OUR FOOTPRINTS IN FOCUS Elcowire sustainability report 2020
EXPANDING OUR GLOBAL INFLUENCE OPTIMISING OUR GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
As one of the leading suppliers of wire rod-based products and services, Elcowire provides copper and aluminium solutions that form an essential component in electrical and infrastructural projects all around the world. By creating new possibilities in everything from wind farms and electric vehicles to railways, our innovations are contributing to the decarbonisation of our economy. Minimising our carbon footprint, and the carbon footprints of our customers, is fundamental to everything we do. Today our technologies form the core of emobility and clean energy solutions, as well as transportation infrastructure and communications networks, enabling greener ways to meet tomorrow’s electricity needs However, our vision goes beyond the products we create. Together with our partners, we are committed to building a sustainable society across the supply chain. It starts with our selection of raw materials: sourced from the world’s most environmentally responsible mines and smelters in the Nordic countries and transported in the cleanest way possible. In 2020, the Elcowire Group’s operations were located in the Swedish city of Helsingborg, Hettstedt and Mannheim in Germany, and Taicang in China. The aim of this report is to give you a comprehensive view of how we work across our group in these different locations to contribute to improved sustainability worldwide.
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AN APPROACH GUIDED BY A SHARED COMMITMENT Elcowire has adopted a long-term approach
centred around the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their associated 169 targets. These goals provide the guidance for our future, allowing us to identify the most critical ways that we can contribute to a more sustainable society.
“Here at Elcowire, this is about building a strong culture rooted in a safe and positive work environment for all employees. By focusing on responsible and profitable growth, we are ensuring long-term sustainable development for our business.”
“The SDGs represent a shared commitment to sustainability from the UN’s 193 member states,” explains Paul Gustavsson, CEO of the Elcowire Group. “It is important for Elcowire to centre our own sustainability efforts around this global collaboration.”
Elcowire’s focus is on SDGs: 4 (Quality Education), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).
Elcowire’s contributions to clean energy and electrification are of course a big part of this, but as Paul Gustavsson notes, reducing our carbon footprint is ultimately just the start. “Fighting global warming is of course central to the SDGs, but they are also about the society in which we live and responsible management of resources.”
This sustainability report will examine how these goals and their relevant targets come into play in our daily work.
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SETTING OUR SIGHTS ON A LOW-CARBON FOOTPRINT It’s an understatement to say that 2020 was a different year for all of us. At Elcowire, the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic very much re-shaped our agenda, including our planning when it comes to sustainability. However, this does not mean we have taken a step backward in our sustainability commitments. On the contrary, it has given us new opportunities to understand how we can best focus our efforts. The circumstances brought on by the pandemic meant that securing our supply chain became the number one focus during 2020. More than ever, we have been hard at work coordinating with suppliers and customers alike to ensure that our business delivered as expected. An unexpected and quite positive result is that we have been in close contact with most of our stakeholders on a more regular basis than we otherwise would have during a “normal” year. These valuable conversations have given Elcowire a much greater understanding of the sustainability concerns of our customers and, most crucially, the demands they face to improve sustainability from their customers. In particular, it is clear to us that across the industries we serve, awareness of the total-supply-chain carbon footprint of metals has risen dramatically. Today customers have a far greater understanding of the energy-intensive processes that go into producing the copper used in our products, and the CO2 emissions that are released as a result.
This has shown me that Elcowire’s approach to sustainability must go beyond our previous KPIs that simply focused on energy and resource consumption. We are now setting our sights on being able to provide our customers with products that have a low-carbon footprint. This means working across the supply chain – in our own production, as well as with the mines and smelters on whom we rely – to move from fossil-fuel-based power to 100% clean energy. This work is well underway. Starting in 2020, we have begun a close analysis of our internal processes with the intention of being able to disclose the CO2 footprint of our individual products. We can already state with confidence that many of the products in our portfolio have a total CO2 footprint far below the market average. And we will be intensifying this work throughout 2021 and beyond. Lastly, I want to thank our employees and partners for such excellent coordination during this difficult year. Despite the challenges, our business activities surpassed expectations for 2020, and we have undertaken internal improvements that will make us even stronger going forward. We see a growing demand for our products, and sustainability is key to this story. The transition from fossil fuels means that reliable and efficient conductor materials are more important than ever. Renewable energy and the electrification of society are central to our business model, and we look forward to continuing our contributions to global sustainability in 2021.
