As of December 31, 2025, companies across the STIHL Group employed 20,246 people worldwide. With their knowledge, experience, and commitment, they contribute significantly to our success. STIHL creates reliable global conditions to support this. Group standards on HR policy and environment, health, and safety (EHS) topics, ISO 45001-certified occupational health and safety management systems at central production facilities, the Employee Code of Conduct, and the international HR strategy provide guidance for daily work. The Declaration of Principles on Human Rights and Environmental Obligations also reinforces the commitment to taking responsibility and respecting the dignity of every individual.
Focus on occupational health and safety
The STIHL Group continued to prioritize occupational health and safety throughout 2025. This is based on Group-wide EHS standards and the ISO management systems. They ensure that risks are identified early, protective measures are implemented, and employees are trained regularly. During the reporting year, the focus was on consolidating existing processes and strengthening safety awareness in daily operations. Here are some specific examples.
STIHL seeks to maintain a Group-wide occupational accident rate of no more than 4.5 per year, calculated as the number of accidents resulting in lost time per 1,000,000 working hours. The rate serves as a KPI for the effectiveness of occupational health and safety management and helps to identify opportunities for improvement and corrective actions. In the reporting year, the occupational accident rate was 4.4.
Employee development, uniform processes, relevant content
In 2025, we further expanded our Group-wide tools and processes for employee development: A standardized employee development process with regular dialogue and structured feedback supports employees in actively shaping their professional development. The HR Online system, which standardizes HR processes worldwide, continued its rollout and is expected to be available across all Group companies by 2027. A key priority during the reporting year was the specialized training of employees to meet new requirements – particularly as part of the transition to more battery-powered products.
Diversity and the work environment
The STIHL Group is committed to a work environment built on mutual respect and equal opportunity. During the reporting year, we continued to offer a wide range of training, mentoring, and networking programs, including initiatives such as Female Leadership and Women Network @STIHL. However, the Group currently follows a decentralized approach to diversity, allowing Group companies the flexibility to develop programs specifically for local requirements. STIHL identified no incidents involving discrimination in 2025.
Learn more about 2025 HR projects here.
Workforce in the value chain
We work with more than 10,000 suppliers. Our supply chain relies on their products and employees. The structure of working conditions throughout the value chain is therefore a matter of human rights responsibility and business model stability.
Sustainability scoring planned for suppliers
In 2025, the STIHL Group continued to collaborate closely with its suppliers to maintain transparency on working conditions, identify potential risks early, and address any issues where necessary. This is a risk-based approach that considers factors specific to an individual region and industry, as well as the type of materials procured.
We have accelerated the use of a digital platform as a central data foundation. Through the Integrity Next platform, suppliers regularly provide information regarding working conditions and compliance with social standards, among other topics. By the end of 2025, approximately 80 percent of the invited suppliers had submitted information via self-assessment questionnaires. This data helps us to better understand and compare developments, and to jointly initiate improvements. We are currently developing a unified sustainability scoring system for our suppliers, which is based on the Integrity Next data, among other factors.
Clear expectations, clear processes
The STIHL Group expects its suppliers to comply with the requirements set out in the Supplier Code of Conduct. This includes fair working conditions, safe workplaces, and respect for human rights. Compliance with these requirements is a prerequisite for initiating and continuing business relationships, and they are applied worldwide. STIHL also conducted additional risk-based audits and checks on selected suppliers during the reporting year.
Potential violations can be reported via the Integrity Line whistleblowing system – by internal employees, external stakeholders, and workers within the supply chain. STIHL reviews reports according to a defined procedure and incorporates findings into its ongoing collaboration. No cases of child or forced labor were identified in the STIHL supply chain in 2025.
Networking for progress
During the reporting year, STIHL maintained regular dialogue with stakeholders, including suppliers, industry initiatives, and community organizations, to address human rights risks and further develop prevention measures. In addition to Cobalt for Development and the Responsible Minerals Initiative, the founding company participates in SustaiNet, an industrial network dedicated to the exchange of information and best practices. In various working groups, the companies discussed regulatory requirements and practical implementation issues throughout the reporting year.
This chapter is an excerpt from the voluntary sustainability statement that the STIHL Group submitted for the first time in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) for the 2025 financial year.
Download full sustainability statement