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.

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.