Paul Gustavsson, CEO
FOUR NEW BUSINESS UNITS In 2020, Elcowire took the decision to structure our company in a new way to better serve the different needs of our different markets. We are now organised into four specialised business units that provide clearer responsibility and RAIL accountability to improve the supportRAIL for customers in these respectiveROD markets.
HIGH VOLTAGE
SPECIALS
HIGH VOLTAGE
ROD RAIL SPECIALS RAIL ROD HIGH VOLTAGE ROD 4 ELCOWIRE.COM
R
SPEC
We are one of the leading suppliers in Europe, developing products and Weservices are one of the leading suppliers in Europe, developing pr
based on wire rod for the electrical and infrastructure industry with copper 4 ELCOWIRE.COM basedand on wire rod for the electrical and infrastructure indu
aluminum solutions. Operations are located in Sweden, Germany and China. aluminum solutions. Operations are located in Sweden, G
LOCAL ENGAGEMENT For Elcowire, serving the local societies where we work is just as important as the impact we can have globally. In 2020, for example, our headquarters in Helsingborg, Sweden initiated a partnership with the local handball team to support their community programmes for the area’s at-risk youth. Their afterschool help includes homework assistance as well as fun and healthy activities, such as giving kids a chance to try handball for themselves. We are proud to be part of this work to give our local young people safe and valuable alternatives in their free time.
”
We are now setting our sights on being able to provide our customers with products that have a low-carbon footprint. This means working across the supply chain – in our own production, as well as with the mines and smelters on whom we rely – to move from fossil-fuel-based power to 100% clean energy.
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Foto: Siemens AG / Siemens Mobility GmbH
II MAKING CLEAN ENERGY POSSIBLE
The challenge of shrinking society’s carbon footprint is twofold. On one hand, we need to break our reliance on fossil fuels. But on the other hand, global demand for energy continues to grow exponentially. It’s a complex puzzle to be sure, but fortunately, many of the tools needed to solve it are already taking shape. Our global energy system is rapidly adopting renewable sources like wind and solar. At the same time, the transportation sector is moving from fuel-burning vehicles to e-mobility solutions. Globally, mass transit infrastructure is also switching to environmentally friendly solutions like electrified high-speed rail. One thing is clear: these trends are going to take a lot of copper. In fact, today 65% of all copper produced worldwide is used to generate and conduct electricity. A single tonne of copper installed in electrical systems – be it in smart phones and computers, air conditioning systems, cars or homes – can help us reduce lifetime CO2 emissions by anywhere up to 7,500 tonnes. THIS IS WHERE ELCOWIRE COMES INTO THE PICTURE. Conductor materials are vital to the success to achieving efficient power grids that can reliably deliver clean energy from solar power sources and wind turbines. In large offshore wind farms in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, up to 30 tonnes of copper are used in each turbine. Elcowire solutions therefore contribute mightily to global decarbonisation efforts for reducing CO2 emissions. Similarly, while a conventional car contains about 25 kg of
the metal ,the amount is over three times greater for electric cars and much more for buses and trucks. Moreover, copper does not just play an important role for batteries, electric engines and power electronics. It’s also vital for the charging stations that keep electric vehicles on the roads. Today the global e-mobility demand for copper is around 400,000 tonnes, but that figure is expected to reach 3,000,000 tonnes in under a decade. Within mass transit, there are also high demands placed on conductor materials, particularly as growing population and urbanisation forces drive the need for faster speeds and a greater degree of electrification. High-speed trains have particularly hefty requirements for catenary systems and dependable contact wires. Keep reading to learn the difference that Elcowire solutions make in enabling a cleaner future for energy, e-mobility and mass transit. DRIVING THE INNOVATION FOR TOMORROW’S EHIGHWAY. Funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the eWayBW is a recent pilot project to demonstrate the potential of climateneutral drive technologies in road freight transport. The complete system for the project has been made possible by CuMg contact wire supplied by Elcowire Rail in Hettstedt, Germany. In total, 4 kilometres of road have been electrified, and the project will scientifically evaluate the noise level and emissions of the trucks to see how this type of “eHighway” can pave the road toward a more sustainable future.
