Sustainability with Swedencare

Sustainability

Swedencare’s ambition is for sustainability to be a natural part of our entire business. For us, sustainability means that we take long-term responsibility for the environmental, social and economic impact that our operations have on our planet. We are working to implement a structure that ensures that we reduce our impact as much as possible.

Our focus areas

Responsible control

Swedencare’s operations must be run responsibly and with respect for customers, colleagues, environment and society at the same time as we set requirements against our partners and suppliers.

Our colleagues are our greatest asset

Committed colleagues create sustainability.

Sustainable value chain from producer and product to end customer

We must reduce our impact on the environment and the climate.

Sustainability Governance

Management has the overall responsibility for Swedencare’s sustainability focus and the ongoing sustainability work. In addition to the legal requirements, the board and management work together to implement guidelines for how the company acts as a responsible employer and company. The parent company, Swedencare AB, is responsible for the development of a framework for sustainability at group level through policies and governance documents. We have developed a:

  • Sustainability policy that gives guidance for colleagues and subsidiaries within the group about how sustainability work should be run and which values are important
  • Code of conduct for our employees in the group that provides guiding principles regarding ethics, anti-corruption, human rights as well as social and environmental responsibility
  • Code of conduct for suppliers that places clear requirements on human rights, working environment and climate impact

Swedencare Sustainability policy
Swedencare Code of Coduct Employee
Swedencare Code of Coduct Supplier

Global Goals

Our sustainability work has a clear basis in the global development goals adopted by the General Assembly of the UN with the purpose of achieving a better and more sustainable future for everyone by 2030. We have chosen to focus on the five goals that we believe that we as producers of healthcare products for pets have a direct or indirect effect on and that can affect the developments across the whole value chain; gender equality, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, climate action and life below water.

We contribute to a more equal society

Swedencare contributes to a more equal society by actively working for increased diversity, inclusivity and equality. Equality is fair distribution of power, influence and resources, which is a condition of sustainable development. We support women by sponsoring organisations that aim to both reward excellence and inspire young women in the industry. One of these organisations is Feather in Her Cap, which was created to recognise women who are making a big impact in the animal health industry. Today, Swedencare consists of 51% men and 49% women.

Promote good health and safety

Motivated colleagues are our greatest asset, we work to continuously improve work on environment issues to promote good health and safety. We are a flexible company adapted to the new working life. We strengthen local communities where our production facilities are located by being an active local employer and our staff and subcontractors are from the local area. That is positive for the locality and local business.

We choose sustainable solutions & options

Swedencare wants to increase the sustainability performance across the whole product’s life cycle to reduce our climate and environmental impact. We work to ensure that our suppliers implement active sustainability work in line with the company’s code of conduct for suppliers. We work actively with our packaging and use renewable materials where possible.

Reduce carbon footprint

As a producer, we have an extra responsibility to take action to reduce our negative impact on the climate and the environment. We work actively to reduce the carbon footprint of goods transport and energy consumption. We reduce the amount of packaging material in goods transport and rationalise our deliveries. We are aware of our energy consumption and during 2022 started to measure the group’s consumption and consider what energy sources were used in the group. We have also started investing in renewable energy by installing solar panels in our production unit in Ireland. Swedencare strives to reduce electrical consumption and increase the proportion of renewable energy used in the group.

We protect the ocean

Protecting the sea and marine resources is particularly close to our hearts since the raw material for our original product, ProDen PlaqueOff®, is sustainably harvested off the coast of Norway in the Arctic circle, in one of the cleanest places on earth. In addition to the algae A.N ProDen®, we also use farmed salmon oil and anchovy oil in our products. For us, it is important that we have a minimal climate impact, therefore the salmon oil we use is farmed and products containing anchovy oil, which are produced by NaturVet certified by Friend of the Sea, a project of the World Sustainability Organization for the certification of sustainable seafood, fisheries and aquaculture products.

2022 in brief

During 2022 investment were made in implementing comprehensive sustainability work.

