SvenskaSustainability: Being the drive for positive change
Our mission is to eliminate waste, dust emissions and spillage from dry bulk handling and wood-processing operations, and to leverage our technology, our knowledge, and our industry influence to accelerate positive global change.
We recognize that we work in environmentally intensive industries, but our growing global population, expected to reach around 10 billion people by 2050, requires infrastructure, power and food. Sustainability within this, is about long-term survival in an ecological, social and economic equilibrium, which we are all part of.
Sustainability has no borders; it extends beyond us as individual companies and means that our influence can reach further. Change must start somewhere, and we believe that businesses are one of the greatest platforms to influence and drive industry transformation. Through our unique set of skills and capabilities, we want to enable our customers to adopt the most sustainable models of dry bulk handling and wood-processing operations.
GOOD NEWS FOR THE PLANET
Our customers need sustainable solutions and the demand for sustainable products has never been greater than today. This is good news for the planet, and for organizations that actively promote sustainable development.
We believe that through our focus on sustainability, we will not only strengthen our own position in the dry bulk handling and wood-processing industries, we will be a catalyst, driving long-term industry change and supporting operators on their journey towards a sustainable future.
A SINGLE WORD, SET TO CHANGE THE WORLD
Sustainability is on the world’s agenda, and for good reason. Our current decade, the 'decade of action’, is the most critical for making positive, sustainable change. The United Nations (UN) Environment Programme report warns that unless global greenhouse gas emissions fall by 7.6 percent each year between 2020 and 2030, we will miss the 1.5°C temperature goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, and experience irreversible consequences such as more rapid species extinction, mass coral bleaching, sea level rises and more extreme temperatures and weather.
OUR COMMITMENT TO THE GLOBAL AGENDA
We are taking action now. FTG supports the 17 sustainable development goals defined by the UN in the 2015 Paris Agreement, and is committed to the 'Ten principles' of the UN Global Compact. To meet the UN’s sustainable development goals, which aim, amongst other things, to protect the planet and end poverty by 2030, the next few years will be critical in making the world a more sustainable place.
We are actively working to analyze our business and working practices throughout our entire value chain, assessing where we can make improvements. Our aim is to share this journey, and our steps forward, with you on this page.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?
Transparency is key to our sustainability work. It provides our customers, co-workers, owners, and other stakeholders with insight, as well as the possibility of joining us, in driving sustainable development.
We offer transparency through open, clear communications, information disclosure, and knowledge transfer with all key stakeholders. We also work to recognize areas where we need to improve, so that we offer better practices and performance.
Transparency is reflected in our core values: we care about the future; we do it together; we provide lifetime care; we drive innovation; and we keep our promises.
WHAT SUSTAINABILITY MEANS FOR US
FTGs goal is to be at the forefront of sustainability within our industry, and drive positive change throughout it. To ensure sustainable development, the current needs of our industry must be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. For us, our sustainable model of development revolves around four key elements: the planet, people, (economic) performance, and our products; the 4P sustainability framework.
OUR 4P SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK:
PLANET, PEOPLE, PERFORMANCE, PRODUCTS
PLANET
For the planet, we offer the most environment-friendly dry bulk handling products on the market. But we must continue to make our equipment ever more energy efficient, integrating advanced new digital technologies if they hold the promise of this.
Furthermore, we are considering the environmental impact of our entire manufacturing and business operations . All aspects of this will be identified and analyzed through our strategy for sustainable development.
PEOPLE
For people, and our social sustainability drive, we must be run as a ‘good citizen’, taking responsibility for people both internally and externally from the company. No one should be harmed during the production and installation of our equipment, but beyond health and safety, we must ensure a work environment that ensures equality in all aspects, from diversity to gender.
Externally, social sustainability is ensured through paying taxes in the countries where we operate and reviewing production conditions in all our facilities globally, making sure that our suppliers meet our sustainability goals as well and that this can be certified.
PERFORMANCE
For performance, long-term profitability is important and a prerequisite for a company’s survival. Sustainable development can be daunting for some, but FTG believes that we need to start now, with ambition, from the position we are in, and think long-term.
PRODUCT
For products, we want sustainability to be part of their ongoing advances through innovation, research and development, equipment safety and quality, as well as in our supply chains and sourcing. When designing new solutions, we are evaluating how we can optimize the results in a sustainable way. This may be through the introduction and integration of automation and digitalization, the use of materials and investigating any potential material advances, energy use, or other valuable aspects of sustainable product development.
Everything that we do from this point onwards, from an environmental, social, economic and innovations perspective, will be considered together. This will ensure that we are able to comply with the UN sustainable development goals and the 2015 Paris Agreement.