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HIGH VOLTAGE CONDUCTORS TO HARNESS THE POWER OF WIND Offshore wind energy production is one of the most important solutions we have for transforming our global energy system. Thanks to innovations in this area in recent years, offshore wind has increasingly become an efficient and reliable source of clean, renewable energy. It is therefore enabling us to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and, as a result, the carbon emissions contributing to climate change. One important step forward in this area is the Dogger Bank Wind Farm with up to 3.6 GW of installed generation capacity, located 130 kilometres off the northeast coast of England. Thanks to 800 kilometres of high voltage copper conductors provided by Elcowire, the Dogger Bank Wind Farm will be able to dependably provide power to more than six million British homes. ELCOWIRE.COM 7
III OUR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a blueprint for building a better world for all people. In addition to setting out a better path for our environment, they put an equally strong focus on human rights and developing a more equal society. The same ideas also shape how we at Elcowire approach our work both internally and across the supply chain. “It’s crucial for us to be seen as a trusted business partner that always acts in an honest and ethical manner,”, says Fredrik Adlercreutz, Sales Director at Elcowire. “This has been the thinking behind our Code of Conduct, which has been implemented across the group and made available to employees in all languages in which we operate.” The Elcowire Code of Conduct guides what we expect from our team as well as the suppliers we work with. Anti-corruption policies that ensure fair competition are its core.
The document also outlines human rights practices, including an anti-discrimination clause and zero tolerance on forced and child labour. To ensure we can uphold these values, we have a whistleblowing principle that allows any employee to safely report a breach of policy to the highest levels of the company. “As a business that relies heavily on a supply of minerals, ethical sourcing of our raw materials is also a big concern for Elcowire,” Adlercreutz continues. “Many minerals are mined in conflict areas, where workers can be subjected to dangerous conditions, such as the presence of forced and child labour. We therefore strive to only purchase conflict-free materials in keeping with both the UN goals as well as forthcoming EU legislation.” Working with The Responsible Minerals Initiative, Elcowire uses only certified conflict-free smelters, and ongoing risk-assessment is central to our sub-supplier policies.
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III
ADVANCING METAL TRACEBILITY
ADVANCING METAL TRACEABILITY Tomorrow’s clean energy needs mean that the demand for metal and minerals like copper will continue to rise. At the same time, we see growing awareness over the negative impact that mining activities can have on both the climate and local communities. The Swedish TraceMet initiative was started to resolve this emerging conflict. TraceMet aims to develop a better system for the traceability of metals to enable environmental certification across the entire supply chain. The first two pilot project focus on iron and copper, in the latter case following the materials from the mine through smelting and into the production process. Ultimately, use of a blockchain model will enable fully traceability for these materials, with third-party certification according to the ISO 14064 standard. In addition to our work to ensure conflict-free sources for our copper, Elcowire has also been an active partner in the development of the TraceMet programme since 2019. Through collaboration in this project, we aim to be able to track the total CO2 footprint of the metals in our products – from the mine to the end user.
We are proud to join our partners for this important sustainability effort
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WE ENSURE THE LOOP CONTINUES TO GO AROUND AND AROUND AGAIN Circularity is vital to achieving a more environmental friendly business model. That’s why Elcowire works to support a sustainable loop for our products, minimising both waste and pollution. It starts by ensuring responsible practices at our mines and in our own facilities, and continues in the way we deliver products to customers and work to recycle them at the end of their lifecycle. It’s all getting the most out of our natural resources. But we don’t just participate in a circular supply chain. We create the very products that make it possible. Our contact wires power zero-emission trucks at the mine. We make possible the electrified trains and cars that deliver raw materials to our mills, end-products to our customers, and used-up products to recycling centres. We keep the loop moving around again - and again. 10 ELCOWIRE.COM
IV PART OF A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE
PROJECT VIKING LINK As a supplier to many clean energy infrastructure projects, Elcowire plays a key role in building a more sustainable society. The projects we are involved in include the development of various interconnectors, something which forms an important part of the European Union’s vision for a greener and more unified electricity market. One example is the “Viking Link” project, where Elcowire is a partner as a significant supplier of copper conductors. Currently under construction, the Viking Link is a 1400 MW underwater high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable connecting British and Danish electricity transmission systems. It will run between the Bicker Fen substation in Lincolnshire, UK and the Revsing substation in southern Jutland, Denmark, and will be approximately 760 kilometres in length.
