Spaljisten’s contribution to sustainability

Hållbarhet och utveckling är två begrepp som numera nämns dagligen så väl i media som i samtal människor emellan. Med vad är det och vad har det med Spaljisten att göra? Allt skulle vi vilja påstå, både början, slut och allt däremellan. Här försöker VD Florim Mustafa och hållbarhetschef Ermal Devce förklara vad den hållbara utvecklingen betyder för Spaljisten, vilka insatser vi gör framåt, för oss gör dem och hur dem tar sig i uttryck.

To begin with the very concept of sustainable development, it was coined in 1987 through the UN report Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report. There was the definition:

"Sustainable development is a development that satisfies today's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."

This description rhymes very well with Spaljisten's own thinking regarding sustainability, ie we always have the next generation in mind when we start up new products. During this year, we have also begun to focus even more strongly on points and issues related to sustainable development.

- We as a company leave different "footprints" in the world in the form of resource consumption, climate impact, working conditions and human rights. We must, and want to, take full responsibility for and prioritize this, says Florim Mustafa, CEO of Spaljisten.

Florim believes that sustainability and sustainability issues are also strategic and business issues that we as a company must ensure that we prioritize.

- This means that at the same time as we develop the company commercially, we can take full responsibility for our surroundings, he says.

 

How does Spaljisten work with sustainable development today?

Spaljisten has from its inception as a company in Åseda in 1975 worked with sustainability in various aspects, but without to a greater extent categorizing or further defining how or why. In 2019, we have decided to become one of the companies that want to work and work for the world to be able to achieve the goals set in Agenda 2030.

Agenda 2030 has been developed and decided by the countries of the world and consists of 17 global goals for sustainable development to be achieved by 2030. It aims to realize human rights for all, achieve equality for all women and girls, eradicate poverty and hunger and ensure lasting protection for the planet and its natural resources. These global goals are integrated and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development; the economic, social and environmental dimensions.

 

- In the spring of 2019, the management team went through Agenda 2030 and made the decision that we want to be an active part of this. The decision was that we would focus on five of the seventeen goals to achieve success. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something and we at Spaljisten can do a lot, Florim explains.

 

The goals Spaljisten landed in and will contribute to are Good health and well-being, Gender equality, Sustainable energy for all, Reduced inequality. and Sustainable consumption and production.

Each goal will be supplemented with sub-goals and represented and run by someone from Spaljisten's management team. This is so that the goals can be broken down at all levels and stages in the company and not remain wise thoughts on a piece of paper.

- An example to illustrate how I as an employee in Spaljisten's production can actively contribute to achieving the goals in Agenda 2030, is that we, individually and together, work to reduce the waste that occurs in production, says Ermal Devce, sustainability manager at Spaljisten.

In addition to trying to engage its employees in the spirit of sustainability, Spaljisten has taken an active stance regarding the energy source for its operations. For some time now, only locally produced and renewable electricity from wind turbines in the region has been used in production. The electricity is so locally produced that we can even point out from which wind turbines the energy comes from.

 

- Here we have made a responsible business decision with both social and environmental sustainability in mind, says Ermal. We have a strategy and business plan that emphasizes sustainability as both a core value and as a business strategy. Therefore, the choices and investments we are making now are significant and I really think we stand for the words that we have the next generation in mind. The investment is also completely in line with the global sustainability goal Sustainable energy for all, which is also one of Spaljisten's focus goals, where a clear sub-goal is to significantly increase the proportion of renewable energy, he continues.

 

Sustainability both at work and at home

When asked if it is one of the five selected goals that is particularly close to our CEO's heart, Florim emphasizes Reduced inequality. He has a vision of a workplace that is based on the principle of equal rights for all, regardless of gender, religion, functional variation, age or other position.

- As a war refugee, I have worked for now 20 years trying to reduce various prejudices that usually lead to war. My dream is to experience everyone's equal rights around the world during my lifetime, which I work for both in my professional role and as a private person.

In addition to participating in various forums where Florim talks about his life journey, he tries for his own part to contribute to sustainable development through food and source sorting, which is converted into biogas for vehicle fuel. He tries to travel by public transport as best he can and with shorter transport distances, it is almost always a walk or bike ride.

- There are constantly new ways of thinking and living for it to be sustainable. So it is important that we keep up and try to contribute to sustainable development going forward, we all have a responsibility for our planet and future generations, Florim concludes.

We at Spaljisten hope that you as an employee, collaboration partner, customer, supplier, business leader and private person want to follow our sustainability journey and our contribution to the future! How will you pull your straw to the stack? Do you have advice or tips for us? We want to know! Do not hesitate to contact us.