Sustainable in Thought and Deed
Ensto can’t save the world alone, but it can make a positive impact. To that end, the company has made clear sustainability commitments that it expects itself, as well as its suppliers, to live up to.
"There are many definitions of sustainability, usually complicated and often with something missing," says Jenni Raitavuo, Head of HSE & Sustainability at Ensto, as well as one of the company’s owners. "Our approach is to integrate it into the company culture, so that it defines how we do business as a whole and becomes the way we think and act."
But because sustainability at Ensto holds broad meaning, the company has laid out its goals along three pillars of sustainability.
Pillar One: Climate and circularity
To be a leading expert for DSOs requires smart products with long lifecycles manufactured with an underlying commitment to cut CO2 emissions at every level, in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. In the world of sustainability, the positive impact of solutions is called the handprint.
Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions within Ensto's control, such as emissions from operating factories, driving vehicles, or heating buildings. Scope 2 emissions are indirect, created by the production of the energy that Ensto buys. “Last year we reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 68 percent,” says Raitavuo. “We did it by using renewables, including solar, and through low-emission electricity in our factories that are heavy consumers of electricity.”
“We also learned to just be very efficient about how we use energy,” she says. “Costs increased a lot during the energy crisis, and even low-emission energy cost more.
The most complex emissions category, which accounts for most of Ensto’s emissions, is what is called Scope 3. These are emissions as the result of assets or activities not owned or controlled by Ensto, but those that directly come from its value chain. At this level, Ensto is working toward an open, transparent value chain that will enable it to source and produce even more responsibly. (“Stay tuned!” says Raitavuo.)
Pillar Two: A safe and inclusive workplace
Ensto is actively investing in creating a safe and inclusive workplace for employees. This means physical- and mental safety, but also a workplace where people feel free to be who they are.
Raitavuo believes zero accidents, which some companies hold up as an unattainable goal, to be a realistic achievement for Ensto. "Keep in mind that people and their safety is a huge priority for both employees and customers who use Ensto products," says Raitavuo. "They're working with electricity, and accidents can be fatal." That same care, when applied to Ensto factories, should translate to zero accidents.
To make the workplace more inclusive, Ensto has a target to have women and other genders in a full third of its senior positions by 2025. The current number is 19 percent. Raitavuo says that women are not the only underrepresented group, but recognizing one minority group also can help others. "It's not moving as fast as we'd like," says Raitavuo. "It's an industry wide issue and difficult everywhere to find diverse candidates for high-tech roles. But we're working to make systemic changes, which will able us to reach our goal."
Pillar Three: High ethical standards
Since Ensto wants to ensure high ethical standards and compliance across its value chain, it requires its employees to undergo training to understand the employee Code of Conduct, and suppliers to do the same.
"All of our employees have completed training in ethics and sustainability, and 93 percent of our suppliers have signed the Supplier Code of Conduct," says Raitavuo. "We do the training so that people understand the code of conduct instead of just reading it. We discuss human rights, labor rights, talk about treating each other with respect, and cover quality, environmental care, privacy, transparency, avoiding conflicts of interest, and saying no to bribery or corruption."
Sample question: If a supplier invites an Ensto employee to the Olympics, should they go? If you’re not sure, this course is for you.
Walking the talk
Just as Ensto suppliers are asked to buy in to Ensto’s Code of Conduct, Ensto is held to the same standard with its customers. "Our customers have a variety of different degrees of checking how sustainable we are," says Raitavuo. "Some use questionnaires or partners to see what boxes we check, and there are others who come and physically audit us to make sure we walk the talk. It’s all about working together with stakeholders to find solutions that work."
Two times annually Ensto conducts an engagement survey with its employees. In the December 2022 survey, employees awarded Ensto’s safety culture the highest possible ranking. Raitavuo says plans are in place for other areas of sustainability to follow suit. “There’s systematic work and development to get there. Culture never changes quickly, and so we’re actively engaging everyone.”