Sustainability strategy

At Sonova, it has always been our mission to have a positive effect on our consumers’ lives. We aspire just as much to have a positive effect on our society and the environment. Therefore, we consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles as integral to the way we do business.

Stakeholder engagement

Continuous engagement with stakeholders allows us to better understand their needs and expectations concerning our business activities, products and services, as well as sustainability initiatives and projects. Stakeholder engagement is vital for Sonova's long-term performance and regular interactions provide us with meaningful insights. We review the outcomes of stakeholder engagements and incorporate them into our operational and strategic decisions. We have defined seven key groups of stakeholders:

• Employees
• Consumers
• Customers and insurers
• Suppliers
• Shareholders and financial communities
• Academia and opinion leaders
• Regulators

Additional stakeholders that are important to Sonova are: the media, competitors, community representatives and NGOs.

Double materiality assessment

In the 2023/24 financial year, Sonova transitioned from a single materiality assessment to a double materiality assessment. Engaging more than 100 internal and external stakeholders, we gathered insights about our actual and potential impact on the environment and on society (impact materiality), as well as about how our financial performance is, or could be, affected by sustainability issues (financial materiality). 

The 2025/26 DMA builds on the 2023/24 and 2024/25 assessment results, which we reviewed and adjusted with input from 21 internal topic managers and experts. The DMA covers the Sonova Group, including all businesses and its value chain.

In the 2025/26 financial year, we conducted the DMA by completing the following four steps:

1. Input factors review
2. Review of impacts, risks, and opportunities (IROs)
3. Review of materiality calculation
4. Governance review and approval

The assessment resulted in eight key material topics as shown in the following matrix: 

The material topics are mapped within the value chain as follows:

IntACT - Sustainability Strategy of Sonova

With our hearing solutions we improve the lives of millions of people. Beyond serving our consumers, we aspire to create benefits for the economy, the environment, and society as a whole. Sonova’s ESG commitments are formalized within IntACT – our Sustainability strategy. The name IntACT emphasizes the ultimate goal – keeping our planet and people intact – and underlines the urgent need to ACT.

• Protecting the planet: We drive the transition to a resource-efficient and low-carbon future of our operations throughout the life cycle of our products and services.
• Serving society: We constantly innovate in hearing health care, improve access for people in under-served areas, and engage actively with our communities.
• Advancing our people: We foster our employees’ development, wellbeing and engagement in an inclusive work environment that embraces diversity.
• Acting with integrity: We behave ethically and apply the highest quality and safety standards to everything we do.

Our Sustainability Report 2025/26 is organized according to these areas.

Sustainability Governance

Sonova has a defined governance structure for managing, improving, and reporting on our ESG performance. The Sustainability governance structure involves our shareholders at the Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors, the Group Executives and ESG Council, the Corporate Sustainability and Corporate Sustainability reporting teams, topic managers and experts, as well as local Group company representatives.

Sonovaʼs Corporate Sustainability team, led by the VP Sustainability & Infrastructure, provides expertise on ESG topics to the Board of Directors and the Group Executives, implements and develops the sustainability strategy and initiatives, monitors progress, prepares quarterly ESG Council meetings, and regularly engages with relevant internal and external stakeholders. Progress on ESG targets is also regularly reviewed by the Group Executives and is an element of each member’s variable compensation. The Nomination and Compensation Committee reviews and approves ESG-related targets and achievements linked to the variable compensation for the Group Executives. The Board of Directors approves the sustainability strategy, initiatives, and targets and receives monthly updates.