WITH SUSTAINABILITY AS A PART OF THE CORE VALUES

Circular business

The materials purchased by BE Group shall be used to the greatest possible extent. The handling of the material shall be optimized to reduce waste and the operations strive to be as resource efficient as possible.

A material that can be recycled over and over again while maintaining quality and recyclability is a prerequisite for a circular economy. Steel is essentially a sustainable material with a very long life span. It is the world’s most recycled material and fossil-free steel production imposes demands on further recycling. For BE Group’s part, this means that the materials purchased will be optimized and used to the greatest possible extent and the remainder will be recycled. The operations will be as resource efficient as possible with focus on material utilization.

To be able to grow and develop, good business ethics must be ensured and in its sustainability efforts BE Group is supported by several policies and guidelines: such as the code of conduct, core values, environmental policy, Safety first policy, anti-corruption policy, the code of conduct for suppliers and the whistleblower policy. Subsidiaries shall comply with these ethical guidelines and policies and the managing director of each company is responsible for their application in the operations.

BE Group’s code of conduct provides guidelines for business ethics and anti-corruption, and this is complemented with an anti-corruption policy. The policy has been translated into the local languages within the Group and clarifies the Group’s framework and rules of conduct. During the year, the Group did not receive any notifications linked to this.

Updated whistleblower policy

During the year, the rules on the companies’ whistleblower functions were strengthened and BE Group has updated existing policies to meet the requirements in each country in which the company operates. A whistleblower committee has been established to receive and handle possible cases together with an external advisory party. No whistleblower cases were received during the year.

Taxes

BE Group conducts operations in various countries with different tax laws and legislative authorities and strives to pay the correct tax in every country. Changes in laws and case law are continuously monitored so that taxes are handled in accordance with current laws and rules. If applicable, guidance is sought at the local tax authority or with external tax advisers, such as audit and accounting firms, to clarify relevant tax issues.

BE Group’s corporate culture is based on what is defined as the Group’s core values. These values shall permeate the entire organization and create security and understanding, provide guidance in how we should relate to one another and to our surroundings, and form the basis for clear communication, both internally and externally. BE Group has focused on three key words for this work and they are dynamic, transparent and sustainable.

Dynamic

Dynamic means that the employees must be attentive and curious at the same time that they never hesitate to question “old truths” when necessary. Together with the company’s business partners, the employees are encouraged to continuously seek new methods and opportunities that can contribute to developing both the company’s and the customers’ offerings.

Transparent

Through collaboration, the employees learn from each other, identify the areas that can be improved and together find solutions to any questions and problems that arise along the way. Transparency is about setting clear goals and having a shared view of expectations and performance. Openness, honesty and clarity win in the long term.

Sustainable

Sustainability is the foundation so that BE Group will continue to be a successful company in the long term. This partly involves minimizing the business’ impact on the environment and climate and partly involves acting responsibly and respectfully in relation to both employees and external partners. But sustainability is also about being profitable, making wise investments and securing the business in the long term.

Safety first

Health and safety is a highly prioritized area at BE Group’s workplaces and there is a policy with a zero vision regarding workplace accidents called Safety First. The basic idea is that all accidents can be prevented and safety must come first at all times. The units are working locally to assess and address risks in the operations and to prevent accidents. Steering documents are in place and regular follow-ups, workplace meetings and training sessions are carried out. Each accident and incident are reported, evaluated, rectified and followed up.

In 2022, 11 accidents (16) resulting in more than one day’s absence were reported, and it is clear that risk awareness has increased among employees. An increasing number of risk observations are being reported and this leads to units being able to work increasingly proactively with improvement projects. Since the work of prioritizing safety began in 2019, the number of accidents with absences has decreased by nearly 75 percent, which is a clear signal that these efforts are working. In the employee survey, 89 percent (85) of employees said that they experienced that their manager always puts safety first. The overarching objective is that no one should be injured at BE Group’s workplaces and that everyone should have the conditions to be able to do the right thing in an easy way. One of the largest risk groups is new employees and focus was placed on further improving introductory training during the year. This gave results and in Finland, for example, they had the first summer without accidents with absences among the summer substitutes and two out of three units have been free from accidents with absences for more than 365 days.

The focus for the future is to continue collecting risk observations, to promote activities that prevent accidents, to train and remind employees, and to highlight and reduce hazardous behaviors at the workplaces.

