Protecting the essential

Protecting the essential via sustainability improvement is vital for Trelleborg's long-term value creation, and spans the entire sustainability area, from environment, health and safety issues to compliance and ethical relationships with employees, customers, suppliers, local communities and society as a whole. Sustainability focus areas in Trelleborg are Operations, Compliance, and Social engagement. Read more in our Sustainability Report and watch the video.

Trelleborg’s innovative products and solutions have properties that contribute to a more sustainable society – Blue DimensionTM.

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Focus Areas

Trelleborg has identified three distinct areas of importance, called our Focus Areas, by asking internal and external stakeholders which aspects of sustainability really matter to them. 
Two illustrated cogwheels

Operations

In Trelleborg, we work systematically to improve our key business processes. We take care of our people and we minimize waste and other negative impact on society.
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Illustrated balanced scale

Compliance

Wherever Trelleborg is present, we abide by laws and regulations, respect human rights and are characterized by exemplary business ethics summarized in our Code of Conduct.
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Illustrated hands

Social Engagement

We want to be a part of the local communities where we are present, and act as a good corporate citizen. We give dedicated support to young persons’ learning and development activities.
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Sustainability reporting

Reporting the essential

Trelleborg's Sustainability work focuses on aspects of sustainability that create long-term value, sharpen performance and really matter to our most important stakeholders – Customers, Employees and Shareholders. By asking our external and internal stakeholders what they consider essential, Trelleborg has identified the aspects of concern to feature in our reporting. 


Identifying sustainability concerns
Trelleborg carried out materiality surveys to identify stakeholders’ prime concerns within sustainability. The outcome highlights issues such as the use of hazardous chemicals, energy consumption and emissions to air and water, as well as the importance of a safe workplace and good relations with the community.

 

The aspects and KPIs of sustainability considered most important by external and internal stakeholders have been incorporated into our focus areas to guide performance and reporting.

Illustration of the globe
Trelleborg's key stakeholders summarized in process chart
Stakeholder engagement focusing on the essential

The pandemic no longer disrupted Trelleborg in carrying out and developing stakeholder engagement in 2021, and more activities could be performed than the year before.

 

Trelleborg’s stakeholder engagement 2021
Engagement remained dominated by the key group “Shareholders and investors” with higher activity in the banking sector, and was stimulated by new elements, such as the new EU Taxonomy (refer to page 130), and Trelleborg’s first issue of a green bond in August 2021 (refer to page 10). Activities among customers also increased with a high number of and more detailed surveys and questionnaires in the area.


Other areas that were mainly highlighted by the various stakeholders during the year were:

  • The company’s handling of climate change, including achieving climate targets
  • Circularity in materials handling and business models
  • Management of sustainability-related risk, including various types of climate risks

 

Materiality: Evaluation/analysis and new model
Trelleborg’s overall priorities for its sustainability activities were, as usual, evaluated. In October 2021, exercises were again conducted with about 40 students from Örebro University from the master’s program in Sustainable business, where they evaluated the content of Trelleborg’s latest Sustainability Report from the perspective of various key stakeholder groups. This took place as three-day workshops when the students were introduced to the report and then commented on and criticized the report. Common areas for views were raw materials/circularity, chemicals, diversity and inclusion and the supply chain.

 

The views collected from the stakeholder dialog, evaluation and the new risk analysis were addressed during work on the 2021 Sustainability Report.

 

Trelleborg prepared a new model during the year due to the future regulations on how materiality analysis are to be performed.

 

This new model is based on:

  • Identifying material sustainability aspects
  • Risks and impact of material aspects
  • Activities to address aspects

 

Identifying aspects. Materiality at a general level has been evaluated by Trelleborg since 2020 in accordance with the UN SDGs and two different dimensions:

  • How do Trelleborg’s operations impact people and environment?
  • How are Trelleborg’s business and operations impacted by sustainability issues?

 

Trelleborg’s risks and impact on people and the environment. Material aspects of Trelleborg’s risks and impact on the environment and people are described in the Sustainability Report together with preventive and corrective action.