The combined economic and technical benefits make HVDC suitable choice for connecting remote electricity sources, such as offshore wind farms. At the completion of the project, the Viking Link will allow the exchange of electricity between Great Britain and Denmark. In particular, the interconnector will enable a more effective use of renewable energy, creating access to sustainable electricity generation and improved security of electricity supplies. It will thereby offer important socio-economic benefits to both countries.
In addition to a lower investment cost, HVDC technology ensures lower loss than equivalent AC transmission. It can be used to transfer power between separate AC networks and can be automatically controlled to support either network during transient conditions, without the risk that a major power-system collapse in one network will lead to a collapse in the second. ELCOWIRE.COM 11
V PROTECTING THE RESOURCES WE RELY ON Elcowire is committed to protecting the environment at all steps of the supply chain. Sustainability has therefore become driving force in the decisions that impact our own facilities, influencing both our long-term operational investments and the small, everyday steps taken by our teams. Each facility has set their own targets, based on local circumstances. We also review all aspects of our business on a regular basis to assess potential risk and lifecycle perspectives and uphold strict transparency in reporting our environmental policies. -750 t CO2 ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND CO2 EMISSIONS In the last few years, Elcowire has seen a reduction in total of the energy consumption per ton of delivered products, resulting in a significant corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions. Melting and metal forming processes remain our largest consumers of energy. We therefore endeavour to recover as much of the heat generated in these processes as possible, and thereby improve our operation’s overall energy efficiency. In 2018, the Helsingborg facility in Sweden invested in an important re-design of the shaft furnace. This has improved heat exchange for the exhaust gases, allowing us to decrease the use of natural gas in the copper melting process. These changes have resulted in a 7.5% decrease in energy consumption for copper melting in Helsingborg, reducing CO2 emissions by around 750 tonnes annually. By changing most of the diesel-driven forklifts at the site in Helsingborg to electric forklifts, we have decresed consumption of diesel. As a result, we have thus also been able to reduce the site’s carbon emissions. CALCULATING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT In 2020, Elcowire developed a new method for calculating the carbon footprints at our respective production sites, including all steps in the supply chain. Harvesting of the raw materials for our products represents a large portion of their total carbon footprint, but we also factor in transportation methods and energy consumption in the production of the final products, such as our copper wire rod and oxygen-free copper. Other relevant factors include calculations related to chemicals and waste. Trains are used, for example, for shipping the main part of the copper cathodes, which naturally reduces the carbon footprint. Similarly, our ability to recycle energy for use in a district heating network (see page 13) has a positive impact on the calculation of our CO2 emissions. By using this new model, we can thus simulate scenarios to assist in future choices for further reducing our CO2footprint, such as using biogas and renewable electric energy. LOGISTICS
-50 trucks We are increasingly seeing customer demand for intermodal transportation, and it is easy to understand why. Use of rail in our transport chain greatly reduces carbon emissions, and since one single train car can carry up to 30 tonnes, we can also maximise the loads to bring down freight costs. Elcowire has relied on trains to supply the majority of copper cathodes to our Swedish location for many years, reducing the number of annual truckloads by 4800. We are also steadily increasing the percentage of intermodal transport in our deliveries to customers. By 2019, it was 25% of the deliveries to Elektrokoppar, customers, corresponding to a 575-tonne CO2 reduction. In 2020, we signed an agreement to use trains for deliveries to Finland, taking another 50 trucks off the road. 100% recycled RESOURCE CIRCULARITY scrap Responsible resource management also extends to how we manage by-products and waste. We have designed these processes to support the transition from a linear to a circular economy, “closing the loop” in how we work with raw materials in our production. This includes promoting recycling both on our sites and with our customers, helping them to return their products to “the loop” when they have reached the end of their lifecycle. Because they can be endlessly reused, copper and other metals offer a number of sustainable benefits. 100% of the metal scrap that we generate in our production is recycled in very efficient ways to reduce the impact from mining. At the site in Helsingborg, a large portion of excess material from drawing and extrusion is re-melted to be used again in production. We also collect used metals from customers to produce new products. At other sites, we handle recycling through arrangements with recycling partners. Whenever possible, we encourage direct recycling from customers to avoid unnecessary raffination, which would require further energy consumption. Other waste streams include oils and emulsions, and we work with local waste handling companies to manage these in the best way possible. Emulsions, which are classified as hazardous waste, must be separated for the water to be reused and to recover potential energy from the oils. For the most hazardous chemicals used in our production, we continuously monitor and consider options for substitution to minimise the risk of potential harm. Through this, as well as sustainable sourcing, we are working to reduce our use of chemicals and to avoid pollution of the air, water and soil near our sites.
