A VISION OF A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
We want both us as a company, our environment and all future generations to have the chance to live and develop sustainably, that is to say, that we must create a development that satisfies today’s needs without jeopardizing future generations’ opportunities to satisfy their needs ( Brundtland Commission). Our business has a responsibility and we can make a difference. Sundlings is currently putting together the puzzle by puzzle piece to lay out the path around how we contribute to long-term sustainability and its development and how we can build a better tomorrow, every day.
Read more below about our work and initiatives.
OPERATION
We strive to conduct the business in an environmentally sustainable way where products and processes must be designed to use energy, natural resources and raw materials as efficiently as possible. We constantly work to minimize waste and wastage, and the small amount of waste that still occurs is sorted accordingly so that as much material as possible can be recycled. Reduced waste saves resources at all stages, from raw material production and energy use in processing to packaging materials and transport.
Examples of initiatives for a more sustainable operation
- Sensor-controlled LED lighting in the production premises and in the warehouse, which has reduced electricity consumption by 94% compared to before. This corresponds to a reduction of 7 tons of CO2/per year.
- New and more energy-efficient production equipment.
- Ongoing project to become more self-sufficient in electricity through solar cells.
- Ongoing project regarding food waste to biogas.
RAW MATERIALS
Sustainability throughout the entire chain begins with the raw material. We work closely with our suppliers and thus set high demands which we continuously follow up. It concerns everything from how the raw material is produced and how it is packaged and further how it is transported. We are proud of our suppliers and what they do to contribute to sustainable development.
Examples of initiatives for a more sustainable value chain
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Grown primarily in the south of France and has modern cultivation methods that bind Co2 in the soil, 5 tons of Co2/hectare.
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Drones are used to identify specific weeds that can be eliminated, reducing the need for pesticides.
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Minimized water consumption through water sensors in the fields that measure precise water needs at the root of the corn plant.
Sunflower and coconut oil are important raw materials for us at Sundlings. We work with suppliers who take great CSR responsibility so that development for farmers and cultivation takes place more sustainably.
Among other things, we have chosen to move the production of popcorn seasonings from the USA to Sweden.
We have redirected roughly 90% of our purchases of popcorn from the USA to Europe to minimize the transport impact.
TRANSPORTATION
Transport is a major contributing factor to greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, we work hard to optimize our transport to and from Sundlings while evaluating more environmentally friendly alternatives. We work with suppliers who are at the forefront of the development towards fossil-free transport.
Examples of initiatives to minimize the impact of our transports
We optimize our purchases to drive as much FTL (full trailer load) as possible. 100% of all shipments of corn and snack raw materials from Europe and the US are optimized for FTL.
We work with intermodal transport (boats) from Europe to minimize emissions.
We have left the use of disposable pallets to use only returnable EUR pallets.
Changed lead times and order handling processes allow us to optimize our shipments. As a result, we can run more full trucks with direct delivery.
PACKAGINGS
There is a lot to consider when developing a product and packaging. When working with food, it is therefore important that the packaging protects the product to minimize unnecessary food waste. Therefore, it is particularly important that the packaging is recyclable and that we do not have unnecessary air in it, partly to increase the degree of filling and at the same time achieve optimal transport. The plastic initiative pushes us and the industry forward to find materials that can be recycled to a greater extent.
We are constantly evaluating new materials to find ways to use less plastic and cleaner materials for increased recycling rates. As a result of this, in the last year, we have changed existing products and saved 12 tonnes of plastic/per year.
Currently, 60% of all packaging is thrown in the bin instead of being recycled. As a company, we therefore have a responsibility for the packaging that we put on the market, and thus we are proud of the collaboration with Bower, which helps us take responsibility all the way in the work to increase consumers’ recycling rate.
“Together, we enable a change in consumer behavior where used packaging, which has long been called trash, finally gets a second-hand value. By actively incentivizing consumers when they recycle correctly, we can together increase the recycling rate and demonstrate circularity for the consumer as well as for the producer. For the same reason We are extremely happy about the collaboration with Sundlings, which will be an important building block in a significant change.”
Suwar Mert
CEO & Founder at Bower
Examples of initiatives for more sustainable packaging solutions
- Through slimmer consumer packaging for our popcorn bags, we have been able to increase the degree of filling by 50%, which means that we transport significantly less air. In addition, they use less plastic!
- A change to thinner plastic for our bags for manufactured snacks and popcorn corresponds to 4 tonnes/year.
The pre-stretched plastic film around our pallets generates a plastic saving of 4 tonnes/year, which corresponds to approx. 10 tonnes of CO2/year.
We save 3.3 tons of plastic/per year as a result of reducing the plastic in our cotton candy packaging.
The changed carton size of our produced goods has resulted in us being able to increase the filling rate. It thus generates 6% more product on each snack and popcorn pallet sent to our customers.
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
For us, it is important to contribute to a society for all people’s equal value, rights and opportunities. It’s not just about being responsible for it within our walls for our staff, but also with our suppliers and through our community involvement. In addition to checking our suppliers against our Code of Conduct, below you can read examples of what initiatives we have in our social engagement
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women in Sundling’s board of directors
We work for equality within Sundlings
Management
Sponsorship
Godchild
Management
- 50% of Sundling’s board are women.
- Sundlings has a female CEO.
Sponsorship
We sponsor, among other things, Villa Lidköping’s children and youth as well as elite efforts for both the women’s and men’s teams.
Godchild
Since 2017, we sponsor an education program for our godchild Veasna in Cambodia via the Cambodian children’s fund. This enables, among other things, schooling and further education at the university for him.