- Contribute to the development of the Amplifon Foundation with a corporate contribution of at least €5 million between 2024 and 2026.
Ethics:
- Gain acceptance of the Supplier Code of Conduct and evaluate the ESG practices of 100% of major direct suppliers and at least 50% of indirect suppliers by 2026.
- Use 100% renewable electricity for offices and direct stores by 2030.
- Increase the percentage of hybrid or electric cars in the company fleet above 60% by 2030.
- Define and present short-term targets for decarbonisation aligned to the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi) by 2025.
- Increase access to and use of rechargeable hearing aids, avoiding the use of more than 320 million batteries per year by 2028.
- Install containers for the collection of used batteries in at least 50% of direct stores by 2026.
" sustainability is an integral part of daily activity of a company like ours, which serves approximately 1 million people in 26 countries around the world every year, trying to help them improve their quality of life. This is why our new multi-year plan, developed in light of global mega trends in the ESG field and the needs of our stakeholders, contains increasingly ambitious and business-integrated objectives. With this Plan we want to ensure that the future growth of our company is supported by an increasingly stronger commitment to responsible and sustainable business" commented the CEO of Amplifon, Henry Life.
