The Swiss Climate Label for WS Audiology Switzerland and WS Audiology Austria

Brief introduction to the company 

WS Audiology is a leading global manufacturer of hearing aids headquartered in Denmark. WS Audiology Switzerland AG and WS Audiology Austria GmbH are the local sales companies for Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria. From their locations in Zurich and Vienna, they distribute innovative hearing solutions to their respective markets.

In 2023, the two companies were merged into a joint cluster for the Alpine region: WS Audiology Switzerland AG is responsible for the Swiss and Liechtenstein markets, while WS Audiology Austria GmbH is responsible for Austria.

In 2024, WS Audiology produced its first consolidated carbon footprint for both companies, covering the 2022/23 financial year (October 2022 to September 2023). While WS Audiology Switzerland has been regularly submitting carbon footprints since the 2020/21 financial year, the joint reporting represents an important step towards a coordinated sustainability strategy.

The carbon footprint is calculated annually in collaboration with Swiss Climate and is continuously further developed. This commitment has already been recognised with several certifications: In 2021, WS Audiology Switzerland received the «CO₂ OPTIMISED» label, followed by «CO₂ NEUTRAL» in 2022. In 2025 (financial year 2023/24), the Alpine Cluster was awarded the new Swiss Climate label «GOLD CERTIFICATE» for the first time.

The Swiss Climate Gold Certificate

The label is awarded to companies that have established a holistic CO2 management system covering the areas of organisation & strategy, accounting, reduction, climate protection contributions and communication. Compliance with the guidelines (version 10.1) is also audited annually by an external auditing company (Neosys AG or SGS).

Organisation and strategy

Climate policy  

The climate strategy is directly anchored in the management team and thus located at the highest decision-making level. The management teams of WS Audiology Switzerland and WS Audiology Austria have adopted a joint policy on this:

Starting point

At WS Audiology Switzerland AG and WS Audiology Austria GmbH, everything revolves around the topic of "better hearing". We improve the quality of life for people with hearing loss by offering tailor-made hearing system solutions with superior and innovative technology. WS Audiology Switzerland is the local sales company for Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein. Sustainability is an integral part of the corporate strategy.

Goals

WS Audiology publishes an annual sustainability report at group level. As environmental responsibility is highly important in Switzerland and Austria, a CO₂ management system was introduced in collaboration with Swiss Climate. This systematically records the CO₂ footprint and derives measures to reduce or avoid it. In this way, WS Audiology aims to further strengthen its market position as a sustainable provider. The report serves both as an internal management tool and as a means of transparent communication with stakeholders.

Approach

At the start of the project, the organisational and operational system boundaries for CO2 accounting were defined in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 14064-1 standard and the accounting principles of the GHG Protocol. This involved defining which emissions fall directly within the sphere of influence of the Swiss and Austrian companies. As part of the implementation of the written climate policy, existing measures are reviewed and new ones defined, which are regularly reviewed and redefined.

Results

WS Audiology Switzerland was certified according to Swiss Climate criteria for the first time in the 2020/21 financial year and has been striving for annual recertification ever since. Hotspots were identified and various measures defined on the basis of the CO2 footprint. From the 2021/22 financial year onwards, CO2 emissions that could not be reduced through measures were offset by high-quality certified Swiss projects. In the 2022/23 financial year, the strategy and measures were extended to Austria through the merger of the two sales organisations for Switzerland and Austria. This year, a CO2 footprint analysis was carried out for both locations for the first time. From the 2023/24 financial year onwards, the aim is to obtain the Swiss Climate Gold Label and meet the associated requirements. CO2 emissions generated in Austria and Switzerland that could not be reduced through measures are offset by high-quality certified Swiss projects.

Impact

The footprint has generated positive feedback from employees, internal stakeholders and customers, and has strengthened the positioning of WS Audiology Switzerland/WS Audiology Austria as a sustainable company in the market.

Opportunities and risks in relation to climate change

WS Audiology conducted an opportunity and risk analysis in 2025. Among other things, aspects such as political changes, technological developments and financial structures were examined in detail. The analysis is updated periodically if there are changes in content.

Financial incentive system 

Making a positive contribution to climate-related issues is explicitly stated in the individual targets of the management. This has been the case at CEO level since the 2022/23 financial year and at team leader level since the 2024/25 financial year.

Accounting 

WS Audiology prepared its carbon footprint for the 2022/23 financial year (October 2022 – September 2023) in accordance with the requirements of the ISO 14064-1 standard and the accounting principles of the GHG Protocol, which form the basis of the Swiss Climate Label, and has been continuously improving data quality ever since.

