With innovative system solutions to enable sustainable mobility and responsible action, Knorr‑Bremse strives to create added value for its customers and at the same time make a positive contribution to society. Sustainability is therefore firmly integrated in our corporate organization and strategy. With the aim of providing transparent and objective information, we have summarized our sustainability management, measures and their results in our Sustainability Report 2023.
Dear Reader,
As the Executive Board of Knorr‑Bremse, we are united in our commitment to taking sustainable action. In 2023, we stuck to our sustainability strategy unswervingly and improved our sustainability performance. We thus live up to our corporate responsibility, while strengthening our innovativeness and business success. Read how we are increasingly integrating sustainability into our business processes.
ForewordAbout Knorr‑Bremse
Knorr‑Bremse is the global market and technology leader for braking systems and a leading supplier of other rail and commercial vehicle systems. Knorr‑Bremse’s products make a decisive contribution to greater safety and energy efficiency in rail and road traffic around the world. Thanks to its innovativeness, Knorr‑Bremse is able to play a role in global megatrends such as urbanization, sustainability, digitalization, and mobility. These trends are key aspects of the mobility transition and offer long-lasting growth opportunities for rail and commercial vehicle markets.
A high degree of innovativeness is required to keep on developing powerful products. At Group level, we invested € 544.1 million (2022: € 466.1 million, 2021: € 431.4 million) in our R&D activities in fiscal year 2023. At 6.9%, the ratio of research and development expenses to Group revenue in 2023 was again above that of the previous year (2022: 6.5%; 2021: 6.4%). At the end of the fiscal year, the company employed 4,588 people in research and development (2022: 4,216, 2021: 3,980).
Selected key figures for 2023
Knorr‑Bremse has two strong pillars in the shape of its Rail Vehicle Systems (RVS) and Commercial Vehicle Systems (CVS) divisions. We always seek to inspire customers with our products and system solutions and their quality and reliability. In both divisions, the company has been at the cutting edge of its industries, driving innovation in mobility and transportation technologies with a leading edge in connected system solutions.
