A more sustainable Beijer Alma. Many people are working together to make our operations more sustainable. Group management, our Coordinating Chief Sustainability Officer, and the presidents and plant managers at our subsidiaries have jointly set goals that are monitored and connected to various improvement measures.

Thoughts on sustainability. Meet some of our employees around the world and hear their thoughts on sustainability.

Three questions to Anna Haesert, Chief Sustainability Officer:

An overview of our sustainability work

Anna Haesert is the Group’s Coordinating Chief Sustainability Officer. Here, Anna explains more about Beijer Alma’s overall sustainability activities and shares some examples of what is being done at our local units.

Beijer Alma have approved near-term science based targets (SBT). What’s the impact of this?

Many companies have committed to setting science-based targets, showing their climate ambition. These targets are ambitious, and if every business were to set science-based targets, we would all gain confidence about being on track to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Of course, the main benefit of having such targets is that they inspire new ways of thinking, new initiatives and the actions needed for positive change.

Beijer Alma have set new objectives and roadmap to 2030. Can you tell us more?

The five-year time frame for the previous sustainability objectives ended in 2023. During the year, the Group’s work with material topics was reviewed. After a thorough mapping, science based climate targets were also developed. This work governs the Group’s new sustainability objectives and its roadmap up to 2030.

We have expanded the agenda to ensure our broader impact and responsibility in the value chain. The Group’s sustainability agenda is under continuous development. During the year, Beijer Alma carried out a double materiality assessment, which provided a direction for moving forward and was a step in the Group’s preparations for the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The sustainability agenda is being expanded and, starting in 2023, focuses on five areas:

Sound business ethics and social commitment
More efficient use of resources
Reduced climate impact
Safe and stimulating work environment
Innovation with sustainability in mind

Working proactively in these areas helps us move forward towards sustainable and profitable growth. At the same time, we reduce risks and realize business opportunities.

Climate change is driving global technology shifts in areas such as electrification. How does this affect you?

This can be both a threat and an opportunity. Beijer Alma is well equipped to respond to these changes. Many of the components that the Group companies manufacture are customized to customers’ unique needs. This means that we enter the development process early on, and can adapt technical solutions to changes in requirements and take advantage of opportunities that arise. We are also well diversified, with customers in different industries, which means that we don’t have any significant exposure to individual sectors that might suffer negative impacts from these expected technology shifts. Our products are also included in products that are part of the transition.

How do you address these sustainability issues?

We look at the big picture and how we can contribute to a circular, sustainable society. We monitor technological developments in the world around us and value partnerships and collaboration. Sound business ethics and social commitment are important parts of our sustainability objectives. The guiding principle is our Code of Conduct, which applies to everyone in the Group regardless of where they are in the world. This is supplemented by tools in our subsidiaries’ various units. We are also engaged locally where we operate by supporting organizations that advocate local development. Sustainability regulations and reporting requirements are going to become more stringent in the next few years.

What are the challenges?

We have solid fundamental procedures that we can build upon further as new laws, regulations and frameworks are developed. While expanded reporting is always a challenge, there are advantages because it will be standardized in the future. The collection of sustainability data has now been digitized, which has facilitated data management

GLOBAL COMPACT

The Communication on Progress (CoP) is an annual report that shows how Beijer Alma fulfills the principles of the Global Compact. The CoP connects each of the ten principles to initiatives that are presented in the sustainability report. Read more about the Global Compact

Whistleblowing procedures

The corporate climate must be transparent, with a high level of business ethics. As such, we want to identify any potential irregularities at an early stage. Through our whistleblowing process, employees and stakeholders can report suspected unethical behavior or illegalities safely and entirely anonymously. Read more

Approved climate goals

Having our targets approved by Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) means that emissions calculation and targets for reduction are quality checked. A comprehensive mapping was carried out of the greenhouse gases across the Group’s entire value chain. Based on this, Beijer Alma has developed a roadmap to 2030 in order to reduce its carbon footprint in line with the Paris Agreement. The Group signed a commitment for near-term science based targets and submitted them for further validation by the SBTi.

LESJÖFORS

Rejuvenation of wasteland

With climate change and sustainability high on the world agenda, Lesjöfors in Huddersfield, UK, have been busy swapping springs for spades in a new waste regeneration programme of land surrounding their site. Working in partnership with a local charity, the company has helped finance the rejuvenation of 3500 sqm of wasteland into a wildflower meadow and planting native trees that will eventually form new woodland.

LESJÖFORS

More solar energy

The roof at Lesjöfors Springs UK’s distribution and logistics center in Huddersfield, in the northern UK, is covered in 633 solar panels turned towards the sun. They provide annual energy production of 203 MWh, reducing the company’s carbon emissions by 39 tons. “We get ‘free’ energy while our efforts also have a positive impact on the environment,” says Robert Glynn, CEO of Lesjöfors Springs UK.

