Under the umbrella of the Code of Conduct that instructs all employees to ensure efficient use of natural resources, our Sustainability Policy sets the specific direction for circular economy for the Group. Within resource use and circular economy, the Sustainability Policy addresses actions to tackle Demant’s impacts and risks regarding resource inflows and outflows including:

• Integrating circular economy principles and targets to reduce resource use and lower the environmental impact of Demant’s products.
• Packaging optimisation to reduce packaging materials and quantities and to transition away from virgin materials, where possible.
• Sustainable resource consumption and conscious waste generation, including appropriate disposal, in daily business activities.
• Responsible use of other materials, like the ones used for shipping and marketing of products, and responsible acquisition of other elements (i.e. interior design and furniture of facilities).
• Encouraging business partners to constantly reduce the use of natural resources in their own operations as communicated in our Third-Party Compliance Code.

Under the umbrella of the Code of Conduct that instructs all employees to ensure efficient use of natural resources, our Sustainability Policy sets the specific direction for circular economy for the Group. Within resource use and circular economy, the Sustainability Policy addresses actions to tackle Demant’s impacts and risks regarding resource inflows and outflows including:

• Integrating circular economy principles and targets to reduce resource use and lower the environmental impact of Demant’s products.
• Packaging optimisation to reduce packaging materials and quantities and to transition away from virgin materials, where possible.
• Sustainable resource consumption and conscious waste generation, including appropriate disposal, in daily business activities.
• Responsible use of other materials, like the ones used for shipping and marketing of products, and responsible acquisition of other elements (i.e. interior design and furniture of facilities).
• Encouraging business partners to constantly reduce the use of natural resources in their own operations as communicated in our Third-Party Compliance Code.

Our circular economy actions include a wide range of topics from resource efficiency and use of secondary raw materials to value retention maximisation and end of life.

The following circular economy-related actions are taken in 2024:

• Design of hearing aids for reuse as testing hearing aids for users’ trial period: Designing a hearing aid intended for use by multiple individuals requires efforts to ensure compliance with the medical regulation and device sanitation requirements. We have designed and manufactured a testing hearing aid, known as the Demoflex, to be used by up to 50 users during a short trial period.

• Resource efficiency in hearing aids accessories: We are constantly striving to improve our hearing aids and accessories. Each of our hearing aids comes with a plastic container for storing small, replaceable filters that prevent earwax from entering the instrument. These filters need frequent replacement, as they accumulate wax. By enhancing the moulding process and redesigning the container, we have reduced plastic consumption per unit produced for the new version of the container by 53%. The new version was introduced in 2024 and will be used for all of the earwax filter containers from 2025 and forward.

• Use of secondary raw materials in packaging for diagnostic devices: To reduce the pressure on the extraction of virgin materials and waste generation, our Diagnostics business area has incorporated recycled materials into its packaging. In 2022, we started using recycled polyethylene plastic in the plastic bags we use in our global packaging. In 2024, the recycled content of our bags was on average 55.6%, and we used a total of 446 kg of recycled plastic. Moreover, the cardboard used in our packaging contains up to 98% recycled materials, representing more than 50 tons of recycled material.

Our circular economy actions include a wide range of topics from resource efficiency and use of secondary raw materials to value retention maximisation and end of life.

The following circular economy-related actions are taken in 2024:

• Design of hearing aids for reuse as testing hearing aids for users’ trial period: Designing a hearing aid intended for use by multiple individuals requires efforts to ensure compliance with the medical regulation and device sanitation requirements. We have designed and manufactured a testing hearing aid, known as the Demoflex, to be used by up to 50 users during a short trial period.

• Resource efficiency in hearing aids accessories: We are constantly striving to improve our hearing aids and accessories. Each of our hearing aids comes with a plastic container for storing small, replaceable filters that prevent earwax from entering the instrument. These filters need frequent replacement, as they accumulate wax. By enhancing the moulding process and redesigning the container, we have reduced plastic consumption per unit produced for the new version of the container by 53%. The new version was introduced in 2024 and will be used for all of the earwax filter containers from 2025 and forward.

