April 19, 2013
Today, the outside world is increasingly demanding that companies take on joint responsibility for preventive efforts in the environmental area and that they take social responsibility, which is why corporate social responsibility (CSR) has also come more and more into focus around companies. This year's EEI survey shows that CSR and environmental considerations not only have a positive effect on the company's reputation and bottom line, but that it also results in happier employees.
Lederindsigt.dk would like to know more about what CSR and environmental efforts mean for the company, employees, customers and partners. We have therefore spoken to the furniture fabric company Gabriel, who has worked purposefully with CSR and the environment for over 25 years, about their efforts in this area.
Theme: CSR
By: Louise Lundgreen
The work with CSR makes a positive contribution in all areas of our company and with our business partners. We do not think it pays to compromise with e.g. working conditions, environment or animal welfare, as all these areas have a positive influence on the company's value creation and at the same time provide added value in the products to our customers and users. The work with CSR is a natural part of the group's work. For Gabriel, CSR means that the company takes responsibility for creating value, which directly and indirectly contributes to positive social development.
This is what Gabriel's CEO Anders Hedegaard Petersen and Kurt Nedergaard, Business Manager Quality, Environment and Production (QEP) write in their CSR and environmental statement 2011/12. There are three main aspects; working conditions, environment and focus on positive social development, which Gabriel works from.
-Gabriel's continuous work with CSR ensures that we deliver healthy, quality products that are created with maximum consideration for the environment and resource consumption. We also achieve a good working environment wherever we produce, and we can document this to our customers, as we at least live up to the UN Global Compact, says Kurt Nedergaard, who has been employed by Gabriel since 1988.
The UN Global Compact's ten principles take into account human rights, working conditions, the environment and anti-corruption. Gabriel will be a responsible company, and this is a fixed item on the strategic agenda. At Gabriel, CSR is not a fad, but incorporated into the strategy in line with product development, sales, etc
THE FACTS
QEP-Master, Quality, Environment and Production, (established in 2006/07) supports Gabriel's business development through the optimization of quality and environmental conditions in products, services and processes.
QEP is a department in Gabriel, which assumes responsibility for the quality of all products and services that are sold, and supports its customers regarding quality and environmental conditions in the supply chain.
QEP offers competences in quality and environmental management, product labelling, working environment and product manufacturing.
According to Kurt Nedergaard, the work with CSR and environmental matters contributes positively in all areas, because a healthy ethic is created around the company, and because it can be felt that it adds value. It has been easy for Gabriel to get started on formulating his ideas around both the environment and CSR.
-We take natural considerations into account in our production, because we, among other things, works with color chemistry, and we have always done so, so we had no difficulty shaping and building on both the environment and CSR strategy. We want to be the best in the environmental field, and we work based on a condition that says we must always do better. And it has proven to give positive results on the bottom line, says Kurt Nedergaard.
And it is also his best advice to other companies that want to start working CSR into their strategy.
-Look at the things you already do, and start formulating them into a CSR and environmental strategy. Once that is done, start communicating your initiatives and tell the company's good story. In this way, the messages become alive and relevant both with employees, customers and business partners, and you have thus created a good foundation to work on, says Kurt Nedergaard.
Gabriel also experiences competitive advantages through the value that CSR and environmental considerations create for the customer. According to Kurt Nedergaard, it is possible to deliver products that are environmentally sound and which are competitive at the same time.
- It is important that you are not afraid of losing ground when you choose to take responsibility, whether it is environmental or social. Because, as I said, it is possible to deliver both parts. It is just important to remember that it takes time to incorporate both CSR and environmental policies, but there is great motivation and drive in formulating which measures you want the company to stand for, explains Kurt Nedergaard.
Cradle to Cradle
THE FACTS
Gabriel was established in 1851 and is today one of Europe's leading suppliers of furniture textiles.
See more at www.gabriel.dk
CSR is more than social responsibility at Gabriel, and they have targeted work to simplify processes and remove unnecessary initiatives that do not create value for the company and the environment.
- Our focus on simplification helps to a large extent to minimize waste, and this has also been measurable in the accounts, adds Joan Thiesen, Project Manager QEP.
Gabriel is the first Danish company to be Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certified.
-Traditional production and design is built on a strategy that says that nature's resources are inexhaustible. It is a production system where we take, use and throw away. Today it is called "cradle to grave". We now know that the earth's resources are limited, yet the industry still produces far along the same model. Valuable raw materials end up in landfills or in incinerators, where their value is lost forever, and we at Gabriel have been working to do something about that for the past three years, says Joan Thiesen.
Within the Cradle to Cradle principle, materials are designed to be able to be included in technical or biological cycles, where the concept of waste – as we know it – does not exist. Joan Thiesen continues:
-In 2010 we launched our first Cradle to Cradle (C2C)-certified furniture fabric in pure new wool "Gaja C2C". It was hard work to get there, because of the very in-depth analysis and optimization of our products. In addition, we have carried out studies on how we could use recycled materials, and material was collected for recycling.
In the future, Gabriel will focus on C2C to meet the shortage of raw materials and thus the risk of large increases in raw material prices, which, according to Kurt Nedergaard, is a very big challenge for all societies and not least for the individual company.
The job satisfaction is great because of CSR
At Gabriel, they can nod in recognition that the employees are proud to work in a company that takes consideration and responsibility.
-There is always a lot of talk about our green profile and our responsibility in general among the employees, and I think that, you can say, helps to increase the job satisfaction among the employees. The fact that we take responsibility for our surrounding environments and often do more than the requirements that have been set is part of Gabriel's story, and it is a story that the employees are proud to be a part of, says Joan Thiesen concluding.
Read more about job satisfaction based on CSR in this year's EEI survey here >
Parallel to C2C, the circular economy is also often talked about. These are two words for the same thing, but C2C sometimes becomes synonymous with the certification.
Linear economics is the norm in business life, where companies produce a product, sell it to the consumer, who throws it into landfill or incineration. Produce - consume - throw away.
Circular economy occurs where the gap is closed. This is done by re-designing products so that as little as possible or nothing is wasted when the product has reached its end of life and "dies". What is thrown away can go back to the producer, or back into nature, without harming it.
Source: www.cradlepeople.dk
Last updated 21 September 2022
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