ESG

Community is part of our DNA

Taking responsibility and showing respect are deeply rooted in our company’s history and the way we run it. This also applies to our work according to the principles of ESG.

ESG is an acronym for “Environmental, Social, and Corporate  Governance” and is an international standard that should be followed when companies are working towards sustainability. For some companies this is just another requirement they have to satisfy; but we think that it is both good sense and a natural path to follow.

We have adopted an active approach to social responsibility for many years now. The various employment options we offer and our ability to see the value of having interns associated with the company on an ongoing basis are just two manifestations of this. We also support selected associations in our local area. Furthermore, our previous work on CSR and the UN global goals are the foundation for the work we are doing on ESG right now.

ESG: How we work, right now

2022 was the year when we adopted ESG as the main tool that we use in our work towards sustainable and responsible company operations. We previously worked over the course of many years towards sustainability, CSR and the UN Global Goals.

The following sections elaborate upon our main focus areas for our initiatives relative to the Environment, Social Responsibility and Governance. New initiatives and measures lie ahead on an ongoing basis in each of these areas, including our expectation that we will be able to deliver a basic ESG account during 2024.

New employees and competences

Increased reporting requirements mean that we are focused on continuously adapting our current employee competences and bolstering our internal processes. We have recruited a Quality and Environmental Manager and have most recently strengthened our team with a dedicated ESG coordinator.

Environment

Our most important initiatives are currently:

1. Certification to the ISO 14001 standard

We are now certified to the ISO 14001 environmental management standard to ensure that our environmental initiatives are compliant with international standards. In this context, we have given ourselves four environmental goals, in which we are working to map data and impact within scopes 1 and 2. Our goal is to gain an awareness of our own production and warehousing that will be able to serve as the basis for the work we do on our supply chains.

We are also a member of Ecovadis and Sedex.

2. Production and warehouse reductions

Our buildings use environmentally-friendly electricity from environmentally-friendly Nordic wind turbines that are assured by VE guarantees of origin. Our production and warehousing systems have also been optimised to use modern power-saving technologies. An environmentally-friendly heat-recycling cooling plant and efficient lighting have meant a 65% total reduction of our electricity consumption.

We use reusable containers for liquid foodstuffs. These are cleaned to the exacting food standards, while using the newest methods that have allowed us to reduce our water consumption by 80% per container.

Our stock levels are continually optimised in relation to demand and the delivery schedules we have agreed with our customers. This minimises waste. At the same time, we ensure that warehouse overproduction is reused in other contexts, including as animal feed. Our internal waste sorting now has a system to ensure that as much waste as possible can be recycled.

3. Solutions that meet environmental requirements

Being part of the food industry means that we have many years of experience with compliance to the exacting statutory standards that prevail for traceability, documentation and transparency. As regards the environmental aspects, we are already able to apply this experience because of our existing close dialogue with our partners and producers with regard to quality and food safety.

All our products include declarations of origin. And the fact that we use sourcing from many parts of the world in several of our business activities means that we are able to put together supply solutions that take these exacting environmental requirements into account. We work with our customers to come up with tailor-made warehouse and logistics solutions with options for both direct supply and storage facilities that make it possible to pack multiple products and ship them in full cargo vehicles.

4. Product ranges and advice that are just right

We adapt our product ranges on an ongoing basis, according to supply and demand, while also considering future requirements.

2021 saw us open a new food ingredients blending plant which allows us to produce blends and packagings that are precisely adapted to our customers’ own production lines.

In 2023, we launched a 100% natural cheese wax as an alternative to traditional fossil-based cheese waxes.

We also share our expertise on an ongoing basis to ensure that our customers are as well-equipped as possible throughout their decision-making processes. This includes advice about sustainable packaging solutions and recipe optimisations.

Social

Our most important initiatives are:

1. Well-being: A safe and healthy workplace

Going to work should be physically and psychologically healthy; and a healthy workplace environment is a shared responsibility.

Well-being and passion are closely connected at Procudan. And we want this well-being to be clearly visible in everything we do. At Procudan, well-being means allowing good ideas, solutions, and relationships to germinate and grow to become healthy and strong.

Safety is also an absolute top priority in our daily work, so we are continually optimising and assessing our processes. We give our employees further training to equip them with the latest knowledge and tools they need if they are to contribute towards a good, healthy and safe workplace.

All our employees are entitled to take advantage of our massage, fruit and lunch schemes. Their pension plans also include a health insurance policy.

2. Our recruitments are based on qualifications

We consider the prevention of any and all kinds of discrimination to be an important task, regardless of whether it is on the grounds of age, gender, race or religion. Genders are equally represented in both our management and our broader workforce. When recruiting new employees, we endeavour to take on the best talent available, based on a combination of personal and professional qualifications and a zero tolerance of discrimination.

As an employer, Procudan bears a responsibility for well-being through regular job status interviews, well-being surveys and workplace assessments. Our goal is to include each employee in decisions about their work tasks and to give them the opportunity to develop and increase their skills.

We assure that there is space for employees with special needs and we work with the appropriate authorities on measures such as internships and work experience for people who are marginalised by the labour market.

Find out more about our previous interns below.

Governance

Our most important initiatives are:

1. Responsible, open leadership

Our management always works towards responsibility and transparency. Procudan is a family-owned company but structured as a limited liability company as defined by the Danish Companies Act. This means in part that our accounts are open to the public scrutiny and that we comply with statutory profit and equity capital requirements.

In Denmark, Procudan pays taxes as a limited liability company. In Sweden, we pay taxes as a branch of a limited liability company. This highlights our commitment and duty to making a fair and just contribution to welfare in the societies in which we operate.

We have trusted the independent auditing of our financial statements and operations to a recognised international auditing company. This ensures not only our compliance with the highest standards of financial integrity, but also that our stakeholders can be fully assured of the integrity of the content of our statements.

2. A professional board

Procudan's board is comprised of external professional members, who have been selected for their in-depth expertise and their ability to contribute to our company's continued growth and success. Our external board ensures that we are constantly challenging ourselves and striving towards improvement, while sticking firmly to our values.

3. Responsibility for the supply chain

We are demanding of our supply chain and insist that it is ethically responsible and highly demanding in terms of sustainability and social responsibility.

These requirements are set out in our Code of Conduct, which is based on the principles of the UN Global Compact and its requirements with regard to child labour, human rights, discrimination, anti-corruption, the environment and safety. All our partners and producers have made a commitment to full compliance with our Code of Conduct.

4. Our approach develops value

We make a living by supplying and freeing up resources for our customers' business. We always add value on the basis of our eight component approach. All processes and guidelines are kept continuously updated in a flexible management system.

IT security and data protection are also the cornerstones of our governance structure. Our GDPR policy ensures that all personal data is handled with the utmost care and protection. This is integrated into our quality management system to guarantee that the policy can endure in practice and not just in theory, as well as being constantly updated and maintained.

We encourage dialogue and have a flat organisational structure with a short path from employees to management. Our whistle-blower scheme allows anyone who discovers discrepancies to anonymously report them to management.