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WATER CONSUMPTION ISODRAHT WATER CONSUMPTION (m3/ton) 0,70 0,60 0,50
2018
2019
TAICANG
MANNHEIM
0,30 HETTSTEDT
HELSINGBORG
HETTSTEDT
TAICANG
MANNHEIM
HELSINGBORG
TAICANG
MANNHEIM
0,40 HELSINGBORG
According to the United Nations, clean water is a fundamental human right. Nevertheless, water scarcity impacts around 40% of the global population today. Even in areas that generally experience unlimited clean water, the disposal and treatment processes require a lot of energy and chemicals that could be used for other purposes. For these reasons, Elcowire has stringent routines in place to care for our process water in responsible and sustainable ways. We comply with strict regulations for water handling, including ensuring accuracy in sampling and careful control.
0,20 0,10 0
2020
ENERGY CONSUMPTION DISTRICT HEATING
ISODRAHT ENERGY CONSUMPTION (kWh/ton) 500 450 400 350 300 250
150 TAICANG
MANNHEIM
HETTSTEDT
HELSINGBORG
HETTSTEDT
TAICANG
MANNHEIM
HELSINGBORG
TAICANG
MANNHEIM
HELSINGBORG
200
100 50 0
2018
2019
2020
We are always striving to decrease energy consumption, and some of our sites are already achieving great success in this area. One important aspect of more sustainable energy use is also recovering more of the energy in our processes. At our site in Helsingborg, Sweden, for example, we recover energy from exhaust gases in the shaft furnace we have used for the copper rod production for more than 20 years. The heat recovery is made from hot gas and then cleaned in a textile filter. In addition to heating our own factory, that heat is distributed to the city of Helsingborg. This district heating network provides warmth to homes as well as enables cold water production for cooling processes. Our total annual recovery of heat energy is around 2 GWh.
The harmony of modern society and our natural resources, like the one shown here in Bergen, Norway, will be an integral part of tomorrow’s sustainable energy infrastructure. They require sustainable conductor materials.
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SOURCING FROM SUSTAINABLE PARTNERS
As a key link in a long and often complex supply chain, Elcowire’s environmental impact involves not just the work we do, but also the partners with whom we choose to work. Sustainability is a key consideration when we evaluate suppliers, and we work with them to find innovative and more efficient ways of cooperating.
“We supply a large volume of copper cathodes to Elcowire, including a smaller amount of so-called oxygen-free copper (OFC),” says Petter Knyck, Process Engineer in the electrolytic operations at Boliden Rönnskär. “This material is particularly important for the electric car industry.”
We are fortunate to have reliable supplier such as Boliden Rönnskär, one of the most efficient and sustainable smelteries in the world. With copper pulled largely from Boliden’s own mines, their operation has a strong focus on delivering reliably quality materials. This includes use of an electrolytic process, involving around 30% recycled materials, that results in Grade-A copper cathodes. The smeltery thereby plays an crucial role in helping Elcowire to deliver high-quality products that, in turn, enable our customers to contribute to building a more sustainable economy.
Boliden Rönnskär is also focused on minimising the footprint of their own operations. In 2020, they embarked on a pilot project to further boost energy efficiency. “The plan is to transition from energyintensive steam heating of our electrolytes by connecting us to the district heating system,” Knyck explains. “We can easily meet our heating needs through the district heating from Rönnskär’s own energy centre, which will help us reduce both costs and energy consumption.”
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VI CONTRIBUTING TO EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACROSS THE SUPPLY CHAIN
SUPPLY CHAIN Elcowire is proud to get our copper from some of the eco-friendliest mines in the world, and we work together with them to minimise the climate impact of our supply chain. As early as 1993, we launched a collaborative project to ship raw materials via train rather than fossil-driven vehicles. Today, the custom system we co-developed, delivers up to 660 tons of copper to our site in Sweden, six days per week. A more recent example is an e-mobility pilot project supported by the Swedish Energy Agency, transitioning the Aitik mine in Northern Sweden from diesel fuel to electricity. With a 700-metre-long electrified route, the project’s current scope will save 25 litres per trip and 830 cubic metres of diesel per year in Aitik.