  • We have worked to develop a framework that gives a stable foundation to start from in our long term sustainability work.
  • We have developed codes of conduct for employees and suppliers.
  • We use renewable energy sources (solar, wind and biomass) where possible
  • We reduce energy consumption by using LED and ECO lighting, smart sensors (sensor monitoring). We are also conscious of the use of our machinery and lighting by switching them off when not in use.
  • We take initiatives to reduce the amount of packaging materials and deliveries by stocking goods and shipping in bulk instead of multiple partial deliveries.
  • We use reusable storage containers and pallets. By using them the environmental impact is reduced.
  • We have carried out workshops and reviews of selected global sustainability goals and focus areas.
  • We have developed a sustainability policy that provides guidelines on how sustainability must be driven within Swedencare.
  • We have installed solar panels on our production facility in Ireland.
  • We adjust the indoor temperature during the seasons to minimise energy consumption.
  • We pack our products in groups, which allows us to efficiently use the space of the carrier and reduce the need for fillers. When possible, we also use “Master Packing” where we pack in larger cartons.
  • We produce environmentally friendly scoops, made of corn starch polymers, that are used to measure the product that is given to the pet for our original product ProDen PlaqueOff® Powder. We use these scoops to reduce the carbon footprint left by fossil fuel plastic. Our ambition is to continue implementing more environmentally friendly packaging.
  • We have established and sent out surveys to all our subsidiar- ies to both inform them of our work, expectations and goals as well as following up their sustainability work.
  • We have developed a whistleblower function to capture warning signals early and thereby reduce the risks.
  • 74% of all our forklift trucks are battery powered, which reduces the group’s consumption of fossil fuels.
  • Our production facilities follow protocols with criteria for sustainable development of new products.
  • We reduce our travel by using digital meetings where possible and appropriate. When we travel, we optimise it by visiting customers in a local area at the same time.
  • We reduce transport impact by consolidating orders to manufacturing sites and obtaining a running forecast from large customers to consolidate deliveries and avoid smaller orders.
  • We reduce water consumption by installing filters/water coolers in our facilities which has resulted in a significant reduction in the use of plastic bottles and cups.
  • We are affiliated with FTI AB (Förpacknings- och Tidningsinsamlingen), a nationwide collection system for packaging. This means that we fulfil our producer responsibility and co-pay for the public recycling stations where you can leave our cardboard and packaging materials.
  • We recycle as part of our daily life. Whenever possible, we recycle packaging and paper used in the organisation. In addition, we reduce paper consump- tion by emailing our invoices and delivery notes to customers wherever possible, instead of printing them on paper.
  • We are moving towards an electric car fleet to create a more sustainable planet. Electric cars are not only more environmentally friendly because they have no gas emissions, they also require less servicing due to fewer moving parts than a petrol or diesel car.

The way forward 2023

During 2023 Swedencare will focus on implementing a group-wide approach and working method. We will start the work by gathering and analysing data from across the whole group, our suppliers and partners in order to find out what impact our operations have on the climate and environment. When the analysis is completed we will have a complete image of the company’s existing climate footprint which will be the starting point for our concrete sustainability goals.

We will focus on:

  • Developing and specifying the groups’ overall sustainability strategy and sustainability goals
  • Develop the groups’ sustainability work, quality assure processes and review the policies and governance documents
  • Carry out stakeholder dialogues with focus on sustainability issues
  • Structure the work on future sustainability reports in accordance with the GRI reporting standard
  • Encourage our suppliers to subscribe to our Code of conduct
  • Carry out LCA (Life cycle analyses) on the company’s key products based on a sustainability perspective
  • Develop processes and procedures in order to continuously collect sustainability data from all subsidiaries
  • Carry out employee surveys

Whistleblower function

Our whistleblower service exists to pick up early warning signals and thereby reduce risks. It is an important tool for promoting high ethical standards and maintaining a high level of trust in us as a company, visit our whistleblowing channel here.