Sustainability at ASSA ABLOY (Schweiz) AG

Patrik Börlin, Sustainability Manager at ASSA ABLOY (Schweiz) AG, deals with the issue of sustainability on a daily basis and with the measures the company is implementing or planning for the future. The strategic goals of the ASSA ABLOY Group play a central role in this.

Which sustainability goals is ASSA ABLOY (Schweiz) AG focusing on?

Our main goal is to reduce our CO2 emissions by 25% by 2025. We are already implementing various measures to achieve this goal. We define measures for Switzerland and then coordinate them with the Group.

Since January 1, 2022, for example, we are only purchasing green electricity, which means 100% hydroelectric power and no nuclear or coal-fired electricity. With the renovation of the Richterswil location, we are also significantly improving our environmental footprint. We began with facade renovations and new windows. These ensure better insulation and therefore reduce our energy consumption and heating costs. With the new pellet heating systems at the locations in Richterswil and Kleinlützel, we no longer need oil heating and are therefore considered CO2 neutral in terms of heating. Since the start of this year we are using exclusively LED lighting in our production facilities, which is also more environmentally friendly.

Are there targets set by the Group?

The Sustainability Program 2025 implemented by the Group complements our own long-term commitment to greater climate protection and places more emphasis on the scientific findings and goals of the Paris Climate Agreement in all activities. This includes 100% green energy, heating and LED lighting as mentioned above, as well as installing and setting up a photovoltaic system for our two locations in the coming year. We plan to use this measure to cover around 40% of our own electricity requirements ourselves – another milestone for the climate-neutral future of our locations in Switzerland. Other internal measures are being promoted by our own climate-minded employees as part of idea management and are being supported accordingly by the company. These include, for example, various ideas to save water and reduce use of hot water.

How can the environmental footprint be reduced?

The ASSA ABLOY Group is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on six of these goals. These are reflected in a Group-wide playbook and environmental tree as guidelines for action. Both are also regarded as benchmarks at our locations in Switzerland, are consistently pursued, and have been implemented step by step since 2015. In this regard, we are pleased that five of the six goals have already been achieved in Kleinlützel. In Richterswil, we have now been able to successfully implement 4 of the 6 steps. There is also a lot going on in the area of resource conservation in terms of reducing consumables. For example, we are currently working on completely eliminating styrofoam as a packaging material in the future and are increasingly using recycled paper.

Our annual management report is also part of our commitment and self-monitoring process. In addition to a detailed review, we are also setting precise targets for the coming year, against which we want to be measured. These targets are being tracked accordingly. Certifications are also on the agenda. They are an important step for us and symbolize our own high standards of authenticity and transparency. Just as with getting a certification, a certification can be removed by an ISO audit if the performance results are not adequate. That's a very good control tool.

Another quality criterion for the successful implementation of our sustainability goals is our internally established Green Team, which meets at regular intervals. The status quo and, if necessary, new measures are discussed at these meetings.

What does sustainability mean to you personally?

For me personally, sustainability means, above all, using our finite resources as sparingly as possible, optimizing processes wherever possible and utilizing potential savings – for example, reducing waste in our purchasing department. Checking and optimizing our entire supply chains is another important concern for me in my area of responsibility. Where, for example, were the raw materials produced and under what conditions? What is sustainable in terms of improvements that are possible and still economically justifiable? These are just a few of the questions we use to repeatedly test our value chain, including supplier audits. I also think it is important that our sustainability measures are visible externally and are internationally valid. Among other things, we rely on evaluation by EcoVadis and the ranking that is publicly available to external parties. 

Patrik Börlin worked for ASSA ABLOY (Schweiz) AG until the end of June 2023. His successor as sustainability manager is Dragan Rajic.