The operational activities forming the basis of the defined system boundaries for WS Audiology are as follows:

• Transport of hearing aids from the logistics centre in Poland to Zurich and to customers in Vienna
• Distribution of hearing aids to customers

Organisational system boundary 

The organisational boundaries are defined at WS Audiology through operational control. The facilities subject to operational control are included in the system boundary. The following list provides an overview of the premises and their use:

• Zeltweg 29, 8032 Zurich (headquarters and offices, WS Audiology Switzerland)
• Gertrude-Fröhlich-Sandner Strasse 2-4, 1100 Vienna (headquarters and offices, WS Audiology Austria)

Operational system boundary

The operational system boundary is defined in accordance with the recommendations of the GHG Protocol. For WS Audiology, this results in the following operational system boundaries:

Scope 1

• Heating
• Business travel (Scope 1 emissions from leased vehicles)

• Electricity consumption in operations
• Business travel (Scope 2 emissions from leased vehicles)
• Heating

Scope 3

• Purchased goods and services: hearing aids, shipping and certain consumables
• Capital goods: IT equipment
• Fuel and energy-related emissions: Energy supply for items accounted for under Scope 1 & 2
• Waste from business activities
• Business travel/journeys using non-WS Audiology means of transport (if not already accounted for under Scope 1 & 2)
• Commuting
• Use of products sold
• End-of-life of products sold

Scope 3 screening

Emissions along the value chain not included in the corporate carbon footprint were identified through additional calculations and screening, amounting to 375 tonnes of CO2 (in the 2023/24 financial year). These are largely emissions from the purchase, use and end-of-life of hearing aids (148 tonnes of CO₂). These were already recorded separately from the 2021/22 footprint year and taken into account in the calculation for the purchase of climate protection project certificates. From the 2023/24 financial year onwards, the emissions are now officially integrated into the company's carbon footprint. A significant proportion of the emissions identified in the screening are also attributable to the leasing of the vehicle fleet and the rented premises (82 t CO2). However, as the associated Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are already included in the footprint, they are not included in accordance with the GHG Protocol.

CO2 footprint Year 2023/24  

For the 2023/24 footprint year (October 2023 - September 2024), the emissions reported amount to 252 t CO₂1 . The largest sources of emissions are purchased hearing aids, the shipping of hearing aids and business travel/journeys. Together, these account for around 92 % of the CO2 emissions.

Reduction

Target 

A new reduction target was defined in 2025. It is as follows:

By the 2029/30 financial year, WS Audiology aims to achieve a reduction of -42 % across its Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions. In addition, WS Audiology is committed to achieving net zero by 2050 (-90 % reduction across Scope 1, 2 and 3).

The target path for WS Audiology (Switzerland & Austria) is as follows:

Reduction target and emission development 2023/24–2029/30

Measures

The following measures, among others, will be taken to achieve the targets:

Implemented and recurring measures

• The parent company is constantly striving to optimise the composition and materials used in hearing aids in order to reduce CO2 emissions.
• Reduction in packaging size and the number of hearing aid cases supplied, as well as packaging material (in accordance with the Medical Devices Regulation)
• Raising customer awareness of bundled orders
• Installation of charging stations for electric vehicles at the headquarters in Zurich in January 2023 and provision of a charging station and a charging card for each employee in Vienna and Zurich.
• Purchase of guarantees of origin for renewable energies for the amount of electricity consumed on the road or in employees' homes.

Planned measures

• Replacement of diesel vehicles with electric vehicles by the end of 2025
• Expansion of the public transport subsidy programme.
• New booking guidelines regarding the SAF share (80%) will be issued and reviewed.

Climate protection contributions

Since the first carbon footprint was drawn up for 2020/21, WS Audiology has supported climate protection outside its own value chain by purchasing over 600 CO2 certificates. This has promoted sustainable management in Swiss forests and renewable energies in Bulgaria. Both projects lead to reductions in CO2 emissions locally, which WS Audiology is promoting in addition to its own decarbonisation efforts.

For the 2023/24 financial year, a project for sustainable management in Swiss forests was promoted, renewable energies in Bulgaria were supported and 215 CO2 certificates were purchased.

Communication 

WS Audiology communicates about its carbon footprint in the following ways:

• A regular blog keeps customers informed about results, initiatives and changes in this area.
• Information on the carbon footprint, targets and measures is published by Swiss Climate on a website.
• The parent company's sustainability team receives regular updates.

In addition, employees are informed and sensitised to these issues at annual town hall meetings.

Label information

• Validity: 2 June 2025 to 1 June 2026
• Last audit: 22 May 2025
• Registration number: CH46G0125