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Corporate Responsibility
Resource Center

Resource Management

Although greenhouse gas emissions and energy management are the most material environmental impacts across our operations, we also work to improve our water and waste management and support for biodiversity.

Water

Water is a critical resource we rely on to manufacture our products. Across our operations, our water management strategy is guided by a commitment to water stewardship and continuous improvement. We maintain high standards which, in many locations, exceed regulatory expectations.

We are committed to reducing water intensity by 1% year-over-year globally, with a 3% reduction in water-stressed regions. Additionally, as a signatory to the CEO Water Mandate under the United Nations Global Compact, we are committed to action across six key areas of water stewardship, including direct operations.

To manage water effectively and mitigate risk, we:

  • Monitor water intake, including from municipal sources, surface water, groundwater extraction and rainwater harvesting. We also monitor water discharge and the volume of water reused after treatment.
  • Leverage World Class Manufacturing (WCM) Environmental Pillar: We identify all of our environmental aspects and impacts and utilize risk ranking and cost analysis tools to prioritize and address those with the greatest impact.
  • Assess current and future water risks across our different manufacturing locations, leveraging the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct tool for analysis.
  • Prioritize water use reduction at sites located in water-stressed regions, such as our manufacturing facilities in Mexico.

Water Management in Latin America

Our plants in Latin America utilize benchmark practices for water stewardship, integrating smart data collection with physical infrastructure to reuse treated wastewater and harvest rainwater for on-site operations.

  • In Celaya, Mexico, we reuse 100% of the sanitary wastewater treated on site for irrigation.
  • At our technology center in Rio Claro, Brazil, all effluent is treated at an internal wastewater treatment plant, enabling nearly 100% internal reuse of the volume treated.
  • Manaus and Joinville plants are equipped to source water needs directly from rainwater harvesting systems.

We also invest in operational efficiencies and technology to maximize reuse and reduce water intensity:

Waste

Our approach to managing waste in operations is anchored by our commitment to circular economy principles and supported by WCM, which facilitates investments in projects aimed at reducing waste generation, increasing recycling efforts and promoting material reuse.

We continually strive to improve waste management practices across our facilities. In 2012, we first set our goal to reach Zero Waste to Landfill (ZWtL), launching our journey to reduce waste and improve recycling. By 2022, we successfully achieved a 95% waste diversion rate across all large manufacturing sites. Building on this momentum, we have established a higher standard, and all of our large global manufacturing sites have maintained a waste diversion rate of 97% or higher. We were able to drive this progress through improvements, such as:

Our Waste Management Targets:

  • Drive ZWtL Diversion: Maintain at least 97% diversion from landfill and incineration without energy recovery in all our manufacturing sites, following the UL ECVP 2799 standard.
  • Reduce Waste Generation, With a Focus on Hazardous Waste: We monitor total and hazardous waste generated intensity and have set specific reduction targets for each site.
  • Reducing waste generation on site through WCM Environment and Energy pillar projects (e.g., installing equipment to extract water from used oil)
  • Developing new suppliers and alternatives to disposal — e.g., polyurethane, cafeteria waste, wooden crates, LDPE plastic and paper packaging — that were previously sent to landfill
  • Working with vendors and suppliers to increase use of returnable packaging and containers (e.g., washed drums, repaired wooden pallets)

Since we set a goal to reduce hazardous waste generation in 2022, our hazardous waste intensity (per product produced) has consistently improved.

Biodiversity

As a global company, Whirlpool Corporation operates in many types of ecosystems. Although biodiversity is not one of our material topics, we aim to protect life-sustaining resources for future generations. Through site-specific programs, our actions focus on operations located in ecologically sensitive areas. These programs include:

Sustainable Pathway program in Joinville, Brazil: Boasting 174,522 square meters of protected green area, our Joinville site developed a walking path where people can learn more about the local fauna and flora through visual information boards. Along the path, the site also implemented the WBee project, a dedicated area to preserve local species of stingless bees and support pollination of local flora. Through this initiative, employees, students and local authorities are able to visit and learn more about the biodiversity of the region.

Reforestation in the mountains of Coahuila, Mexico: We actively support the long-term environmental restoration of the mountains of Coahuila and the metropolitan area of Nuevo Léon, Mexico, a region that has historically suffered from severe forest fires. Every year, Whirlpool employees and their families volunteer to plant additional trees in the area. Since 2017, more than 5,000 trees have been planted, directly supporting the recovery of local biodiversity.

5,000+ trees Planted by Whirlpool employee volunteers in the mountains of Coahuila, Mexico

Our Employees are Eco-Conscious in the
Home and Office (ECHO)

With chapters in North America and Latin America, the ECHO employee environmental group champions sustainability initiatives across multiple locations, empowering employees worldwide to become active changemakers.

The group supports on-site and community programs, including vegetable gardens, a monarch butterfly waystation to aid in butterfly migration and trash clean-up efforts in local parks and on beaches and roads. In our facilities, ECHO has also led initiatives to reduce waste with compostable cafeteria containers, plastic and snack wrapper collection for recycling and reusable mugs in kitchenettes.

