COMPO News

COMPO has achieved the Gold status for the entire group in the latest EcoVadis sustainability rating. The leading supplier of branded products for plants in the home and garden in Europe is therefore currently the best-rated supplier in its category worldwide, underlining its commitment to responsible and sustainable action along the entire value chain. Outstanding sustainability rating in all relevant areas "Responsible action and sustainable business practices are an integral part of COMPO's DNA. As a green leader in the industry, we have made it our mission to successfully implement our ambitious self-imposed commitments throughout Europe and thus drive sustainable change. We are therefore particularly pleased that our commitment has been awarded EcoVadis Gold status," explains Stephan Engster, CEO of COMPO. “The holistic and independent assessment by one of the leading providers of sustainability ratings is important proof for us and our partners that we set ourselves ambitious goals across the group and consistently implement them,” adds Peter Bali, Head of Business Development at COMPO. Retailers and consumers pay particular attention to professionally and independently certified suppliers. COMPO has been pursuing a group-wide sustainability strategy for years. With the achievement of key milestones under COMPO's ESG programme and Green Leadership Pledge, COMPO receives an overall EcoVadis score of 96 out of 100 percent and excellent ratings in the four key areas of environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. Recent initiatives include: SBTi validation for COMPO's ambitious climate targets as the first company in its industry COMPO's second sustainability declaration in accordance with the German Sustainability Code standard for all international production sites The annual progress report as part of membership of the UN Global Compact The establishment of an environmental management system in accordance with ISO 14001 and an occupational health and safety management system in accordance with ISO 45001 The excellent performance in the EcoVadis rating underlines these efforts. “We see sustainability as an ongoing process and will continue to do everything we can to further raise our environmental and social standards in the future,” says Engster. EcoVadis is one of the world's leading providers of sustainability ratings. The sector-specific assessment is carried out in the four key areas of environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement using a structured, data-driven process. EcoVadis takes into account internationally recognized standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), UN Global Compact (UNGC) and the ISO 26000 standard. The EcoVadis assessment is based exclusively on reliable information from verified sources, including internal company documents, third-party certificates and publicly available data. Since the medal system was revised in 2024, Gold status has only been awarded to companies that are in the top five percent of all companies assessed. For reasons of better readability, only COMPO is referred to. However, this refers to COMPO Consumer GmbH. It bundles all international companies of the Group that are included in the EcoVadis assessment.

COMPO, 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." For reasons of better readability, only COMPO is referred to. 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.