The maximum line expansion in Aitik is expected to reduce diesel consumption by 20-50%. Further more, this has resulted in a speed increase from 15-30km/h, which means it is possible to travel the 700-metre stretch 70 seconds faster per trip compared to a conventional mine truck. The work environment for drivers will also be improved, in part thanks to lower noise and reduced need for maintenance. A fun piece of trivia - these overhead lines, that provide electric power to the trucks, are produced by Elcowire with copper mainly made from copper mined in Aitik.
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ELCOWIRE’S VALTHERMO: SCIENTIFIC PROOF BEHIND THE MARKET’S GREENEST CONTACT AND MESSENGER WIRE VALTHERMO is one critical way that Elcowire is contributing to sustainability and the transition to a clean energy economy. This is thanks to well-proven properties in terms of long product lifetime, low maintenance needs and related costs, and a very small CO2 footprint. Evidence of these properties has been offered, for example, in a field test at DB Netz AG. As of February 2021, Elcowire has delivered more than 3500 kilometers of VALTHERMO contact wire since we first developed this innovative material in 2012. According to a CO2 study, by using VALTHERMO with a 70-year lifespan instead of pure copper with only 25 years, the corresponding lifetime CO2 savings is as much as the emissions for one year in a European city with around 21,000 inhabitants.
A recent investigation has been carried out in cooperation with DB Netz and Technische Universität Dresden, starting in 2020. The aim of this project has been to gather more statistical information on the wear behaviour of VALTHERMO across the whole length of the contact wires. DB Netz provided the results of a so-called “F5-inspection” done with special train equipment running at speeds of up to 100 km/h, with a longitudinal resolution of 2mm. The University (Professur für Elektrische Bahnen”) developed a dedicated program to determine the statistical evaluation of the inspection results. Upon completion of the project, Elcowire will publish the new findings together with partners DB Netz and Technische Universität Dresden, making them available to the public. This will give other existing VALTHERMO users, as well as new potential users of our innovative material, an opportunity to explore the data for themselves and make an informed decision about the future sustainability of their networks.
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VII VALUE BY THERMAL RESISTANCE DB Netz AG has decided to use the VALTHERMO contact wires for the electrification project Südbahn from Ulm to Friedrichshafen, which started in 2018. The project is divided into five plan approval sections, based on the individual districts. The Südbahn electrification is an essential component for further traffic concepts of the Nahverkehrsgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg GmbH (NVBW). About 301 km of VALTHERMO contact wire (CuSn0,1) and 346 km of Messenger-Wire have been installed, and operation of the line will commence in 2021. The SPITZKE group of companies has executed the installation.
CUSTOMER’S EVALUATION OF ELCOWIRE RAIL: ’As part of the ”Electrification Südbahn” construction project (Ulm - Friedrichshafen - Lindau), the SPITZKE group of companies is installing in the overhead contact line of the type Re 200 bronze messenger wire 50 mm²-7x3.00 mm and VALTHERMO contact wire AC-100 mm², which has proven itself over many years of Elcowire Rail deliveries. In addition to the cooperative and constructive cooperation with Elcowire Rail, we particularly value the reliable product quality and the well-functioning logistics service. Together with Elcowire Rail, we are proud to be making our contribution to the sustainable development of rail infrastructure by building such systems with a long service life.’ ” Dr. Alexander von Lieven Leiter Unternehmensbereich Ausrüstung & Elektrotechnik (This quote has been translated from German.)
SATISFIED CUSTOMERS THE WORLD OVER We take customer satisfaction seriously. It’s a key factor in how we measure performance as a supplier, giving us a powerful tool in our development of long-term, sustainable customer relationships.
CUSTOMER SATIFACTION SURVEY - A 58 NPS! One of our main goals is to build a great and long-lasting relationship with our customers, delivering sustainable business results and the best customer experience. Relationship building is therefore at the core of our customer satisfaction survey. In 2020, with no possibilities to visit one another in person, the customer satisfaction survey became extra important for us. It was therefore all the more meaningful when we received a NPS (Net Promoter Score) of 58, along with a CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Index) of 5.1! We want to thank all of our customers that took time to respond to the survey, and we look forward to building on this strong foundation for even stronger relationships going forward.
