Dear Business Partners,

2022 was a very dynamic year for us all, shaped by geopolitical shocks and significant uncertainty. The continuing effects of the coronavirus pandemic had already presented major challenges for supply chains and procurement markets at the start of the year. The outbreak of war in Ukraine and ongoing lockdowns in China as a result of the pandemic intensified this situation yet further.

Despite this very challenging environment, 2022 was the most successful fiscal year in JOST’s company history to date. We achieved a substantial 20.6% increase in Group sales to EUR 1,264.6 million, significantly exceeding our sales target of EUR 1.2 billion. However, we weren’t successful only from a financial perspective.

We made clear progress with our sustainability activities and achieved our sustainability targets for 2022. We’re particularly proud of our successful efforts to reduce our CO2 emissions: We decreased our (Scope 1 and Scope 2) CO2 emissions per production hour by 15.0% compared with 2021 and by 35.2% compared with the base year of 2020. Our goal of reducing JOST’s greenhouse gas emissions per production hour by 50% by 2030 is therefore within easy reach. We’re also pleased to have reduced our Scope 1 emissions by 7.7% in absolute terms compared with the previous year and our Scope 2 emissions by 10.5%.

This successful outcome is the result of measures identified in the previous year and introduced in 2022 to reduce our energy consumption. A further step is to increase the share of renewable energies in our electricity mix. This share rose by 5.9% to 30.0% in 2022. Furthermore, JOST’s first solar power systems went into operation on the roofs of our production sites in Portugal and Turkey.  

We were also active in the area of social sustainability. We want to create a working environment where our employees feel comfortable, are highly engaged and can perform at their best. The prolonged pandemic has significantly changed the labor market. Demographic change has also intensified competition on labor markets worldwide. Despite this difficult environment, we succeeded in reducing our employee turnover by 3.4 percentage points year on year to 15.4%. A further important step for us was adopting our Human Rights Policy, which now officially enshrines the culture of consideration and respect for all people that is already lived within the Company in our operations and business relationships.

We continue to work hard to embed sustainability at all levels within the Company. It remains our goal to strike a balance between JOST’s commercial success and our social and ecological responsibility as a company operating on the international stage. In fiscal year 2022, we issued a promissory note loan in the amount of EUR 130.0 million, which for the first time was linked to the achievement of ESG targets. This highlights JOST’s commitment to sustainability also in the Group financing.

With this report, we present the status of our sustainability activities in 2022 and our strategy for achieving a sustainable future.

The Executive Board of JOST Werke SE
(at the balance sheet date operating under the name JOST Werke AG)
Neu-Isenburg, March 22, 2023