A value chain perspective on sustainability helps us identify how we can best manage our impacts and create maximal value.
This approach makes it easier to identify opportunities, minimize or enhance impacts, and understand boundaries. It also helps us understand how our actions and impacts are interrelated.
The following section illustrates our degree of influence along our value chain, identifies key impacts and how we manage them, and provides examples of the value we create.
High ability to influence
Close collaboration between Design, Marketing and R&D enables new products to offer best-in-class consumer experiences. The expenditure for research and development in 2017, including capitalization of SEK 355m (274), amounted to SEK 3,621m (3,372) corresponding to 3.0% (3.0) of net sales.
Products with leading environmental performance deliver customer value in line with the business strategy, while reducing negative environmental impacts.
Medium ability to influence
Electrolux has over 3,000 direct suppliers, many in emerging markets, that must abide by our sustainability requirements. We focus on safeguarding Electrolux standards, and developing supplier capacity to improve sustainability performance. This requires careful assessment and supplier selection.
Rewarding suppliers that comply with our requirements stimulates technical improvements and innovation. Promoting universal norms supports human rights and raises environmental, labor and economic standards – particularly in low-cost countries. This also builds trust and reduces business risk.
High ability to influence
Electrolux has manufacturing operations in 53 factories in 19 countries and approximately 56,000 employees. The main focus areas are: reduce the environmental footprint, maintain high ethical standards and working conditions, as well as have a positive impact in local communities.
We benefit society by providing jobs, knowledge transfer and economic opportunities. Positive employee relationships promote competence development, employee wellbeing and job satisfaction. Value is created for Electrolux by retaining talented employees and avoiding financial costs related to accidents.
Medium ability to influence
Electrolux emits more CO2 transporting its goods than through its total energy use in Group operations. Approximately 315,000 tonnes are emitted through the distribution of our goods by sea, land and air in Europe, North America and Brazil.
Reducing transport-related emissions and our climate impact. We support the trend toward more sustainable transport and encourage our logistics suppliers to further reduce their impacts.
Low ability to influence
Electrolux annually sells more than 60 million products in over 150 countries, primarily through retailers. Energy and performance labeling, and retailer sustainability campaigns allow us to raise consumer efficiency awareness.
Promoting transparency and our sustainable product offering contributes to retailer sustainability goals, strengthens brands and builds customer loyalty. As sales of our Green range demonstrate, an efficient product offering is a profitable strategy.
Low ability to influence
As the main environmental impacts of our products occur during their use, product efficiency is a top priority.
Appliances deliver social benefits that many take for granted – such as food conservation, hygiene standards, freeing up time from household chores, and facilitating equal opportunities – which are particularly important in emerging markets. Providing efficient products, raising consumer awareness and increasing appliance connectivity can help counter rising global CO2 emissions due to increasing consumption, while reducing costs.
Low ability to influence
We promote proper recycling as part of our producer responsibility. In the most comprehensive producer responsibility legislation, 80% of the materials (by total volume) from collected large appliances must be recovered (70% for small appliances).
Building resource efficient and closed-loop systems help reduce environment impact and overall resource consumption. Innovative designs that allow material reuse saves money and energy, and increases consumer trust in our brand.