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VIII BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE WORKFORCE Looking again at the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it’s clear that there are numerous dimensions in creating a more sustainable world. However, much of it comes down to ensuring every person around the world has the resources to grow, allowing our societies as a whole to flourish. At Elcowire, we work to imbue our own work environment with this same kind of thinking. Our aim is to foster a culture that prioritises safety, personal development and support for the coming generations of talent. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY Providing for the wellbeing of our employees is a critical focus for Elcowire. We track progress for occupational health and safety (OHS) along three key parameters: risk alerts, accidents and absence. All sites have safety and risk evaluation initiatives according to local needs, and each conducts reporting on a monthly basis as we work to establishing common OHS standards across the group. Elcowire has a group-wide zero-accident vision that guides our risk assessment strategy. Since 2012, we have focused on preventing incidents by continuously identifying, registering and analysing risks. Safety is a collective effort, and each employee is involved with pinpointing at least one potential risk each year. These risk alerts support continuous improvement in ensuring safe and positive environments for all members of our team. In 2020, 99 risk alerts were registered at our site in Helsingborg, Sweden, and 67 were registered at the Hettstedt facility in Germany. LOST TIME ACCIDENTS (LTA)
(LTA – lost time accidents – number of employees of 100 who have experienced lost time due to an accident) Elektrokoppar, Helsingborg, Sweden: Isodraht, Mannheim, Germany: Elcowire Rail, Hettstedt, Germany: Elco Profile, Taicang, China:
2019
4
1 2 0
2020
2 0 0 0
As a response to the unique challenges brought on by the pandemic in 2020, we also instituted a number of measures across all facilities to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among our workforce. This was on top of a number of other new health and safety efforts, including the implementation of: • Medical check-ups for nightshift workers and those working with UV radiation • Use of new, safer transport racks • A computer program for in-court organisation (GEORG; the software supports compliance with standards, rules and regulations). • Safety inspection for pallet trucks • Improved waste handling with plastic belts • New, faster outside portal drive for reduced draft • Five improvements in the “kaizen activities” A total of six safety improvements across the group are a direct result of the risk alerts provided by our employees. EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT Sustainable business planning means investing in the growth of our employees. Each member of our team is an important link in the chain that forms Elcowire. Their growth is our growth, and we have therefore created an internal model to guide professional development meetings between managers and employees. Those conversations allow us to identify opportunities for an individual to gain further insight and expertise in their role. As an organisation, we can also use these talks to further improve the climate of our workplace and build more efficient workflows. Equally important has been developing training opportunities for new talent. As many of our employees prepare for retirement, supporting the next generation will be this generation’s challenge. In addition to existing summer traineeships, Elcowire has contact with local schools. These educational opportunities will open new doors for young people, who can potentially join our staff with a solid platform of knowledge to start from.
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IT’S A TEAM EFFORT We understand that sustainability cannot simply be directed by company policy. It’s about how we live every single day. And each one of us has an important and active role to play. How we work with each other, speak to one another and what we say shapes our actions – both on and off the job. We therefore endeavour to make the ideas talked about in this report an inherent part of Elcowire’s workplace culture. In this way, it becomes a positive feedback loop that influences our behaviour and the behaviour of those around us. These ideas are captured in Elcowire’s values: responsibility, trust, respect and passion. Because change is only possible when we work together to make it happen.
At the end of the day, it’s a team effort.
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ABOUT ELCOWIRE As Northern Europe’s leading provider of copper wire products, Elcowire is helping to advance the planet’s shift to renewable energy sources. We develop solutions that enable the electrification of transport, the expansion of solar and wind power, and the growth of a modern communications infrastructure. In 2020, the Elcowire Group’s operations were located in the Swedish city of Helsingborg, Hettstedt and Mannheim in Germany, and Taicang in China. We are part of the family owned Liljedahl Group.
OUR FOOTPRINT IN FOCUS This report documents the work Elcowire is doing across our group – and across the whole supply chain – to minimise the total environmental footprint of our products. These efforts are driven by our vision to build a smarter, more sustainable foundation for our business today, in order to leave a better world for the generations that will come tomorrow. Take a look inside to learn more. Catharina Bläckberg, Head of Corporate Communication Jonas Ciardi, Technical Manager Frank Pupke, Product and Quality Manager
CONTACTS Elcowire Group AB Box 914, SE-251 09 Helsingborg, Sweden Phone: +46 (0)42 195300 Email: info@elcowire.com www.elcowire.com Elcowire Group | LinkedIn