Stefan Eriksson, 2020-09-21
Why we highlight sustainability
There are three reasons why we are now placing an even greater emphasis on sustainability: our customers and partners expect it, the world needs it and we believe in its importance. We are about to launch new pages on our website where we explain our ambitions and how the work is progressing – and not least what we mean when we say that our products are climate neutral.
Sustainability is built into Konftel's business concept. Our products for audio and video conferencing help people around the world to meet remotely. This in turn reduces the need for business travel, which accounts for a large volume of emissions and drains the planet's resources.
At the same time, as a global manufacturer of technical products we need to take social and environmental responsibility. In fact this is a core value of ours. Way back in 1998 we took part in the Foundation for Swedish Industrial Cooperation's Ecodesign project, which involved analyzing one of our products from raw material to waste. This gave us an understanding of how environmental consideration can be built into the process, and that is exactly what we did.
Part of a global coalition
Since then, our perspectives on sustainability have become considerably deeper and broader. Earlier this year we became certified as a climate neutral company, after a thorough analysis of our greenhouse gas emissions and our commitments to future action. We will be showcasing this work much more in various contexts going forward.
It is also high time we turned the spotlight on the wide-reaching and ambitious sustainability work we are doing together with our parent company Avaya, which has owned Konftel since 2011.
Our CEO, Peter Renkel, has this to say about the collaboration:
Being able to join forces with Avaya on this means so much to us. It helps us both to understand the challenges and to implement policies that ensure we are taking responsibility as we should. On our own, we wouldn't be able to work as broadly on sustainability as our US parent company does.
Through Avaya, we are signed up to the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) – the world's largest industrial coalition for corporate social responsibility in global supply chains. Its purpose is to check up on and improve social, environmental and ethical conditions in the affiliated companies' supply chains, wherever they may be. We also operate in line with the principles that Avaya has set out in its Supplier Code of Conduct. This covers everything from chemical use and the extraction of sensitive minerals to waste and water consumption.
Global climate certification
More independently, here at Konftel we have taken on the challenge of being a climate neutral company. In April this year we were officially certified by the Climate Neutral organisation, making us the first company in our industry to be able to offer climate neutral products. Find out more in our press release.
It might seem like a small thing considering the bigger issue of the planet's survival, but for us it is a meaningful statement that we want to play our part and make a difference. We want to make it easier for you as a customer or partner to make choices that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, while at the same time inspiring a positive conversation about our shared future.
Find out more on our new sustainability page with its separate links to the various aspects of our work.
