COMPO News

COMPO1, a leading supplier of branded home and garden plant products in Europe, has received validation of its near-term climate targets by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This makes COMPO the first company in its industry whose emission reduction targets are officially recognised as science-based and in line with the 1.5 degree pathway of the Paris Climate Agreement - a key milestone in COMPO's ESG programme and Green Leadership pledge and the recognition of an outstanding achievement that has significance far beyond the industry. Focus on protecting nature and the environment: COMPOs ambitious reduction plan With the successful SBTi validation, COMPO has committed to significantly reducing climate-relevant emissions along the entire value chain within the next five years. The targets meet the strict requirements of the SBTi and are based on the latest findings in climate science. "The validation of our near-term targets by the SBTi as the first company in our industry is a milestone in our ESG programme and a clear commitment to responsible action. We are thus sending out a strong signal in favour of climate protection and transparency along the entire value chain," explains Stephan Engster, CEO of COMPO. Currently, only a very small percentage of less than 1 per cent of all companies worldwide have a target recognised by SBTi. Measurable success: Significant improvements in carbon footprint "With the SBTi near-term targets, COMPO is committing to an overall reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions in the value chain of 25 per cent by 2030 compared to the base year 2022. COMPO has already been able to implement effective measures to reduce CO2 emissions in recent years," explains Dr. Katharina Uhlenbrock, who is responsible for the process internally. "With the SBTi validation, COMPO is emphasising its role as a green leader in the industry and setting new standards for sustainable corporate management. We are proud to already be able to demonstrate significant reductions in GHG emissions and will continue to pursue our reduction plan in the future. The implementation of the targets is regularly reviewed and communicated transparently," says Engster. "With the SBTi validation, the medium-sized company headquartered in Münster is seamlessly joining the ranks of top international companies such as Henkel, Miele, L'Oréal and Beiersdorf, with the common goal of making a fundamental contribution to limiting global warming and its consequences, while at the same time reliably supporting trading partners in achieving their own climate targets." 1 For reasons of better readability, only COMPO is referred to below. However, this refers to COMPO Consumer GmbH. It bundles all international companies of the Group that are included in the SBTi validation.

With the extension of the internationally successful brand campaign "Better the best. For nature. For you. For everyone." COMPO is getting hobby gardeners out of the winter doldrums even before the official start of spring and awakening anticipation for the coming gardening season with a surprising creation. Creative communication launch well before the official start of spring The communication launch in mid-February not only stands out from the usual communication rhythms of the gardening industry in terms of timing. From now on, COMPO's pre-season campaign with the slogan “turn grey into green” will encourage hobby gardeners to leave winter behind and start the gardening season straight away. Especially on COMPO's social media channels Facebook and Instagram and as part of the accompanying, broad-based influencer activation, garden owners and plant lovers will find creative, humorous and, above all, inspiring examples of how gray winter dreariness can finally be turned back into green life. Using COMPO products, influencers with a wide reach show how the garden can be brought out of hibernation as early as February and encourage their followers to join in using the hashtag #ausgraumachgrün (#turngreyintogreen). "We are convinced that the early, unconventional approach is attention-grabbing and has a lot of activation potential from which our retail partners can also benefit. However, the most important thing for us is to send out another creative signal that it is never too early to support nature and bring it back into our everyday lives," explains Stephan Engster, CEO of COMPO. Campaign success that combines social vision and responsibility COMPO's innovative pre-season push combines perfectly with the international 360° brand campaign that COMPO launched in 2024 and will take to the next level across Europe in 2025. COMPO's core message "Better the best. For nature. For you. For everyone." is a call and obligation for everyone to act in a holistic way for the environment and society and to give something back to our nature. From sowing the seeds to enjoying the harvest together, the spot and campaign kits celebrate the joy of gardening that connects generations in nature. "When we launched the campaign last year, we were aware that a communication offensive that focuses on our social vision and responsibility across Europe is risky. At the same time, the message, which consistently combines tradition and a promise of quality with the company-wide sustainability strategy, is more timely and important than ever. We are therefore pleased that ‘Better the best. For nature. For you. For everyone.’ has been so well received and has exceeded our expectations many times over,” says Engster. "’Better the best. For nature. For you. For everyone.’ will be continued throughout Europe in 2025 and expanded both quantitatively and qualitatively. While the focus in 2024 was still on the core message of brand communication, in 2025 there will be an additional focus on the product level," adds Claudia Maushagen, Head of Brand Strategy & Corporate Communication. Focus on user centricity and performance The brand campaign is being rolled out for the umbrella brand and successively for individual product categories and services. Whether at the best broadcasting times on traditional TV, on the best-known streaming services, daily on all relevant digital channels, at the POS or in selected print media and on large-format posters in highly frequented locations – the activating message will reach target groups across all age groups where they spend the most time and accompany them throughout the entire gardening season. “An innovative, data-driven approach optimizes user centricity and performance, especially on COMPO's digital channels,” reports Stephan Roth, Head of Digital. "COMPO's brand message is efficiently and specifically targeted in all European markets. This also ensures optimal support for our retail partners and customers throughout the gardening season," adds Engster.

