Performance review: Stakeholders and society (Dialog)

Priority area Objective / challenge 2012 Performance  Next step
Build partnerships and include stakeholder input in identifying sustainability priorities.
  • Understand expectations and respond to different stakeholder and market concerns.
  • Integrate into company decision-making processes.
  • Continuous dialog with investors, employees and interested stakeholders.
  • Further developed the Group’s materiality process.
  • Issue-specific discussions with industry partners (BSR, Swedish Network for Business and Human Rights, International Council of Swedish Industry, organizations (Save the Children, WWF) unions and policy-makers.
  • Develop a process for stakeholder dialog that is integrated into business strategies.
  • Improve stakeholder engagement. Focus areas: Reducing its climate footprint along the value chain, and human rights and freedom of association.
  • Dialog within BSR, UNICEF’s network and the Swedish Network for Business and Human Rights etc. will continue.

Raise awareness along the value chain on sustainability strategy.

This includes communicating with consumers, partnering with business partners and dialog with policymakers.
  • One in three appliances in operation is over 10 years old. In Europe, 188 million of the 630 million appliances are inefficient by today’s standards.
  • The challenge is to convince consumers to exchange these appliances with energy-lean ones, which would result in an annual reduction of 22 Mton carbon dioxide.
  • Performance standards and legislation vary between countries. Electrolux strives to support their global harmonization.
  • Build strategic partnerships with suppliers, customers, business partners and NGOs to reduce carbon along the value chain.
  • Dialog with representatives of governments, policy-makers and intergovernmental organizations on the importance of providing financial incentives for consumers to purchase energy-efficient appliances.
  • At the Clean Energy Ministerial, the Electrolux Chief Technology Officer exchanged ideas with energy ministers from 20 participating countries.
  • Participated in the development of smart-grid projects in Europe, Australia, and the United States. The smart grid solution was tested.
  • Hosted a supplier workshop in Thailand on the sustainability strategy and importance of resource efficiency.
  • Collected data from approximately 60% of the Group’s OEM supplier spend on their environmental performance. Supplier energy consumption is not integrated into the Group’s external reporting of energy use.
  • Ongoing stakeholder dialog and communications campaigns world-wide.
  • Continued work with smart grids, particularly at the Royal Seaport urban development project in Stockholm, Sweden.
  • Incorporate energy use data from 80% of OEM / ODM supplier spend, and introduce improvement targets.
Awareness raising on sustainability issues relevant to Electrolux business
  • To trigger widespread attention on a shared societal challenge.
  • Boost sales of green products.
  • Vac from the Sea continued its success, with local initiatives in Finland, Portugal, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Africa, Poland and Brazil.
  • Electrolux representative was a speaker at the Economist’s World Oceans Summit, (Singapore).
  • Hosted Seeds of Sustainability at Electrolux, Italy together with WWF. Speakers included the Italian Minister of Environment and the World Watch Director.
  • Hosted a Human Rights seminar involving Middlesex University, the Swedish Foreign Ministry, and other companies, on how to implement the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights (UNGP).
  • The Vac from the Sea campaign continues in existing and new markets, in partnership with local organisations, schools and institutions.
  • Will host a Carbon Disclosure Project conference on carbon reporting in March 2013.
Openness and transparency on restructuring process
  • Conduct restructuring responsibly, transparently and in constructive dialog with unions, municipal authorities and potential investors.
  • Electrolux reduced its white and blue collar staff by approximately 500, primarily in Europe.
  • Agreements for a social plan were signed in Schwanden in Switzerland and Mariestad in Sweden – where downsizing is scheduled.
  • Revin, France: Washing machine plant restructuring. Electrolux is in dialog with unions, local authorities and the French government.
  • Restructuring is ongoing for L’Assomption Canada (2013), affecting 1000 blue collar workers and 150 white collar workers. Production will move to Memphis, Tennessee.