2024 Sustainability Report
Our Products
We reduce energy and water consumption, enhance recyclability and embrace circular design to create innovative, reliable and efficient appliances that benefit both consumers and the planet.
Sustainable Products
We design best-in-class products that enhance the lives of our consumers while addressing global environmental challenges.
Our Design for Sustainability approach integrates environmental responsibility across the entire product life cycle, from initial design and material choices to consumer usage and end of life. By employing circular economy principles, this approach reflects our commitment to creating sustainable, high-performing appliances that meet consumer needs while preserving energy, water and material resources. Through a focus on durability and repairability, we also work to ensure that our products are built to last.
Whirlpool Corporation is working to reduce emissions from our products in use (scope 3 category 11) by 20% by 2030, compared to a 2016 baseline, and achieved a reduction of over 65% from 2005 to 2024.1
On a Water Mission in Latin America
Our Water Mission (“Misión Agua”) campaign in select countries in our Latin America region (LAR) underscores our commitment to water conservation and sustainability. This initiative aims to raise awareness about responsible water usage and achieving water savings through eco-friendly products such as high-efficiency washing machines and dishwashers.
The Water Mission campaign advances:
Product Innovation
We communicate our commitment to the environment through the water-saving capabilities of our appliances. This includes the Whirlpool brand’s high-efficiency washing machines and dishwashers, which are optimized to reduce water consumption.
Consumer Education
We believe consumers are agents of change and give them tools to make positive changes and encourage the adoption of more sustainable practices at home.
Regional Impact
The principles of Misión Agua address pressing water scarcity issues in some countries. By promoting efficient water use, Whirlpool contributes to broader environmental sustainability efforts in the region.
The Down With Food Waste consumer education campaign shows consumers how using a garbage disposal in conjunction with their green bin helps divert the maximum amount of food waste from landfills reducing methane emissions — benefiting communities and helping slow the acceleration of climate change.
Washers: Setting a New Standard for Eco-Friendly Solutions
More than a century ago, the business that would become Whirlpool Corporation introduced the first electric wringer washer. While life looks much different than it did in 1911, families’ need to wash their clothes in a simple, efficient and affordable way remains constant. Today we are providing solutions our earliest consumers could only have dreamed of.
Launching a More Sustainable Washing Option
This year we launched a new Consul washer lineup in Brazil, representing the latest in sustainable washer innovations. These Consul models boast features that reduce the environmental footprint, such as:
- Eco Mode which can save up to 15% of water and up to 25% of electricity
- Water reuse which allows consumers to reuse water for other uses in their home
- Water level indicators to use the correct level of water, and
- Measured dosage which helps identify the ideal amount of laundry powder required for each wash.
Building on a Legacy of Innovation
Whirlpool continues to increase investments in high-efficiency front load washers with 2024 product launches in North America like the Maytag Pet Pro front load washer and dryer and new Whirlpool brand front load washers and dryers. Whirlpool also opened new manufacturing lines in Argentina and India this year to expand production of front load washers in those countries.
In India, we completed a laundry energy transition project in 2024. A greater than 10% energy improvement was required to meet new regulations, and Whirlpool maintained a 5 Star rating, the highest energy-efficiency label assigned by India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency, for 100% of our washer portfolio.
Many of the washers in our brands' lineups today include environmentally sustainable features such as:
Delayed Start, which allows consumers to set the washer to start at a later time, potentially allowing them to take advantage of off-peak electricity rates.
Auto Sensing, which automatically adjusts water levels based on load size to help save water and energy.
These latest innovations build on a long legacy of advancement in washer technology, improving both energy and water efficiency.
1910s
More than a century ago, the business that would become Whirlpool Corporation introduced the first electric wringer washer.
1990s
Whirlpool Corporation produced the first energy/water-efficient top load washer in 1998 and the first large capacity front load washer in the U.S. in 1999.
2020s
The average clothes washers built today use nearly 78% less energy than those built in 1992, while their capacity has increased by 60%.2 In the U.S., ENERGY STAR-certified clothes washers offer approximately $590 savings over the lifetime of the product compared to a standard top load model.
ENERGY STAR-certified front load
washers use less energy and water
than top load agitator washers:
Advancing Sustainability Across All Product Categories
Since Whirlpool Corporation's earliest days, we have innovated to make life at home more efficient. We’re proud to lead the way in finding new ways to increase sustainability in our products without sacrificing performance for consumers.
Innovations in Cooking
Innovative ranges offer consumers grilling and air-powered cooking cycles for enhanced cooking versatility. Across our regions, we offer electric, gas and induction cooktop and range products that meet consumers’ needs with less energy. And in North America, we’re collaborating with BORA, a German kitchen appliance company, on revolutionary induction downdraft cooktop technology that eliminates the need for a separate overhead ventilation unit.
Refrigeration Done Right
With the 2023 introduction of SlimTech insulation, refrigerator wall thickness could be reduced by up to 66% and capacity increased by up to 25%. In alternate configurations from increased capacity, SlimTech insulation walls allow a refrigerator to be up to 50% more energy efficient.
We’re currently refining the recycling process of SlimTech with Goodwill’s Green Works, a subsidiary of Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit (Michigan), to recycle the metal from SlimTech doors, capture the insulation powder and return it to our raw material supplier for reprocessing.
In Brazil and India, we launched new refrigerator models to meet local energy standards, with a growing lineup of energy efficient offerings. In Brazil, our Brastemp brand launched refrigerators with inverter technology, which offers more precise temperature control. We offer refrigerators that earned the A+++ rating from Brazil’s PROCEL label for appliance energy efficiency, the highest rating available for this standard.3
Stand Mixers That Stand Out
According to a recent life cycle assessment, KitchenAid stand mixers have some of the best environmental impact ratings in their category. The KitchenAid stand mixer led in the areas of materials and material sourcing, electricity consumption and climate impact during product life. We use more sustainable materials like zinc in our stand mixer and are in the process of reducing the use of single-use plastic in packaging for our small appliance products. We are currently transitioning to expanded polystyrene (EPS)-free packaging for small appliances shipping to Australia and New Zealand in 2025, which has the potential to avoid more than 25,000 pounds of EPS per year.
Dishwasher Designs for All
We’re continually finding ways to make dishwashing more efficient and more accessible. Whirlpool dishwashers use significantly less water and energy, saving an average of 2,500+ gallons of water per year compared to hand washing. And the average dishwasher today uses 50% less water and 37% less energy than those made in 1998.2 On select new dishwasher models in 2024, we introduced a Door Opening System that uses fresh air to dry dishes, reducing energy consumption in the drying phase. We are also innovating with inclusive design. In addition to the Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant dishwasher models, we're offering a Spin&Load Dishwasher Rack accessory, a rack that rotates from a center point for greater accessibility, which can be helpful to a variety of consumers. A wheelchair user can park in one spot and reach the entire bottom rack of the dishwasher from that position.
- On April 1, 2024, Whirlpool Corporation completed its transaction to divest the EMEA major domestic appliance business. 2024 scope 3 category 11 emissions data is inclusive of the EMEA business through the transaction closing date. In 2025, we will be reevaluating the baseline and boundaries associated with our scope 3 category 11 emissions target in response to changes in Whirlpool Corporation’s organizational structure.
- Based on U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) testing data.
- Source: Home appliances get more power efficient to draw consumers. International Valor, October 2021.
