What is in Hillenbrand's 2025 Sustainability Report?

Global automation machinery manufacturer Hillenbrand provides processing equipment and solutions to customers in more than 100 countries around the world.

It focuses on weaving sustainable practices into its operations, ensuring that its products benefit communities and the environment, while meeting ethical and compliance standards.

Hillenbrand has released its 2025 Sustainability Report, highlighting its sustainable and responsible achievements over the previous fiscal year.

Tory Flynn, Chief Sustainability Officer and VP Corporate Affairs at Hillenbrand, writes on LinkedIn: “A sustainability report represents months of work – capturing operational improvements and collaboration across customers and our supply chain.

“What’s often less visible is the effort behind building the report itself: aligning disclosures, frameworks and data to deliver meaningful insights to our stakeholders.”

Hillenbrand’s emissions reduction

Hillenbrand’s primary goal in its operations is to help its customers overcome challenges including waste, plastics, energy and food security by engineering equipment that enhances efficiency and reduces energy consumption, waste and raw material use.

The company reports that it has been able to mitigate some of its absolute emissions through its expansion of renewable energy across its operations.

The report says clean electricity represents an increasing proportion of Hillenbrand’s total electricity usage year upon year and renewable energy was 23% of its total energy mix in fiscal 2025.

These efforts, among the company’s other initiatives, have resulted in a 16% decrease in absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 27% decrease in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by revenue, compared to its fiscal 2022 baseline.

Kim Ryan, President and CEO of Hillenbrand, says: “At the centre of the actions we take and the commitments we make is our Purpose to Shape What Matters For Tomorrow, which reminds us that we manufacture industrial equipment and systems that positively impact the world around us.

“We are determined to face global challenges head-on, support the circular economy and help our customers meet their critical needs in the areas of durable plastics, food and recycling.

“I am proud of what we accomplished together in 2025, including how our cross-functional teams worked to mitigate the impacts of tariffs on our business, launched a global performance review process to provide even greater clarity into our strengths and weaknesses and remained resilient through our continued transformation and uncertainties.”

A focus on energy efficiency

Hillenbrand says that, due to a challenging year, it focused on building a pipeline of cost-effective, robust and actionable energy efficiency initiatives, which were designed to deliver energy reduction and cost savings within the next five years.

It adds that its goal within its own operations and for its customers is to minimise energy use within its processes.

Hillenbrand partners with its customers to extend a product’s lifespan through recommended and preventative maintenance, as well as its aftermarket services.

This process involves looking at the total cost of ownership, optimising effective energy consumption and aligning services with a customer’s sustainability goals.

By gathering data from different processes within its value chain, Hillenbrand says it has been able to identify priority areas for improvement so it can implement product optimisations aimed at reducing emissions, resource use and cost.

All sustainability, net zero and sustainable supply chain leaders should attend:

• Sustainability LIVE: The Net Zero Summit - QEII Centre, London, March 4-5
• Sustainability LIVE: The US Summit - Navy Pier, Chicago, April 21-22

Co-located with Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE, these events brings together CSOs, ESG leaders and senior decision-makers at a moment when sustainability, supply chains and commercial performance are increasingly interconnected.

Tickets can be booked online today for The Net Zero Summit and The US Summit. Group discounts available.

Building supply chain resilience

In its Sustainability Report, Hillenbrand recognises that a resilient and collaborative supply chain is essential to its shared success and the long-term wellbeing of the communities and environments in which it operates.

It says it works on upholding human rights, fair labour practices and ethical conduct across its network of suppliers and partners.

Over the past year, it has focused particularly on building resilience across its supply chain, by anticipating disruptions, reducing volatility and ensuring continuity of service.

Hillenbrand’s reported efforts include its commitment to local-to-local sourcing and production which reduces the distance materials travel, minimises emissions, supports regional economies and creates more predictable lead times and tariff exposures.

“Accurately reporting on our progress and demonstrating our commitments in the face of changing requirements is a vital piece of this ever-changing environment,” Tory says.

“While these regulations have continued to become a moving target due to a broader geopolitical background, we have spent time ensuring that our actions, and the data that we collect in support of those actions, paints a robust picture of how we uphold our sustainability programme.

“We have embraced data collection and automation, as well as the shift to AI to further support our programme.”