Our actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in scope 1, 2 and 3 focus on several projects. Primarily: the development of sustainable products and circular services to extend the product lifespan.

Sustainable products

Embodied carbon emissions

Since several years we are calculating the environmental impact of our furniture with lifecycle assessments (LCAs). In 2025 we calculated LCAs for various additional products, representing the majority of our product portfolio. We will improve our furniture designs compared to previous products following the Ecodesign principles. For desk chairs, desks and office pods we are have set specific reduction targets as part of our broader scope 3 emissions reduction commitment.

Our actions towards Net Zero in 2050 will be described in our climate transition plan. Over the past few years, we have set up an energy management plan according to ISO 50001 with yearly actions to reduce energy consumption and increase the share of renewable energy in our global operations. Our scope 3 action plan is to be finalised in 2025.

Scope 1 and 2

Royal Ahrend’s scope 1 and scope 2 emissions are 3% of our total emissions. In recent years, we have reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions by 74%, putting us on track to reach 85% reduction in scope 1 and 2 by 2030. Our year to year emissions reduced by 41%, from 5.092 CO2eq in 2024 to 3.024 CO2eq in 2025. This major reduction has been achieved by purchasing renewable energy for all of our operational electricity consumption. In the upcoming years we will further electrify our company vehicles and reduce energy consumption in our production facilities. With these actions, we are confident in reaching our 2030 goal.

Scope 1 and 2

By the end of 2025 our scope 1 and 2 emissions were 74% lower compared to our base year 2018. In this report we can restate our confidence in reaching 85% reduction by 2030, because of our solid climate transition plan. From 2025 onwards, all our global operations use solar and wind renewable energy through Guarantees of Origin. In the coming years, we will further reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by electrifying our leased vehicles and promoting alternative commuting options. 

Scope 3 emissions account for 97% of Royal Ahrend’s global greenhouse gas emissions. By 2030, we aim to reduce these emissions by 42% compared to 2023.

One of the key drivers behind reducing our scope 3 emissions is reducing the footprint of our furniture portfolio. Therefore we intend to calculate LCAs for 95% of our sales volume. These LCAs are externally verified for objectification. In 2025, 68% of our sales volume is covered by an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and this will gradually increase in the coming years. Older EPDs will be recalculated following EN 15804+A2.

A portion of our Scope 3 emissions is calculated using a spend-based methodology. Although total expenditure was lower in 2025 (compared with 2024), our reported Scope 3 emissions increased. This was particularly evident in Category 3.1 (Purchased Goods and Services), where reported emissions were 19% higher than the previous year. The increase is primarily attributable to an update of the Exiobase database in 2025. As a result, the underlying emission factors increased. For our overall scope 3 emissions this led to a 29% rise in the emissions per € spend. Consequently, higher emissions were calculated despite lower overall spending levels.

In 2026, we aim to transition further towards activity-based accounting methods. This approach will provide a more accurate representation of our emissions profile and better reflect the progress we are making towards our net-zero ambitions.

As outlined in our 2024 Integrated Report, we are increasing the share of electric heavy-duty vehicles used for customer deliveries and implementing more emission-free solutions. One of the initiatives we are exploring is a modal shift for long-haul transport. In 2024, we began using inland waterway barges between the Port of Rotterdam and our international warehouse in Veghel to reduce transport emissions. Additional alternatives for key transport routes are currently under investigation

Royal Ahrend has not implemented internal carbon pricing. From experiences in the past years we see no additional value in implementing internal carbon pricing, because other mechanisms support sustainable investments in products, locations and services. This might change in the upcoming years and will be reported in future Integrated Reports.

Royal Ahrend is not eligible for EU taxonomy. There are no objectives or plans to report taxonomy alignment at this moment. 

Scope 1 and 2 emissions over the period 2018-2023 have been recalculated due to a change in emission factors. This change resulted from a software change which includes additional databases with more accurate data per region. Our base year 2018 has been recalculated and percentages in the table above correspond to the latest calculations.