DI RECTOR R EPORT SU STAINABS’ILITY NOTES
Sustainability notes IVL’s vision of a sustainable society involves sustainability permeating all parts of our operation, both in relation to our customers and other stakeholders as well as in our internal work. IVL’s sustainability work is structured around policies, strategies, management systems and business plans. The work is headed by the IVL management team, which establishes strategy, focus and goals for sustainability work. Development and implementation of the work takes place in the sections. The CEO regularly reports the status of the work to the company’s Board of Directors and the foundation’s Board of Directors. The company’s Board of Directors has overall responsibility for IVL’s sustainability strategy and long-term goals, and approves the annual sustainability report.
Focus areas and responsibilities IVL’s sustainability work has been divided into five focus areas, within which various aspects of the work are developed and conducted. The focus areas have been defined on the basis of the essential areas of the operation. They must ensure that sustainability is integrated in all parts of our operation. The structure and the focus areas were defined in 2018, as part of the work of clarifying and strengthening IVL’s sustainability work. A focus area supervisor has been defined for each focus area, and is responsible for the development of each focus area, including objectives, action plans and follow-up, and for coordinating the implementation in the sections. The sections are responsible for the implementation and for development within the framework of each section’s area of responsibility.
The five focus areas are:
Improved environmental performance of customers and a sustainable society: Through assignments and research, IVL will contribute to meeting both the Global Sustainable Development Goals (Agenda 2030) and the Swedish environmental goals. Customer and sustainability benefits are generated in commission and research projects alongside customers and other partners.
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Attractive workplace: IVL’s employees are our most important resource for achieving our vision. For this reason, IVL should be a good and attractive workplace with a healthy working environment. It must also promote gender equality, equal treatment and diversity, with skills and leadership development taking place on a continual basis. Ethics and integrity: Ethics and integrity are key components of IVL’s reputation as an independent and credible institute. Operations must be conducted in accordance with IVL’s code of conduct and values. IVL also works actively to identify and manage sustainability risks for the business. Environmental impact: As Sweden’s leading environmental institute, it is important for IVL to take responsibility for and minimise both the direct and indirect environmental impact from its own operations. The internal environmental work is conducted primarily within three areas: Climate and energy, Resource efficiency and circularity, as well as Sustainable use of chemicals. Healthy finances: In order to conduct and develop our business as well as to be competitive, we require healthy finances. The profits that IVL makes are reinvested in our own research and development. This also includes integrating sustainability aspects into decisions when IVL is providing funding, e.g. when investing in equipment or making a purchase. Policies The basis for IVL’s sustainability work is described in our code of conduct, based on the UN Global Compact’s ten principles and on IVL’s values. The code of conduct applies to all IVL employees and board members, and governs IVL’s conduct towards employees, customers, suppliers, business partners and other stakeholders. The code of conduct has been updated in 2021 and employees have received training. IVL’s policies have been updated in 2021 and consolidated to eight. IVL’s sustainability and environmental policy describes the content and focus of sustainability work, including gender equality and diversity, the working environment, skills development, the environment and quality aspects, as well as requirements for suppliers and partners. IVL also has a general health and safety policy describing in more detail our ambitions for IVL as a workplace and working conditions within the organisation, and includes gender equality and equal treatment. There is also a travel policy describing principles related to environmental, safety and ethical aspects of business travel and corporate entertainment. The following policies also exist: salary policy, information security policy, media policy and a quality policy.
IVL SWEDISH ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
