In many ways, GEA is a traditional German engineering company. Think of them as behind-the-scenes builders, making machines that help some of the world’s biggest household names produce things like milk, beer, baby formula, vaccines, or even pet food.
And yet in April 2024, GEA stepped into the foreground – and made history. It became the first company in Germany’s DAX index family to present its climate transition plan to shareholders, earning an astonishing 98.44% approval. The plan lays out GEA’s pathway to net-zero emissions by 2040, backed by a €175 million investment in transforming its operations.
GEA’s sustainability strategy is already delivering real business results. Last year, 41.6% of its sales came from sustainable solutions, and TIME magazine ranked it #33 out of the 500 most sustainable companies in the world. So how did a legacy manufacturing company win over investors — and how is it driving innovation from the inside out?
We sat down with GEA’s Chief Sustainability Officer Dr. Nadine Sterley, who joined The DO’s expert network when we began partnering with GEA on leadership development.
The DO: GEA wasn’t required to put its climate strategy to a shareholder vote, and doing so is still not that common in German industry. Talk us through the thinking behind that decision.
Nadine Sterley: Climate transition is a fundamental issue for GEA—one that requires us to rethink and transform our entire business model. Given the scale of change involved, we felt it was essential to bring our shareholders into that process in a meaningful way. That’s why we made the decision to put our climate transition plan to a vote at the Annual General Meeting. It was our way of saying: Are you with us? Will you join us on this journey? The response was incredibly affirming – more than 98.4% of shareholders voted in favor.
TD: Were you surprised by that result?
NS: We were more hopeful than surprised. We put a lot of effort into communication ahead of the vote. Our climate transition plan was published well in advance of the AGM, and we took the time to engage our investors through webcasts, calls, and individual meetings. The goal was to make sure all their questions were answered up front, so they could feel fully informed and aligned.
TD: What role did storytelling play in achieving this result?
NS: Storytelling is super important when it comes to sustainability, because it means doing things differently. And so it was important that we explain not just what we’re doing, but why and how. Especially for our shareholders, we focused on creating awareness and building understanding, step by step.Ahead of the AGM vote, we gave investors detailed insights into our plans – like how we assessed our production sites and found we’ll need to invest about €175 million over 16 years to decarbonize our buildings and infrastructure. That’s on average around €11 million a year, which is very doable when you consider that our total annual capital expenditure is more than €200 million. It helped show that climate action is both serious and manageable.
TD: How do you encourage sustainability innovation at GEA?
NS: Product innovation is key for us. We want to empower our customers to meet their own climate targets. That means helping them produce food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals more sustainably and affordably. And to do that, we need to continuously innovate and offer smarter, greener solutions.To accelerate disruptive innovation at GEA, we introduced “sustainathons.” These are a mix of a hackathon and a sustainability sprint. It’s quite a shift for a traditional German manufacturing company like ours. We brought together more than 160 people – young talents and experienced colleagues – into teams to tackle one sustainability challenge over three days. At the end, they presented their ideas directly to senior management. It’s a great way to spark bold, disruptive thinking and accelerate sustainable technologies from within.
TD: What would you advise other companies looking to follow in GEA’s footsteps and create shareholder buy-in for their green transformation?
NS: I’d say it’s about cultivating the right mindset. For us, the climate transition plan is about turning risks into opportunities. So much of the conversation about climate change is about the risks it poses. But we see it as a business opportunity. We have all the technology we need, and we know exactly what we have to do to decarbonize our operations. And so my advice is, frame your transition plan around the opportunities you have and how you plan to take advantage of them. That’s the best way to get your stakeholders on board.
Director Leadership Development & Intrapreneurship, The DO
