2 Stronger sustainable development

An accelerated green transition will place even greater demands on the companies of the future in terms of sustainability knowledge and competencies. This applies strongly to the development of new technologies and green solutions, data understanding and assurance, communication and digitalisation.

That is why our must-win battle #2 is: Stronger sustainable development.

Stronger sustainability entails a greater focus on a strategic approach to sustainability in Verdo. We must create competitive advantages and stay at the forefront of legislation through stronger sustainable development. We must ensure green and responsible supply chains and continue to develop green products and digital services.

Sustainability on the strategic agenda

Over the past year, Verdo’s CSR focus has moved towards a more unified ESG mindset, where Environment, Social and Governance set the framework for sustainable business conduct and development. The strategic foundation has been further strengthened with the appointment of Line Risgaard Mortensen as Sustainability Manager on 1 February 2022. Line and the rest of the sustainability team are part of Verdo’s Strategy office, which reflects the strategic anchoring that sustainability has been given at Verdo.

According to Line Risgaard Mortensen, Verdo experienced a paradigm shift in 2022, when the strategic focus on CSR became a central part of business development. 2022 has been spent defining the framework and setting the goals, so now Verdo is looking forward to execution in 2023.

The appointment of a sustainability team at Verdo is a key part of our preparations to meet the increasing demands in the EU taxonomy, the CSR directive, and other directives and requirements from the EU, which prescribe a very precise and well-documented approach to our entire social responsibility.

Code of Conduct sets direction

One of the initiatives to boost sustainability at Verdo is a greater focus on our Code of Conduct. As an international company with global value chains, we have a social responsibility beyond our local community and the conditions we are used to in our part of the world.

To meet these obligations and our aims, we have continually developed our Code of Conduct – which defines Verdo’s requirements and expectations of business partners, guided by our sustainability team. We recognise that we have work ahead of us, and through dialogue and cooperation with suppliers and partners, we will ensure continued progress.

Focus on materiality

We are in the process of defining our materialities for each of our business areas – with the assistance of our employees. These include the most important initiatives for achieving the greatest possible CO2 reduction, so that we constantly apply our efforts where they have the greatest impact. The new legislation, which puts even greater focus on materiality, can thus help us set the goals that will make the biggest difference.