Lena Ekbom, Head of Sustainability:

“With a conviction that sustainability is a success and survival issue for all business in the near future, and with clearly defined goals, we can make a real difference,” says Lena Ekbom, Head of Sustainability at Axel Johnson International. “Together as a group we are strong, and we can inspire and show clear examples of good practice that can make a change in our industries.”

We have established and implemented our base for systematic sustainability work to ensure our progress towards becoming a more sustainable group. We want to give our companies the right conditions to be prepared for the future. A future where sustainability-related issues have high priority as the world around us changes.

“In a family-owned group of companies like ours, thinking long-term is a natural part of our heritage. We manage and develop what generations of entrepreneurs have built up, and our ability to create value is about social and environmental considerations and responsibilities, but also about long-term perspective on the way we do business,” says Lena Ekbom.

Axel Johnson International’s Code of Ethics clarifies the common values that all companies and employees in the group work from. The Code of Ethics is also very important in relation to our companies’ customers. It was developed and launched in 2016 and today over 96% of our employees have signed it.

Axel Johnson International’s Code of Conduct for suppliers, demands that everyone in the value chain works in a sustainable way. The code is an important tool and the foundation of our companies’ sustainability engagement with suppliers.

“We have founded the base for a systematic approach and development with basic steering documents, established a common language and set overriding sustainability goals that are followed up every six months,” Lena says. “The focus of the ongoing work is to continuously improve the base and focus on a few areas where we see that we can turn risks and challenges into business advantages.”