BEIJER ALMA

More qualified students

Teach for Sweden trains teachers in new ways. The initiative – whose objective is to train motivated teachers to help more students achieve their upper-secondary school qualification requirements – has grown significantly. A full 20 percent of all math, technology and natural science teachers (grades 7–9) are recruited from Teach for Sweden’s leadership program. Beijer Alma supports this work. More of the Group’s managers have become mentors for future teachers. School classes are also invited to visit the Group’s facilities.

LESJÖFORS

Life cycle analyses

One of Lesjöfors’s focus areas when it comes to sustainability is sustainable innovations. Life cycle analyses are a part of this work. They are used to evaluate the environmental impact of a product from all aspects – from extracting raw material to production, use and disposal. “The goal is for the information to be used in the development phase of a new product. Identifying opportunities for improvement and implementing strat – egies to reduce environmental impact allows us to help customers in their choices,” says Chief Sustainability Officer Anna Haesert.

BEIJER TECH

Lower consumption

Connected properties are one of INUstyr’s specialties. Fastens 2.0 is a modern portal for individual measurements and billing. It is used in apartments where electricity and hot water are not included in the rent, but rather are billed separately. Electricity and water consumption have decreased after the portal was introduced by tenant-owners’ associations. This is likely because residents better understood how changing their habits can help reduce their consumption

BEIJER TECH

Energy savings

The Finnish company Finn Lamex Safety Glass is a leading manufacturer of laminated windscreens for vehicles like buses. The company amex also develops sun protection, which is practical in a variety of ways. Sun protection in the glass filters out solar radiation, UV light and IR radiation. This reduces the temperature in buses, providing greater comfort for passengers and the driver. This reduces the energy consumption of the air conditioning system by about 20 percent.

BEIJER TECH

Climate-smart service

KTT Tekniikka specializes in maintenance and service of industrial gearboxes used in many processing industries. Maintenance initiatives extend the useful lives of the equipment and mean that customers do not need to purchase new gearboxes as often. Maintaining a gearbox instead of purchasing a new one saves anywhere between 500 and 5,000 kilos of steel. This is the equivalent of a 900 to 9,000 kilo reduction in CO² emissions.

LESJÖFORS

In-house training

European Springs & Pressings in the UK has started a program for five new apprentices. “Apprentices and new workers are in increasingly high demand as the manufacturing industry in the UK has been facing the largest skills shortage in over 30 years. As such, a strategic, continuous recruitment process is essential, and we are always actively searching for exciting new engineering talent,” says Stuart McSheehy, Managing Director of European Springs & Pressings. An apprenticeship is a great way to get a foot on the ladder in the engineering industry, while also getting paid.

LESJÖFORS

Circular pallets

Alcomex uses pallets for storage and transportation. Secondhand pallets are used whenever possible. The pallets are used until they are no longer suitable for secure transportation. The pallets are then donated to a local Dutch charity organization that has arranged a popular “construction project” for children. With the help of professional carpenters, the children are building their own cabins from timber from the pallets. The project will conclude with an exciting sleepover in the cabins, which will then be disassembled. The timber will then be delivered to an energy plant where it will be transformed into biomass.

BEIJER TECH

Reduce impact

Swedish Microwave (SMW) is reducing the environmental impact of its products by reducing the power consumption of the low-noise block downconverters (LNBs) that the company manufacturers. LNBs are used to receive and convert satellite signals. Customers are using 100,000 LNBs, each of which consumes approximately 5 watts per day, 365 days a year. SMW’s technical reconstructions have the potential to help reduce this consumption by 10 percent. All in all, this will reduce customers’ electricity consumption by 438,000 kWh per year.

BEIJER TECH

Solar electricity

Green electricity is the model for Källström Engineering Systems. When the company recently expanded its premises, it also took the opportunity to install solar panels. Solar panels have been installed on a 400-square-meter space on the roof of the facility. About 55,000 kWh of solar electricity will be produced each year via these panels.

LESJÖFORS

Reduce carbon footprint

In Germany, Lesjöfors has invested in a fully automated packaging process. The investment is increasing efficiency, but was also the result of a need to reduce our carbon footprint. Modern robots and automation are increasing energy efficiency and reducing the production facility’s energy consumption. The new packaging line is able to manage five times as many products as the previous line and is able to package 10,000 springs every day. The optimized workflow has resulted in shorter lead times and faster deliveries.

BEIJER TECH

Fossil-freee vehicles

A more electric and less fossil fuel in the company’s vehicle fleet. This is the core of the vehicle policy in Beijer Tech. As a result, fossil-fuel cars are being phased out and replaced by electric cars and hybrid cars. The policy contributes to reducing the environmental impact in the company’s value chain. Several of Beijer Tech’s facilities are equipped with charging stations that can be used by employees, suppliers and customers.