Tackle Climate Change

By 2020, we aim to reduce our CO₂ footprint by 20 percent, phase out toxic substances, increase competence within the organisation and create clear procedures for reducing our climate impact.

Striving towards ambitious goals

Our aim is to reduce our CO₂ footprint by 20 percent by 2020. This requires action throughout the entire value chain, from small details such as energy-efficient lighting to major renewable energy projects.

One example of the work we do is that, by drawing on the rapidly growing interest in solar energy as a free and renewable energy source, we offer our very own solar energy concept. We are, moreover, ourselves investing in solar power so as to be able to switch to renewable electricity wherever possible. Ahlsell’s store in the Finnish city of Vaasa, for example, is already entirely self-sufficient in terms of electricity requirements thanks to its solar panels. Outside the store, these panels also supply the charging station for electric vehicles with fuel directly from the sun.

We also do everything we can to optimise our transport. From our three central warehouses in Finland (Hyvinkää), Norway (Gardermoen) and Sweden (Hallsberg), hundreds of trucks convey thousands of cubic metres of goods every day. Our 3PL partners drive well-stocked trucks from each warehouse to over eighty terminals throughout the three countries (in which we do not ourselves own any lorries). As far as possible, we then use public cargo transport from the terminals and shared transport in urban areas to optimise the load factor. Furthermore, we aim to increase the proportion of renewable fuel used by our cargo traffic by 20 percent. As much as possible, we also encourage online meetings so as to reduce the need for energy-consuming journeys.

A sustainable approach also means that we strive to reduce our consumption of packaging materials. In our three Nordic warehouses, we work with carefully tailored carton sizes. There are three reasons for this: to minimise material consumption, simplify handling and optimise the load factor on pallets and in trucks. Furthermore, we try to make full use of materials and recycle them as much as possible. Our warehouses include ecological sorting stations for waste management which achieve a recycle rate of over 90 percent.