The Leinolat Group is Working on Making its Business More Responsible – the new Sustainability Strategy was Developed in 2022
Leinolat Group has decided to enhance the sustainability of the company's operations in response to the increased social responsibility and customer expectations. The Group's Sustainability Manager, Samuli Kuusisto, emphasizes the importance of concrete sustainability actions in business development.
Sustainability Strategy is a Collective Effort Throughout the Entire Group
"We made the decision early on that by involving our employees already from the beginning, we would achieve the best possible outcome. Sustainability is everyone's shared concern, and the best way to implement related measures is to include people and ask them what sustainability means to them and what they see important. In-house participants were given tasks related to sustainability, stakeholders were interviewed, and workshops were held to gather ideas and material."
Stakeholders included suppliers, customers, Vaasa University, the Chamber of Commerce of Ostrobothnia, and participants in the Open Smart Manufacturing Ecosystem project.
"We received a lot of good feedback and suggestions from different stakeholders. Based on this, we gained a broader understanding of which actions are the most effective and will have the greatest impact on our sustainability efforts."
The material was presented and discussed in Leinolat Group Management team. The Leinolat Group sustainability strategy, which is the result of the collaboration of over 70 individuals was then further developer and approved by Leinolat Group's board in November 2022.
The Sustainability Strategy was Developed Based on the Ideas of Group's Personnel
Sustainability is one of the cornerstones of the Leinolat Group overall business strategy. In 2022, the sustainability strategy was clarified by dividing it into three areas:
- Employees – everyone has an equal opportunity to influence and achieve the results together
- Operations companies – the current state of our operations and the future development of the carbon emissions
- Concretizing sustainability – practical actions.
Concrete sustainability measures, goal setting, and reporting have been developed within these areas during 2023. The development work based on the sustainability strategy will of course continue in the coming years.
"In Leinolat Group we are of the opinion that only responsible companies will succeed in the future. That's why we're taking concrete actions to reduce our own environmental impact. This is why we're investing in a geothermal heating and cooling system at the new Kilkanen factory. Another concrete action was the installation of solar panels on the Kilkanen factory's roof. We now get approximately 15% of the factory's annual electricity needs from solar power."
The implementation of the sustainability strategy started in April 2023 with a training session held in collaboration with the Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce. Anne Vanhala, Sustainability Expert, initiated the session by presenting sustainability thinking in business. Maijastiina Jokisalo, Training and Communications Manager, also played a central role in organizing the event.
Partners Require Sustainability Actions
As Leinolat Group collaborates with major global companies, the formulation of a sustainability strategy was a natural continuation of the overall business development. Customers are today focusing on addressing sustainability-related challenges in their operations, which in turn has an impact on the Leinolat Group.
"For example, one of our customers in Central Europe demanded that all its suppliers should have a sustainability certification. As a result of this request, we started the process and in early 2023, Uwira received the silver medal certification by Ecovadis.
In Finland, many sustainability measures are an integral part of business, ensured in part by legislation. Third-party impartial assessments of a company's operations serve as assurance to our partners.
"We understand the importance of international certifications; they signal that we are following certain standards," concludes Kuusisto.
