Innovation

Sto Scandinavia AB is a profit-driven company that produces, develops and sells interiors such as floors, facades and concretes. Their vision is that they should be the world leader in sustainable construction in favour of people, society, and the environment. In addition, their mission is that is is an ongoing challenge to preserve the building's value and their esthetical design. Sto Scandinavia is able to develop innovative and functional products and systems for building-constructions, both indoors and outdoors, and provides advice to customers regarding technique, design, and performance. Products and systems meet the criteria for energy efficiency, a preventive technique is good for economy and ecology which all leads to the main purpose - to create a sustainable construction process and maintenance.

Inspiration

They focus a lot on their employees because they want to have the best team to accomplish their goals. Sto Scandinavia sees the people as the most important resource in a company which they claim that differs them from their peers. The employees also are the closest connection to the market partners and therefore Sto Scandinavia encourages and provides development, both professional and personal, for all of their employees.

Overall impact

Karin Bromö says that Sto Scandinavia has developed five overall sustainability goals this year.

1. Reduce climate impact is one which means that they work towards minimize the company's CO2 impact and climate compensation for unavoidable emissions.

2. Sustainable material selection is their second goal to make sure that the materials in their systems should be assessed in the most common environmental assessment systems.

3. Sustainable purchasing is another goal and Sto Scandinavia says that sustainability aspects should always be taken into account when selecting supplier and goods.

4. Social sustainability is their fourth goal. They comply with the requirements that they need to call them social responsibility.

5. Their fifth goal is transparency. All market communication highlights sustainability aspects.

The goals will be clarified and they are working on developing activities for the respective goals. Bromö says that they already do a lot today, for example, having waste targets and produce EPD (Certified Environmental Declarations) on products, but there is much more they can do to improve within the environmental performance. She also says that they need to communicate the positive effects their products have in terms of sustainability - ranging from saving energy with insulated facades to bridges have longer lifespans or facades can be painted and with bionic effects kept clean and fine under a long time with the reduced need for cleaning and repainting.

Business benefit

Karin Bromö and Sto Scandinavia think that sustainability issues are important to the company and see it as a great opportunity. They feel that while they can contribute to a better world, they can also achieve better financial results by optimizing and streamlining their processes. By keeping business and products sustainable, they create an attractive brand and increase the pride of their employees.

Social and environmental benefit

Sto Scandinavia is working today towards a number of sustainability goals. None of them are directly linked to the UN sustainable development goals but the company's work goes hand in hand with some of the goals.

Goal 9 which include industry, innovation, and infrastructure are the most profound. Sto Scandinavia produces innovative products that are crucial in building bridges, tunnels, and houses. They also work in close relation with Goal 12 which is to promote sustainable consumption and production. Sto Scandinavia contributes to a better world and at the same time achieve better financial results by optimizing and streamlining their processes. Their products, for example, saves energy and has bionic effects that keep them clean for a long time. This has also a proven benefit of their business when it comes to stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers and the community. By keeping their business and products sustainable, they create an attractive brand and increase the pride of their employees.

Interview

Karin Bromö, Environment and Sustainability Manager