Year In Review 2017 Year In Review 2017 new | Seite 21

Membership Spotlight
Last year was a historic year for our company. We announced in March that SCA would split into two
independently listed companies – the forest products company SCA, and a new global hygiene and health
company, Essity. Essity was officially listed on the NASDAQ in Sweden in June, and our CEO Magnus Groth rang
the bell there. The next day, I had the privilege of ringing the bell at NASDAQ in New York City, surrounded by
many team members and customers representing Essity in North America.
In spring 2017, as part of our global strategy, we acquired BSN
medical, a leading medical solutions company. BSN is known
for its wound care, orthopedic and compression therapy
products, including the JOBST brand. The addition of BSN into
our already strong family of products will help us continue to
further provide hygiene and health solutions to our customers.
“Our commitment to sustainability remains stronger
than ever. We will continue to support the UN
Sustainable Development Goals, and will remain
actively involved in the process to drive change”
As for the future, I am very excited for Essity! We have many plans surrounding product innovation, continuing
to improve efficiencies and meeting the needs of our customers. An area that is truly exciting is the company’s
global Hygiene Matters initiative, which aims to drive education and spark a global conversation around the
importance of hygiene and its link to health and well-being. We’ve set out to be a global thought leader in
hygiene and contribute to better hygiene standards. In fact, in 2016 we provided hygiene education to more
than two million people worldwide.
Locally, Hygiene Matters is reflected most significantly through our focus on hand hygiene and handwashing
education. In addition to our handwashing poster campaign with the Philadelphia Eagles, we are currently in
the final stages of development for a handwashing education program that we will implement in partnership
with the School District of Philadelphia. In Sweden, we are driving the Hygiene Matters conversation through a
unique photo exhibit at the Fotografiska museum in Stockholm. It is called “Hygiene - A Circle of Life” featuring
photography by Ida Borg. She captured emotional photographs of different moments of people’s lifecycle,
helping to demonstrate that health is dependent on hygiene.
For our local plans, we will continue to build upon the strong foundation we have created here in Philadelphia
at our North American headquarters.  In fact, we are currently undergoing renovations to all three floors
of our Cira Centre residence. Our office space is LEED CI-Gold certified, one of the highest sustainability
designations awarded by the US Green Building Council and the first office space in Philadelphia to achieve
this certification. The Gold certification indicates that our site is sustainable in: water efficiency; energy and
atmosphere; materials and resources; and indoor environmental quality. We are extremely proud of this
designation!
Our commitment to sustainability remains stronger than ever. We will continue to support the UN Sustainable
Development Goals, and will remain actively involved in the process to drive change. We challenge and
welcome others to join us!
Finally, I would like to take a moment to mention the history we share with SACC-Philadelphia, and how grateful
we are for this special relationship. When Essity made the decision to establish its North American headquarters
in Philadelphia in 2004, we were very pleased to connect with SACC-Philadelphia. Along with the pride we
share in our Swedish heritage, we have enjoyed the networking, cultural and business opportunities afforded
by our membership. I am looking forward to sharing our future successes with our friends at SACC-Philadelphia.

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