Waste management

Much of the world’s waste comes from the packaging of actual goods. To minimize such waste, we are decreasing the number of products distributed on physical media and transitioning to online license sales. During the reporting period, the share of boxes in Kaspersky’s B2C channel sales decreased (11% to 7%). The share of ESD (Electronic Software Distribution) and POSAPoint-of-Sales Activation. cards in global sales is approaching 40% and will continue to grow in the future. The best results in the sale of ESD have been seen in such regions as Russia and Latin America.

Regrettably, we currently are unable to entirely discontinue the distribution of products on physical media, since some customers traditionally prefer to purchase CDs or DVDs, and in some regions, for example in African countries, due to a lack of stable access to the Internet. For such products, we have introduced compact packaging with the lowest possible plastic content. It is marked with international recycling codes to enable customers to dispose of it responsibly in their respective countries. Kaspersky complies with legal requirements related to the import and disposal of packaging in all its sales regions: it pays environmental fees, as well as collects and provides regulators with the necessary data on packaging and its disposal.

In addition, we are reducing the amount of plastic in the production of souvenirs and company merchandise and switching to the use of recyclable and eco‑friendly materials.

The overall decline in the sale of physical goods and growth in digital distribution is a global trend, with pace varying depending on the region.

Reactivation, a process when users return to our retail store to purchase a new license a year later after buying it, accounts for 30% of B2C channel sales revenue. Each year the B2C digital retention from the B2C channel sales revenue amounts to 7%, as users make an online purchase a year after buying in our retail store.

In steering the Retail to Subscription project, we are of course consulting with all stakeholders, including our distributors, and working on incentive programs to bring success.

We are dedicated to minimizing the quantity of our printed informational and promotional materials, and we actively recycle outdated posters, signs, banners, and photo panels used for our internal events.

In November 2022, we implemented an electronic document management (EDM) system for our interactions with external contractors, allowing both us and our partners to substantially decrease paper usage. As of December 31, 2023, the number of counterparties using the electronic document exchange system with our Company was up to 498 (versus two in 2021).

In 2023, we conducted an audit of our infrastructure jointly with our vendors to increase its stability and speed, made changes to the interface of the EDM platform to make it easier to use, switched to interaction with third‑party operators and began integrating the platform with the internal contract portal. This will help us further expand EDM and increase the number of partners using it in our joint work.

Our Moscow office has posters with infographics about separate waste collection and has installed containers for the separate collection of paper, plastic, glass, metal and mixed waste. Additionally, new containers equipped with compartments for waste paper, plastic caps, batteries, rechargeable batteries and electronic cigarettes were installed in the printer rooms in 2023.

Kaspersky entrusts the daily removal, transportation, recycling and disposal of waste to specialized companies. All contractors, including waste disposal companies, are checked for compliance with legal requirements.

Hazard class I and III waste are partially decontaminated before being sent for burial or disposal.