Willo aiming for Gold in Sustainability
Having achieved the Silver level, it is now time for Willo to take the next step in the development of its sustainability work according to Nina Axelsson, Head of Quality and Environment at the company: “Naturally we are aiming for Gold in Sustainability”, she says.
Swedish company Willo has achieved the Silver level according to the scorecard developed by EcoVadis, a world-leading system for measuring and comparing companies’ sustainability work. Nina Axelsson, Head of Quality and Environment at Willo, says the company’s sights are now set on taking Gold. A completely natural objective for a company whose business idea has always been based on the principle of achieving the highest possible level of quality.
EcoVadis is a world-leading system for measuring and comparing companies’ sustainability work.
“One of our customers required all their suppliers to submit reporting on their sustainability work. When we started using the system to fulfil this requirement, we soon realised the value of also using it for our own purposes, as EcoVadis communicates key data very clearly, even though there is a lot of work involved in documenting and measuring relevant information”, Nina Axelsson says.
The company’s score is shown via a dashboard that can be shared with customers. Willo currently shares the dashboard with three of the company’s customers.
This creates a win-win situation, as the customers can guarantee sustainability throughout the entire supply chain and can also use the tool to compare suppliers. Suppliers can use the tool for benchmarking and to enhance their profile and receive clear input regarding areas where there is room for improvement.
“A good tool”
“I view this as a good tool for continuous development. It highlights existing strengths as well as areas for potential development and improvement.”
There are four scorecard themes: Environment, Ethics, Labour & Human Rights and Sustainable Procurement.
Environment
The Environment theme represents one of Willo’s major strengths.
“Our environmental team continually works on improving KPIs and proactively reducing our environmental impact. Much of our work has been focused on the production process. Previously we used mineral oil as cutting fluid, whereas now we use vegetable oil in all machines apart from certain older models. Vegetable oil is a better environmental alternative and is also better for our employees if they happen to get oil on their skin.”
Metal shavings from the lathe are pressed into briquettes that are then reused. The vegetable oil is also reused.
Labour & Human Rights
Labour & Human Rights is another strong theme for Willo.
“The Willo Drive concept shows how we should act towards and treat each other, and how we are active participants in the decisions that we make. We are innovative and visionary, and we work with complex solutions, always with a view to further development and improvement.”
Can climb even higher
One of Willo’s most immediate areas of focus is the theme of Ethics.
“We have already made good strides in this area, although the data is not always documented in the right format for the tool. When we have perfected the documentation process we will be able to climb even higher.”
Willo has a medtech product that has been approved for sale in the USA, and the company also supplies products to the nuclear power industry. Willo has achieved certification according to the environmental standard ISO 14001 and the quality standards ISO 9001 and 13485, the latter of which applies to medical devices.
Nuclear quality assurance standard NQA-1
Willo has also achieved approval according to NQA-1, an American nuclear quality assurance standard.
“This means that we can deliver products directly to the USA. One of our customers has customers in the USA, and it makes things easier for them to know that their suppliers are in compliance with the standard.”
Willo has rooms with special cleanliness requirements where these products are manufactured under strict forms of control and monitoring.
Medtech product approved by FDA
Another major feather in Willo’s cap is the fact that the company is responsible for contract manufacturing of a product that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA.
“It is not our design, but we are responsible for the manufacturing and assembly process, which means that we must be approved by FDA. It is an orthopaedic product that is used together with prostheses. It is a quick-release connector between the bone screw and the prosthesis, with a safety function to ensure that the connector releases under excessive strain.”