Create a more positive impact
Become a certified B Corp company
In November 2023, Schmidt Groupe joined the worldwide global of B Corp companies with a score of 84.3 points during its first certification.
The company now meets B Corp’s international social, environmental and governance standards. This achievement gives greater weight to our corporate purpose and reinforces our Group’s intrinsic ambition of creating a positive impact and managing the company with heightened awareness of our impact on people and the living world.
Keeping our commitments
B Corp certification imposes a stringent set of standards. Our Group also sees them as daily commitments in both our production activities and our employees’ working life. Mouse over each circle to discover our actions and results.
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Photo of a Schmidt kitchen featuring 12 clickable circles. Each circle presents a tangible pledge that Schmidt Groupe has made as part of its B Corp certification in the areas of responsible production and working life. Mouse over or click on a circle to see the details of our commitment.
Resources - 84% of the wood used is PEFC-certified, meaning that it is sourced from sustainably managed forests.
Origin - The unit is made at one of our four production sites in Alsace and Germany.
Sustainability - The unit is guaranteed for 10 years, and the metal parts are guaranteed for 20 years.
Health - The materials are verified to be free of chemical substances of concern. Employees awarded Schmidt Groupe a score of 9.82 out of 10 for safety protocols, risk prevention and well-being in the workplace.
Circular economy - Packaging is recyclable and comes with sorting instructions.
Waste - 94% of manufacturing waste is recycled or reused.
Eco-design - Wood offcuts have been reduced by 10% in seven years through improved cutting processes, saving 495 tons of CO2.
Local economy - The Group employs 1,900 people, including 1,700 in Alsace. The other sites are in Germany, Spain and the UK. 25% of suppliers are local (less than 100 km from the production sites).
Fairness - The gender pay gap is calculated and published every year.
Wealth-sharing - 5% of the net income is redistributed each year to all employees.
Ethics - The procurement policy is sustainable, the supply chain is audited, and there is no forced labour.
Climate - The carbon footprint assessment is published every year. Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions are measured with the aim of defining a pathway for reducing our emissions.
Choosing the exacting standards of an international movement
B Corp is much more than a label. It is a movement that currently brings together over 10,000 certified companies in 100 countries, including more than 600 in France. B Corp sets private-sector companies on a path to sustainability and encourages them to serve the public interest.
Schmidt Groupe is part of this global movement that is working together towards a more inclusive, equitable and fair economic system.
The principle involves proving that the company generates a measurable positive impact across five impact areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers.
B Corp is a way of achieving progress by observing and sharing best practices. B Corp is also a certification scheme that involves the whole company. Whether production, procurement, marketing or HR, all the divisions are concerned and required to make their contribution. The standard is constantly rising, so we need to continually up our game and improve our performance.
Since we have been applying a continual improvement strategy to our industrial processes for years, we are now doing the same thing in our commitments with the same steadfast determination.
As such, B Corp supports and consolidates Schmidt Groupe’s ambition of being a better company for the world, better for everyone, more respectful of the planet and its inhabitants.
B Corp is not an end in itself, but the beginning of a journey that will allow us to measure the impact of our business and improve it accordingly.
Process for becoming a B Corp
The B Corp certification process is based on measuring a company’s impact and providing evidence of all its claims. The audit is performed online in two stages:
- Assessment: the company answers a questionnaire (BIA or Business Impact Assessment) to measure its impact across five key areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers. A minimum of 80 points out of 200 is required to move on to the next stage.
- Verification: the company has a 90-minute conference call with a B Lab auditor, answers the auditor’s questions and provides supporting documentation with a view to obtaining certification. Each action must be documented, quantified and verified.
Measuring our performance for each impact area
Governance
How do you make sure your company’s governance considers all stakeholders?
15.2 pts / 17.9 available
Our Supervisory Board includes independent members and regularly reviews the Group’s social and environmental performance. Schmidt Groupe’s mission is legally enshrined in our articles of association, which guarantees our commitment to creating a positive impact irrespective of a change in our shareholding structure. Our code of ethics applies to all employees, managers and subsidiaries. Our financial results are shared with employees. Our social and environmental performance is published every year.
Download our impact report
Workers
How is your company taking care of your workers, improving their lives and wellbeing?
20.9 pts / 34.1 available
Employee health and safety is one of our top priorities. All our permanent employees benefit from formalised well-being initiatives. Our safety protocols are regularly audited and shared. Our managers are trained to provide continual feedback and resolve conflicts. We offer our employees parental leave over and above legal requirements.
Community
What is your company giving back and contributing positively to the community?
