4 Introduction
1
“ The past year was obviously characterized by the pandemic . Our companies and operations have struggled with stunted sales , cost savings and efficiency improvements . Short term , it has also affected our work with sustainability where we have paused some forward-looking projects .”
CEO statement
But we have not been forced to back down . We have succeeded in maintaining a high minimum level in line with policies and values . Despite turbulent times and lost sales , we have not deviated from sustainability . Rather the opposite .
In the wake of the pandemic focus on sustainability and the demand for products with sustainability attributes has grown . Instead of a setback in the sustainability work , perhaps we got the breathing break we needed to adjust and meet a greater demand for products where sustainability is built-in . During the year , we saw a large increase in the number of products with sustainability attributes in the companies – and more will come !
At the same time , perhaps the most obvious change was an accelerated digital transformation where physical meetings have been replaced by digital solutions , business trips have been reduced and the printed sales material has been minimized . It has been normalized to interact with customers , suppliers and colleagues in a virtual way . It is not the only way forward – I still see the relationshipbuilding physical meetings as very important – but a larger proportion of virtual meetings are definitely here to stay as the pandemic has shown that it works .
Going forward , we will need to restart some projects and investments in the sustainability work . Especially related to an increased focus on circularity and the development of products that , for example , enable reuse of the material and where as little as possible goes to waste when the product is worn out . This is also about working with the customers and spreading the knowledge so that the products are used and handled properly .
With hopefulness I look forward to 2021 and the development of our sustainability work . In the long run , I ’ m more convinced than ever that we will succeed in adjusting instead of canceling .
Our organization has , not at least through its fantastic work in 2020 , shown that we can tackle most scenarios in a good and flexible way . Our challenges are complex , but the high ambitions and solid work described in this report keep me inspired and positive about the future .
Torsten Jansson CEO