OUR STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
We strongly believe that sustainability should be ingrained in our core business, and reflected in our values and company culture. This work is ongoing and continually being considered and evaluated; sustainability is not something that can ever be completed.
To strengthen our approach to sustainability, and know that we are heading in the right direction, we are getting down to details. Our strategy for sustainable development follows five main steps: analyze, identify and involve; set direction; prioritize and establish goals; implement; and monitor and develop.
ANALYZE, IDENTIFY AND INVOLVE
All companies have impact; we are assessing ours and identifying the opportunities and challenges within FTGl’s sustainability strategy.
As part of this, we are considering the entire value chain of our business, including those areas outside our direct control. We are starting with what we know, and with what we are already doing today, and developing gradually; not only thinking about the risks, but also the opportunities.
To identify the most important areas of sustainability, between 2021 and 2023, we are carrying out the following examples of analysis:
- situational analysis
• stakeholder analysis and dialogue
• materiality assessment
• climate calculations
• value chain analysis
• lifecycle assessment
Stakeholders are critical in this process and determine a company’s development and profitability. From operators, owners, customers, and suppliers, to employees: by listening to and understanding stakeholders, we are keeping track of issues that directly and indirectly affect and develop our company. Central to this is good communication based on transparency and dialogue.
FTG recognizes that there must also be a way both to implement change and fulfil the needs, knowledge and perspectives of our stakeholders, or this work will have no impact. We are learning from each other and progressing faster in our sustainability goals by working together.
SET DIRECTION AND THE LEVEL OF AMBITION
We understand that companies that strategically integrate sustainability work in all aspects of their business, are the most successful at achieving their goals. Therefore, our sustainability activities are becoming an integral part of our daily work.
Our sustainability work is being anchored in our company values and sets a clear direction for sustainability ambitions. We are also evaluating our current levels of sustainability, and using this as a basis for knowing where we want to be positioned in five and ten years’ time.
FTG’s social sustainability aims are being formulated. We are including the most important sustainability issues in our vision and company strategy, and defining our sustainability strategy and the direction of our external contributions.
PRIORITIZE AND ESTABLISH SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
Our sustainability goals, priorities and knowing the level of our ambitions, will provide a clear framework for progression, enabling us to move from words to action.
- Reviewing
We are reviewing the areas where FTG is best placed to make a difference, taking into account stakeholders’ perspectives, our situational analysis, and deciding where to invest.
- Defining goal process
We are defining a goal process based on our challenges and opportunities, using information from situational analysis, and stakeholder dialogue, and identifying different needs, expectations and risks.
- Forming sustainability teams
We are forming sustainability teams, with representatives from different departments, bringing in diverse perspectives and ensuring that our goal formulations are deeply anchored within, and impactful, throughout our business. Goals are decided by the board and management teams, with as much input from the company as a whole and from our stakeholders.
- Measuring results
We are developing methods to measure results and ensure implementation.
- Developing goals further
We are developing some goals that can themselves act as indicators. These are applicable from project-specific work though to department-level, and used to monitor results either qualitatively or quantitatively, depending on the goals and their purpose.
- Developing a sustainability policy
We are developing a sustainability policy, which is designed to clearly outline our strategic goals and act as a governing document for the company’s sustainability work. Once finalized, this will be shared.
IMPLEMENTATION: WORDS INTO ACTION
Implementation is one of the most crucial steps for a company’s sustainability work, translating goals and visions into results.
Sustainability work is a development process and like our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, we are all on a similar journey.
We are addressing the most important questions, and focusing on what is feasible. By starting with the easiest elements, we are building momentum and gradually increasing commitment and interest from our stakeholders. We are learning from others; there is no need to ‘reinvent the wheel’.
MONITOR, EVALUATE AND DEVELOP
Sustainability work means change. We are establishing clear goals and indicators, so that it is easier to follow-up our developments and evaluate any results. In a changing process it is especially important to maintain a focus and control of the goals that have been set.
It is also important to intermittently evaluate what has gone well and what has not; remaining curious and questioning whether we are doing the right things to get to where we want to go.
Our results setting the path forward and adjusting our direction where necessary. We will also continue our dialogue with stakeholders to ensure that we meet their needs.
OUR SUSTAINABILITY PROMISE
Upon the completion of our sustainable development policy and at the end of each phase of work, we are publishing the results. We hope that this transparency, and our drive to be at the forefront of sustainability, creates a momentum within the industries in which we operate, and then extends beyond them, accelerating positive change on a global scale.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR SUSTAINABILITY WORK, PLEASE CONTACT US
Sustainability strategist within FTG
Ulf Godtman
+46 521262748