20.0 pts / 37.4 available
Schmidt Groupe is deeply established in the Alsace region. More than 75% of our employees across every tier of the company are recruited locally. On average, our supplier relationships last more than 72 months, which guarantees stable, fair partnerships. We donate an average of €1.5 million a year to charitable organisations. We play an active role in the Ameublement Français and SNEC working groups to help raise standards across our industry.
Environment
How is your company prioritising and taking care of the planet?
17.5 pts / 45.0 available
We measure and publish our carbon footprint assessment every year, covering Scopes 1, 2 and 3. We have an environmental management system that controls our energy and water use, waste production, and emissions. Over 94% of our waste is recycled or reused.
Customers
How is your company having a positive impact in your customers’ lives?
4.4 pts / 4.5 available
All our products are covered by a warranty that goes over and above legal requirements. Our manufacturing processes are certified by independent third-party organisations. Customer satisfaction is measured, shared internally and monitored over time. We protect their data in accordance with the GDPR, and we have a responsive customer service department.
Setting sights ever higher
We will renew our certification late 2026 to meet the new B Corp standards. We will be assessed according to seven impact areas that are even more demanding.
Purpose & Stakeholder Governance
We live by a clear and meaningful purpose that promotes a positive social and environmental impact, and considers the interests of all stakeholders — not just shareholders.
We carry out a dual materiality assessment, which was initiated as part of the CSRD, to identify Schmidt Groupe’s priority challenges beyond its financial considerations alone. We set targets for these challenges and report on our progress every year. Schmidt Groupe’s purpose is legally enshrined in our articles of association, which guarantees our commitment to creating a positive impact irrespective of a change in our shareholding structure.
→ Our next goal: increase the transparency of our impact with quantifiable objectives, results measured over time, and validation by an independent third party.
Fair Work
We create a workplace where all employees can thrive, through quality jobs and a positive workplace culture.
Our safety protocols are regularly audited. We offer parental leave that exceeds legal requirements. We do not ask candidates to disclose their salary history. We calculate and publish the gender pay gap each year.
→ Our next goal: better document and improve the visibility of the value that we create for each of our employees.
Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
We are committed to an inclusive workplace and embedding equity and justice into how we operate.
Our three priorities are age, gender equality and disability. An action plan with progress indicators is in place for each priority. Our job vacancies always include a commitment to diversity. Our recruitment processes are designed to limit any biases.
→ Our next goal: carry out an equity audit to gain a clearer insight into our employees’ practices and feelings, and roll out corrective measures where necessary.
Human Rights
We treat people with dignity and respect human rights, taking due diligence seriously on how our business and operations impact people.
We take proactive action to prevent and mitigate any negative impacts on human rights throughout our value chain. Our procurement teams work alongside suppliers operating in high-risk countries to identify, assess and address these risks.
→ Our next goal: extend this process to our entire supplier chain and formalise a method for publicly reporting on the results.
Environmental Stewardship & Circularity
We are committed to understanding our environmental impact, including taking action to address negative effects in order to contribute to an economy that preserves our natural resources.
We monitor the waste generated by our activities and its final destination. Over 94% of our waste is recycled or reused. We monitor our energy use and water withdrawals. Our packaging is recyclable.
→ Our next goal: for water, we are aiming to evolve from monitoring our energy use to setting quantified, public targets. As for waste, we need to involve our suppliers in reducing waste at source.
Climate Action
We see acting on the climate crisis as a business necessity. We are taking actionable steps to help limit global warming to 1.5°C by 2050.
We measure and publish our carbon footprint assessment every year, covering Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. In 2024, we supported 65 suppliers in carrying out their carbon footprint assessment. This collective effort earned us the Procurement Leadership Award.
→ Our next goal: lead decarbonisation actions through major identified strategies.
Government Affairs & Collective Action
We collaborate with others in our community to contribute to make a positive impact and drive systemic change, beyond what we could achieve alone.
We actively participate in the Ameublement Français and SNEC (National Kitchen Equipment Union) working groups to lead change across our industry in such areas as the environment, circular economy, quality and innovation. We are part of the “Coq Vert Pathfinder” community run by Bpifrance and France’s environmental agency ADEME for our ability to spur our stakeholders into action.
→ Our next goal: take our charity contributions beyond the threshold of 2% of our revenue.
Driving the movement
B Corp is also a way of driving our ecosystem towards higher requirements, raising standards across our industry and also helping our suppliers make progress.
For example, we assisted 65 suppliers in 2024 with carrying out their carbon footprint assessment. This collective effort earned us the Procurement Leadership Award. But in addition to this accolade, our entire value chain is making progress.
We are part of the Coq Vert Pathfinder community run by Bpifrance and ADEME in recognition of our exemplary ability to spur our stakeholders into action.
We also play an active role in the Ameublement Français and SNEC working groups with the aim of improving practices across our industry, since transformation is a collective endeavour.