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Certain statements contained in this and other written and oral statements made from time to time by us or on our behalf do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and may contain forward-looking statements that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. As such, they are considered “forwardlooking statements” that provide current expectations or forecasts of future events. Such statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as “may,” “could,” “will,” “should,” “possible,” “plan,” “predict,” “forecast,” “potential,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “commit,” “believe,” “may impact,” “on track,” “guarantee,” “seek,” “would,” “committed,” “undertake,” “target” and the negative of these words and words and terms of similar substance. Our forwardlooking statements generally relate to our strategic and transactional objectives, operational planning and implementation, financial projections, goals, and assumptions, external and macroeconomic conditions, and legal, regulatory and sustainability matters. These forward-looking statements should be considered with the understanding that such statements involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, known and unknown, and may be affected by inaccurate assumptions. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may vary materially.

This document contains forward-looking statements about Whirlpool Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries (“Whirlpool”) that speak only as of this date. Whirlpool disclaims any obligation to update these statements. Forward-looking statements in this document may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future financial results, environmental, social, and governance efforts, longterm sustainability and Net Zero goals, including emissions reduction targets, risk management and resilience, product innovation, durability and resource efficiency, product safety and quality, second life and end-of-life initiatives, responsible sourcing and supply chain management, sustainable operations and investments in renewable energy, and efforts related to workplace health and safety, employee engagement, and community impact. Many risks, contingencies and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from Whirlpool’s forward-looking statements. Among these factors are: (1) intense competition in the home appliance industry, and the impact of the changing retail environment, including direct-toconsumer sales; (2) Whirlpool’s ability to maintain or increase sales to significant trade customers and builders; (3) Whirlpool’s ability to maintain its reputation and brand image; (4) Whirlpool’s ability to achieve its business objectives and successfully manage its strategic portfolio transformation and outsourced business unit service model; (5) Whirlpool’s ability to understand consumer preferences and successfully develop new products; (6) Whirlpool’s ability to obtain and protect intellectual property rights; (7) acquisition, divestiture, and investment-related risks, including risks associated with our past transactions; (8) the ability of suppliers of critical parts, components and manufacturing equipment to deliver sufficient quantities to Whirlpool in a timely and cost-effective manner; (9) risks related to Whirlpool’s international operations; (10) Whirlpool’s ability to respond to unanticipated social, political and/or economic events, including epidemics/ pandemics; (11) information technology system and cloud failures, data security breaches, data privacy compliance, network disruptions, and cybersecurity attacks; (12) product liability and product recall costs; (13) Whirlpool’s ability to attract, develop and retain executives and other qualified employees; (14) the impact of labor relations; (15) fluctuations in the cost of key materials (including steel, resins, and base metals) and components and the ability of Whirlpool to offset cost increases; (16) Whirlpool’s ability to manage foreign currency fluctuations; (17) impacts from goodwill, intangible asset and/or inventory impairment charges; (18) health care cost trends, regulatory changes and variations between results and estimates that could increase future funding obligations for pension and postretirement benefit plans; (19) impacts from credit rating agency downgrades; (20) litigation, tax, and legal compliance risk and costs; (21) the effects and costs of governmental investigations or related actions by third parties; (22) changes in the legal and regulatory environment including environmental, health and safety regulations, data privacy, taxes and generative AI; (23) the impacts of changes in foreign trade policies, including tariffs; (24) Whirlpool’s ability to respond to the impact of climate change and climate change or other environmental regulation; and (25) the uncertain global economy and changes in economic conditions.

Other Important Notes & Disclaimers

Various of the disclosures in this report are informed by the expectations of various stakeholders and/or third-party frameworks. Such information may not necessarily be material for purposes of our filings under U.S. federal securities laws, even if we use “material” or similar language in discussing such matters. Particularly in the ESG context, there are various approaches to materiality that differ from, and in many cases are more expansive than, the definition under U.S. federal securities laws. Furthermore, much of this information is subject to methodologies and data that continue to evolve. Over time, our approach to such matters has also evolved and is expected to continue evolving, and we cannot guarantee that our approach will align with the expectations or preferences of any particular stakeholder. For example, the processes for measuring and accounting for ESG metrics can involve substantial discretion, include assumptions or other methodological considerations that involve inherent uncertainty and may change due to evolving understanding or perception of certain matters by us or society at large. This can make it difficult to anticipate the ultimate outcomes of certain decisions in advance, as well as complicate the comparison of information presented at different times or under different circumstances or standards. Moreover, while we aim to align various disclosures set forth or referred to in this report with the recommendations of various third-party frameworks, such as the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, we cannot guarantee strict adherence to these frameworks’ recommendations. Our disclosures, as well as relevant internal controls, also may change due to revisions in framework requirements, availability or quality of information, changes in our business or applicable government policies, or other factors, some of which may be beyond our control.