• Use of secondary raw materials in packaging for diagnostic devices: To reduce the pressure on the extraction of virgin materials and waste generation, our Diagnostics business area has incorporated recycled materials into its packaging. In 2022, we started using recycled polyethylene plastic in the plastic bags we use in our global packaging. In 2024, the recycled content of our bags was on average 55.6%, and we used a total of 446 kg of recycled plastic. Moreover, the cardboard used in our packaging contains up to 98% recycled materials, representing more than 50 tons of recycled material.

Our circular economy actions include a wide range of topics from resource efficiency and use of secondary raw materials to value retention maximisation and end of life. In 2024, we launched a redesigned charger packaging alternative across all our hearing aids brands globally, with the exception of charger packaging for one private-label customer. The project aimed to eliminate plastic content and reduce the packaging size to minimise material consumption. While we still use plastic bags to protect our products inside the package, both the inside and outside of the packaging itself is now plastic-free. In collaboration with our largest supplier of plastic for our diagnostic equipment, some of the plastic we receive and use in our devices is from recycled sources. The recycled content in the plastic we use comes from waste generated during our supplier’s internal plastic production. We started using recycled plastic in 2014 and in 2024, we used 1.5 tonnes of recycled plastic. We plan to continue with this initiative in the future.

In 2024, we continued to provide maintenance and repair services for our hearing aids, both at our hearing clinics and at our service facilities. By ensuring the proper maintenance of our hearing aids or by repairing those that need it, we aim to prolong our users’ use of our hearing aids. Maintenance and repair services are available worldwide for all hearing aid models and all brands for up to five years after the model has been discontinued. In 2024, we provided over 1,500,000 repair services in our service facilities. To maximise the lifetime of our products, we offer maintenance services to our customers to ensure that normal wear and tear does not affect the usability or quality of our devices. This service, which also includes the recalibration of our devices, is usually carried out at the customer’s location or at local in-house workshops. If required, we also offer repair service, which we provide worldwide. We guarantee to have spare parts available for up to seven years from the purchase date of our instruments to ensure that whatever issue the device is experiencing, it can be fixed.

In 2024, we continued to provide maintenance and repair services for our hearing aids, both at our hearing clinics and at our service facilities. By ensuring the proper maintenance of our hearing aids or by repairing those that need it, we aim to prolong our users’ use of our hearing aids. Maintenance and repair services are available worldwide for all hearing aid models and all brands for up to five years after the model has been discontinued. In 2024, we provided over 1,500,000 repair services in our service facilities. To maximise the lifetime of our products, we offer maintenance services to our customers to ensure that normal wear and tear does not affect the usability or quality of our devices. This service, which also includes the recalibration of our devices, is usually carried out at the customer’s location or at local in-house workshops. If required, we also offer repair service, which we provide worldwide. We guarantee to have spare parts available for up to seven years from the purchase date of our instruments to ensure that whatever issue the device is experiencing, it can be fixed.

In 2024, we launched a redesigned charger packaging alternative across all our hearing aids brands globally, with the exception of charger packaging for one private-label customer. The project aimed to eliminate plastic content and reduce the packaging size to minimise material consumption. While we still use plastic bags to protect our products inside the package, both the inside and outside of the packaging itself is now plastic-free.

In 2024, we launched a redesigned charger packaging alternative across all our hearing aids brands globally, with the exception of charger packaging for one private-label customer. The project aimed to eliminate plastic content and reduce the packaging size to minimise material consumption. While we still use plastic bags to protect our products inside the package, both the inside and outside of the packaging itself is now plastic-free.

In collaboration with our largest supplier of plastic for our diagnostic equipment, some of the plastic we receive and use in our devices is from recycled sources. The recycled content in the plastic we use comes from waste generated during our supplier’s internal plastic production. We started using recycled plastic in 2014 and in 2024, we used 1.5 tonnes of recycled plastic. We plan to continue with this initiative in the future.