Better Health for All

KWS aims to invest a minimum of 1% of its operating income (EBIT) annually into social projects, which includes initiatives like school gardens.

The school garden initiative supports 10 schools and 5,000 children in São Paulo, Brazil, and 4 schools in Berlin, Germany, providing access to healthy foods and promoting healthy eating habits and awareness of food production. This initiative also provides education about food production, healthy eating, and sustainable practices. The company's R&D budget allocates >30% annually towards the reduction of inputs, which can indirectly contribute to preventative health by reducing chemical exposure.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA is a plant breeding company.

Its core business activities do not involve lending, insuring, moving, or storing money for consumers. Therefore, the company does not offer consumer credit products, generate customer finance data, or operate financial service access points. While KWS engages in social projects and development cooperation, these initiatives are primarily focused on agricultural development, knowledge transfer, and improving crop yields for farmers, rather than direct financial services or financial literacy programs as defined by the rubric. There is no evidence of KWS having a loan/insurance book, charging APRs or fees, or being regulated as a lender. Consequently, all KPIs related to financial services are scored as 0, indicating 'Not applicable' or 'No direct impact on customer credit or savings outcomes' as per the rubric definitions for a non-financial company.

Honest & Fair Business

KWS has a formal whistleblower policy allowing employees to report suspected violations to their supervisor, Chief Compliance Officer, or an external Compliance Reporting Platform, and accepts anonymous tips.

Whistleblowers are protected from retaliation, and suspected violations are investigated and sanctioned. The company provides training courses, information events, and workshops on compliance issues. However, the frequency and effectiveness of this training are not specified, nor are metrics on uptake or resolution. KWS also has an International Anti-Corruption Policy and provides compliance training, but details on its strength, enforcement, or effectiveness metrics are not provided. According to Sustainalytics data from July 2025, KWS has a 'Controversy Level: None'.

Kind to Animals

KWS is involved in projects focused on sustainable livestock farming and animal welfare, such as the Seed2FEED program and the 6-R concept, which aims to improve animal health and reduce CO2 emissions in pig farming through rye-rich feed.

While these initiatives promote animal welfare, the company's direct animal agriculture practices are not detailed, and the focus is on feed concepts rather than holistic assessment of animal treatment. KWS collaborates with the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover on these feeding concepts and is a member of the Futterallianz Nordwest. KWS supports the European Green Deal and the Farm-to-Fork strategy and participates in the “Meat Climate Platform” to find a Germany-wide industry solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in meat production by 2025. KWS invested more than $320 million (or €300 million) in research and development last fiscal year. With net sales of around $1.94 billion (or €1.68 billion) in fiscal year 2022/2023, this investment represents approximately 16.5% to 17.8% of net sales, but the percentage specifically allocated to animal-free technologies and alternatives is not provided. One article states that >30% of the R&D budget is invested in the reduction of inputs, but this is a general sustainability goal, not specifically for animal-free technologies.

No War, No Weapons

No specific, concrete evidence was found in the provided articles to score KWS.XETRA against the 'No War, No Weapons' ethical value. While the company has policies related to human rights and supplier ethics,

and invests in social projects, the evidence does not provide the quantitative data or specific details required by the rubric for any of the KPIs, such as revenue from arms contracts, dual-use technology, sales to embargoed regimes, or explicit peacebuilding investments.

Planet-Friendly Business

KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA reported Scope 1 and 2 emissions of 48,379 tCO₂e for FY 2023, representing a 5.0% annual decline.

However, Scope 3 emissions are not disclosed. The company has a target to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030, using a 2020/2021 baseline of 47,587 tons CO2e. KWS has committed to a 1.5-degree Celsius pathway aligned with the Paris Agreement, but its science-based targets are not explicitly stated as SBTi-validated. The company's net-zero emissions target year is 2050. In 2023, 13% of its global operational energy requirements were sourced from renewables.

Safe & Smart Tech

KWS demonstrates excellent user data control by outlining comprehensive user rights, including the right to information, rectification, erasure, revocation of consent, restriction of processing, data portability, and the right to object to processing.

The company also practices good data minimization, stating it collects only necessary data and stores it only as long as needed for stated purposes. Specific retention periods include two years for job portal data, 30 days after user relationship termination for myKWS data, and 180 days for Facebook Pixel data. KWS explicitly states its compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other statutory obligations, referencing specific articles.