Climate neutrality is the next stop for countries across Europe. Only in 2020-2021, the home appliance industry has registered a significant progress when it comes to advancing sustainability and circularity, alongside innovation, in the broader effort to enable the energy transition. Yet, the past years have surely been challenging ones for the global economy and society as a whole. 

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic tested the resilience of supply chains of several sectors and the subsequent advent of the ongoing geopolitical challenges has contributed to further exacerbate its impact across the world. In these difficult times, “the industry was called to adapt and resort to risk mitigation tactics, with an eye to secure jobs and reasonably preserve national and international operations, while always standing aside European citizens,” began Dr Götz, APPLiA’s outgoing President and BSH Executive Vice-President, emphasising the commitment of the sector in squaring the circle of environmental prosperity and industrial competitiveness. In this sense, “the 6th edition of the APPLiA Statistical Report is a comprehensive means to celebrate the accomplishments of the industry while setting the scene for more ambitious targets in the year to come,” he continued. 

From sustainability to digitalisation and trade, “the Report profiles a forward-looking sector that keeps up with time,” commented Paolo Falcioni, APPLiA Director General. Data show remarkable progress not only on the circularity and resource efficiency side of products among others, but also on the sector’s improved use of recycled plastic in applications, for instance, as provided in the recently introduced plastic flow analysis, in the Report. Collected trends also inform on an increasingly growing demand for smart appliances across Europe and the wider world, estimating a total of 72,1 million of smart homes only in Europe, by 2024. A promising signal, as the region continues to invest in enabling for the digital transition. Alongside sustainability and connectivity, trade is another critical dimension of the yearly study, informing on imports and exports of products across Member States and globally. Here, Europe maintains the second highest share of units traded on a global scale, while the home appliance industry reports a rising workforce as well as a growing market value. 

Moving forward, the industry continues to work towards climate neutrality hand in hand with policymakers, in the concerted efforts to achieve the green transition and build a more sustainable Europe for all.

Read the press release online

Check out the APPLiA Statistical Report 2020-2021

Federica Lavoro

Communication Manager

APPLiA – Home Appliance Europe

T: +32 490 11 69 29