sfPORTEQ: Prioritizing ESG+Impact Indicators for Green Product with Social Impact
About sfPORTEQ
sfPORTEQ came to Proof through Vinnova, Sweden's innovation agency. Vinnova funds companies that are engaging in bold thinking and doing things differently to improve people's lives and the planet. Vinnova centers its mission on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, actively selecting young and growing companies showing promise in furthering the UN 2030 Agenda.
sfPORTEQ was selected to onboard to ESG+Impact measurement through Proof as a result of its strong business and sustainability credentials. The company operates in the container handling industry, aiding the decarbonization of global trade. With the intentional lightweight design of their spreaders, and operating their production site with 95% renewable solar energy, the company is able to integrate environmentally clean production with a strong business model. sfPORTEQ and Proof have been working together to track sfPORTEQ's ESG+Impact performance, creating a model of how to combine sustainability with strong financial impact.
Company Purpose
• Our vision is to create a sustainable world trade, supporting sustainable production and consumption
• Our mission is to contribute to Sustainable Container Handling
• Container lifting knowledge company and spreaders’ manufacturing
At sfPORTEQ, we see ourselves not just as a world-class spreader manufacturer but as part of a family of customers, suppliers and partners. That means we live the values of a responsible partner – starting with the environment - Beatrice Bjork, CEO sfPORTEQ
Sustainability 101
For sfPORTEQ, sustainability is a core value, not just a box to be checked: "It's important to understand that we built this product from the beginning to be sustainable," says sfPORTEQ CEO Beatrice Bjork. In line with this ethos, sfPORTEQ commissioned an assessment of its products and business operations from independent consultancy Envima AB. Proof supports sfPORTEQ to track performance on these metrics over time. sfPORTEQ's sustainability action plan includes:
• Reducing CO2 emissions
• Greater energy efficiency
• Reducing consumption and waste in our manufacturing process
• Reducing transportation in the supply chain
• A business Code of Conduct, shared with our suppliers
• Making equipment safer and easier to use for workers
• Prioritizing equal treatment and opportunities for workers at the production site
ESG + Impact Measurement
1. Define
sfPORTEQ started out its ESG+Impact measurement journey by identifying a core set of metrics to focus on. sfPORTEQ's leadership team selected 5 metrics from Proof's metric catalog, ranging from Percent Change in GHG Emissions Due to Product Sold to Percent Agents Signing Code of Conduct. Proof supported sfPORTEQ to keep the metrics simple yet comprehensive based on the most important areas of impact.
It's important that companies that have a green product also think about equality. sfPORTEQ's product is primarily focused on environmental impact. To be a viable company, it is important for us to have social, economic, and environmental targets. - Beatrice Bjork, CEO sfPORTEQ
2. Measure
Once the metrics were defined, sfPORTEQ set up a system for measuring performance over time. sfPORTEQ manages business data in an ERP system and in spreadsheets. Pulling from these systems, sfPORTEQ reports data through Proof on a regular interval. Through Proof, sfPORTEQ's ESG+Impact data remains up to date on a digital impact dashboard. In the future, sfPORTEQ may automate ESG+Impact measurement by establishing direct integrations between existing data systems and Proof.
3. Improve
Defining metrics and measuring performance are only the beginning for sfPORTEQ. Next steps in meaningful ESG+Impact measurement and management include:
→ Benchmarking: Through Proof’s Core ESG and Impact Benchmark metric set, sfPORTEQ will compare performance to organizations in a similar industry and size, to better understand where sfPORTEQ stands
→ Performance Improvement Planning: sfPORTEQ will set targets for each metric and put in place plans to ensure that it meaningfully improves performance on metrics over time.
→ Messaging: sfPORTEQ will increase transparency in its marketing and communications with funders, by incorporating data on where it is outperformance as well as progress on performance improvement plans.
→ New Metrics: As the business grows and evolves and as ESG regulations come into play, Proof's metric catalog will support sfPORTEQ to track new ESG+Impact metrics over time.
There is a tendency to think that only new technologies are innovative. Everyone is realizing that containers are a critical part of the container handling industry. We need to be more focused on green innovation in standardized systems. When you extrapolate the impact of our spreaders from one unit to an entire shipping terminal, that's where the impact becomes very large - Beatrice Bjork, CEO sfPORTEQ