 

Impact on business and operations. Material aspects of how sustainability issues impact Trelleborg’s business and operations via risks and other effects are presented in the sustainability report. The risk analysis – particularly the long-term – was improved in 2021 using a new climate-related scenario description according to the TCFD’s recommendations. The analysis incorporates both how transition risks and physical risks could impact business and the operations.

 

Climate change is high on Trelleborg’s strategic agenda, as it is for most manufacturing companies. The material aspects of climate change involve physical and business risks for the operations related to both preventive measures and climate adjustments, and reducing the climate impact of the operations across the entire value chain.

 

Activities carried out by Trelleborg have been clearly decentralized to the business area level based on the Protecting the Essential sustainability strategy as regards both tailoring the agenda and actual planning and implementation of improvement activities. Climate change can, for example, be divided into energy-related activities – meaning improved energy efficiency and transitioning the operations’ energy supply toward renewable energy sources – and materials activities, meaning primarily transitioning the operations’ materials supply toward greater circularity.

  • How is Trelleborg managing the issue of climate change?
    The starting point in preparing the company’s current climate target (for the period 2021–2025) and long-term climate vision (for 2035) has always been to contribute to society’s goal to keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, by using a science-based analysis of emissions from operations. Initial focus was on Scope 1 and 2, but other emissions across the value chain (Scope 3 emissions) are also addressed at the same time, mainly via purchased materials and transportation, which after discussions with the Science Based Targets initiative will be qualified and added to the “50 by 25” target and also the vision of net zero emissions from
    its own operations by 2035.
  • How is Trelleborg working to make its business and entire operations more circular?
    During the year, work has continued on a general model for Trelleborg’s view of circular resource use and business, as an additional step toward more efficient use of resources. In this work, Trelleborg’s definition of circular economy follows the general definition of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation: “Circular economy is an industrial system based on recovery and regeneration. It replaces the concept of obsolete products with recycling, transitions to renewable energy, eliminates use of harmful chemicals, which thereby enables reuse, and aims to eliminate waste and pollution driven by improved design of materials, products
    and the entire system, including business models.“

    The Group-wide Polymers for Tomorrow group also initiated a central project to systematically address key material categories to increase the share of bio-based and recycled materials. More detailed targets for this work will be presented in 2022.
  • How does Trelleborg identify and manage sustainability-related risks, including climate risks?
    Sustainability-related risks are included, as before, in Trelleborg’s risk evaluation according to ERM principles. A supplementary risk/impact evaluation in accordance with the UN SDGs is presented with commentary in the Annual report. The evaluation prioritizes and highlights the risks and impacts/effects that are considered most severe and likely to occur. As of 2021, a scenario analysis has been performed following the TCFD’s recommendation, focusing specifically on climate risks – both transition risks and physical risks.
Trelleborg's value chain summarizing raw material, suppliers, production, distribution, use and recycling in chart

Trelleborg and the value chain

In 2020, Trelleborg conducted its first assessment in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the area of sustainability-related risk along the value chain and own impact on surroundings. All 169 UN targets were assessed in relation to the risks and impact Trelleborg’s activities cause.

 

The image shows goals where risk/impact are considered high or medium-high, by weighing both the factors severity and likelihood of occurring.

Download the latest report
Sustainability-report-2021-wide

Sustainability report

Download our comprehensive guide to Trelleborg’s recent performance within the sustainability area.

Sustainability framework

Internally, the basis of Trelleborg’s work on sustainability issues is the Group’s Code of Conduct, the content of which is built upon globally recognized guidelines such as UN Human Rights principles. 


Externally, the reporting on sustainability is prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). From 2019, there are also clear references to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the 17 goals in Agenda 2030. 

Trelleborg sustainability activities summarized in pie charts

Sustainability activities

Read how our sustainability activities contribute to Trelleborg’s total performance.

Sustainability Contacts

For Product inquiries or related matters, please go to: Contact us

Rosman Jaha Trelleborg's vice president corporate responsibility

Rosman Jahja

Vice President Corporate Responsibility
tel +46 (0)410-670 34 
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Patrik Romberg Trelleborg's SVP Group Communications and Human Resources

Patrik Romberg

SVP Group Communications & HR
tel: +46 410 670 94
Patrik Romberg LinkedIn Profile