INTRODUCTION ÅF’s role in developing a sustainable society – what gets measured gets managed With more than one hundred years of experience, ÅF has established a clear position for itself as a leader in technical consulting. Today the ÅF Group has about 5,000 employees. Our base is in Europe, but our business and our clients are found all over the world. every day ÅF carries out thousands of different kinds of projects and assignments around the world. the common denominator for all of them is that it takes specialist skills to perform these services – and that ÅF is ultimately responsible to the client for the success of each and every one. Expertise in key disciplines the ÅF Group has about 5,000 engineering consultants, many of whom are specialists in energy efficiency, energy generation and environmental issues. ÅF comprises four divisions: energy, industry, infrastructure At ÅF we recruited our first environmental consultant way back in 1901. Today we factor sustainable development criteria into all of our projects. Additional financial benefits in addition to contributing to development that is environmentally and socially sustainable, more sustainable solutions frequently bring financial benefits in the form of reduced costs and increased market value, for us and our clients. that’s why we are convinced that our strategy, which includes action to reduce the climate impact of our operations and improve the overall sustainability of our business, will also lead to long-term cost savings and enhance the credibility of our brand. Carbon Disclosure Project in 2011 ÅF decided, as the only technical consultant in sweden, to publicly report its greenhouse gas emissions to the Carbon disclosure project (Cdp). this is a global initiative through which large companies and cities are given the opportunity to voluntarily measure and disclose their emissions of greenhouse gases. By examining the routines for measuring and controlling their own carbon footprint, participating companies also generate good publicity by showing the world that they take the threat of climate change seriously. Effective risk management Climate change is, however, only one of many risks that a modern company must consider. experience has proved that one highly effective risk management tool is to adopt an active approach to sustainability work by showing due concern for environmental, social and economic factors. A good basic understanding of these three dimensions of sustainability greatly increases the opportunities for identifying and taking into account situations and events that have the potential to harm not only ÅF – financially in the form of reduced profitability and large losses – but also to harm the environment through emissions to air, water and soil, and to harm people as a result of work injuries, discrimination, psychosocial problems and violations of basic human rights. Framework for sustainability to enhance sustainability while also managing business risks, ÅF has devised a framework for sustainability to be applied to all assignments the company undertakes. this includes a new sustainability policy based on the Un Global Compact and its 10 principles for businesses. this means that every commercial opportunity related to the company’s consulting activities must be assessed according to a set of criteria that each trigger the need for a thorough sustainability assessment. A decision on whether or not to proceed with an assignment is then ultimately based on the outcome of the sustainability assessment. in this way, we can be confident of consistently setting a sustainable agenda for ÅF’s contribution to the future development of industry and society. and technology. the divisions are based on the requirements of our clients as reflected in our own spectrum of skills. Besides experts in the classic disciplines of sustainability – energy and the environment – ÅF also has many consultants who work in fields such as measurements, it solutions and project planning. these are frequently crucial factors when implementing changes towards sustainability in many clients’ companies. Much can be achieved by keeping sustainability in mind while making changes to processes, infrastructure or organisations, and last but not least by designing systems for measuring, monitoring and reporting emissions or energy savings. 2 Green Advisor report 2012:01
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