Münster (December 2024) – The new sustainability declaration for the 2023 reporting year has been prepared according to the standards of the German Sustainability Code (GSC) and once more marks pioneering milestones in COMPO's ESG programme and Green Leadership pledge. It documents the progress of the comprehensive sustainability strategy for all international production sites within the COMPO Group and demonstrates a significant reduction in climate-relevant emissions. COMPO's ESG programme aims to develop a strategy for the continuous reduction of all climate-relevant emissions, from one end of the value chain to the other. "By joining the Science Based Targets initiative in 2023, COMPO is following a clearly defined pathway to emission reduction in line with the 1.5 °C target of the Paris Climate Accords," explains Stephan Engster, CEO of COMPO. "Our success speaks for itself! We are proud to report significant GHG-emission reductions and we remain committed to resolutely pursuing this path." Emission reduction through forward-looking raw material alternatives and technologies An analysis of the corporate carbon footprint assessment according to the internationally recognised Greenhouse Gas Protocol reveals opportunities for sustainable change. A key approach is the focus on innovative and low-emission raw materials. A multidisciplinary team from the research centre at the Münster headquarters develops ecofriendly and highly effective product formulations. COMPO has enjoyed particular success when it comes to increasing the percentage of raw materials that are renewable and regionally sourced in its potting soils. Optimisation of the raw material selection process for substrates has delivered a significant reduction in both Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions. The strategy will be continued and expanded upon in the coming years. Another milestone: To reinforce its leadership position in organic and organic-mineral fertilisers, the 2023 reporting year saw COMPO launch the largest investment project in the history of the company at the Münster site, where it constructed Europe's most advanced production plant for organic and organic-mineral fertilisers. COMPO is setting new standards in efficiency and sustainability at this production facility with its innovative COMPO Advanced Release Technology. Regional resources for shorter delivery routes and a reduction in transport emissions The regional sourcing and processing of natural materials has enabled COMPO to both reduce transport routes and increase flexibility in the supply chain. "In addition to lowering emissions, we are also setting new standards across the industry with this approach, particularly in Germany," emphasises Peter Bali, Head of Business Development at COMPO. The simultaneous reduction in transport emissions combined with regional and lower-emission raw materials, optimised production processes, and improved inventory management, enables us to achieve a significant reduction in Scope 3 emissions as compared to last year's report. This approach will be increasingly rolled out across southern Europe in the future. Internal and external responsibility COMPO focuses on raw materials that come from the circular economy, both for its products and for its packaging. COMPO's packaging made from recycled materials recently won the Plastic Recycling Award and has won the German Packaging Award on numerous occasions. In the 2023 reporting year, renewable resources account for more than 98 per cent of our packaging materials. More improvements will follow in the future. For example, the Group will only use packaging consisting entirely of post-consumer recycled materials for liquid fertilisers from 2025 onwards. Transition to renewable energy The consistent transition to green electricity at all our German sites has also had a noticeable impact: "This measure reduces Scope 2 emissions by more than 89 per cent. Plans to transition to green electricity at international sites are already in place," says Engster. COMPO is also promoting sustainable mobility by installing e-charging stations and offering company bike leasing at selected German locations, for example. Responsible action and sustainable management are key claims for COMPO on all levels. "The GSC declaration clearly shows that we are serious about our self-imposed commitments and implementing them across Europe successfully," emphasises Stephan Engster. The GSC also ensures that the sustainability standards of the various companies are visible and comparable via its publication platform. "This enables us to offer our business partners and customers maximum transparency," adds Engster. In addition to detailing all climate-relevant emissions, COMPO's new GSC declaration also illustrates the social and governance aspects of the company-wide ESG programme. It is available in both German and English in the GSC database.