Employees

BE Group’s ambition is to create a stimulating and healthy work environment for employees. All workplaces within BE Group shall be safe and pleasant and free from harassment and discrimination. It is important for BE Group to be seen as an attractive employer where employees thrive and can develop. The employees are our most valuable asset and a prerequisite for the company to perform well. The company is dependent on new staff with new ideas and experiences that balance the long-term expertise that already exists.

Every year, BE Group conducts a Group-wide employee survey to ensure that the strengths and improvement areas that exist in the work environment are illustrated. The employee survey is sent to all employees and 85% (84) of the employees chose to participate in 2022. The results are presented by department and every group work on preparing an action plan for the improvement areas established.

The employee survey measures five different indices: Engagement, Leadership, Team efficiency, Management and Psychosocial work environment. The results show continued positive development, although there are areas of improvement. The goal is that the employees shall have the possibility of influencing their work situation and, besides the employee survey, performance reviews are regulary held.

Average number of employees and diversity

The average number of employees in BE Group in 2022 was 654 (621), of whom 11 percent (11) were women. The percentage of women in the organization is still low and work is ongoing to map how to create conditions to attract more women employees and managers. However, there are considerable differences between the percentage of women on the white-collar side and in production. In 2022, the percentage of women among white-collar workers was about 27 percent and for production it was about 1 percent. Work is continuing to increase the diversity of workplaces and to create balanced teams with individuals with different genders, ethnic backgrounds and ages. Actively working with diversity and gender equality is part of the management team’s work linked to the global sustainable development goals in Agenda 2030.

BE Group’s ambition is to be seen as an attractive employer where employees thrive and can develop. The company is dependent on new staff with new ideas and experiences that balance the long-term expertise that already exists.

Training

Employees shall have the opportunity to develop in their work and this includes training courses, both external and internal. The need for further training is discussed during employee development talks where individual requests can be raised. The units work locally with the training programs and in Finland, for example, there is a digital tool with ready-made short-term training courses where the employees themselves have the opportunity to develop in various work-related areas.

During the year, training in the environment and safety was carried out at the units. Group-wide leadership training for all management teams was carried out during the year with both physical and digital meetings.

BE Group works proactively to minimize the environmental impact of its operations. Environmental issues are an integrated part of the operations and the foundation of the environmental work is a Group-wide environmental policy. The units work locally with the environmental issues linked to the operations and focus is on continuously improving their facilities’ energy consumption, emissions and waste management. All operations are certified in accordance with the international environmental standard ISO 14001. BE Group is engaged in operations at one site in Sweden and one in Finland where environmental permits are required.

In recent years, the company has implemented a number of measures to reduce its operations’ energy dependency and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The more decisive efforts include the centralization of operations in Sweden and the Baltics and the extensive investments made in modern and more energy efficient machines. The units have also worked to replace the lighting in the premises with LED lighting, which reduces energy consumption considerably. For example, Finland now has only LED lighting in production, which covers an area of about 40,000 m².

Sustainable targets

In 2023, the company will appoint a sustainability team that will prepare new environmental targets for the Group to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to strive to become climate-neutral in the future. As an independent steel distributor, with a position between the steel producers and customers, BE Group can be involved in influencing the choice of materials that are placed on the market. The company is already working with several steel producers throughout Europe and is able to offer climate-compensated steel to customers. The company actively seeks out suppliers with explicit sustainability efforts that can offer products with lower CO₂ emissions. The ambition is that as much as possible will be purchased from ISO 14001 certified suppliers and, in 2022, 85 percent (85) of purchases were made from certified suppliers.

BE Group is making calculations of carbon dioxide emissions according to the recommendations in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, GHG Scope 1-2. The calculations show that the Group had CO₂ emissions of 8.6 kg per ton sold (8.1) in total in 2022 from its own business. The increase in 2022 is mainly attributable to the decreased tonnage.

BE Group’s total energy consumption amounted to 69 kWh/ton sold (74) during the year. Carbon dioxide emissions from in-house operations are reduced through greater use of fossil-free energy carriers, such as electricity, biogas and district heating, and by the streamlining of energy consumption. Currently, about 60 percent of the energy consumption comes from renewable sources. Energy consumption is affected by the delivery volumes and it is primarily production activities (material processing and service), which are energy intensive. Warehousing in itself is less energy intensive.

In recent years, the company has implemented a number of measures to reduce its operations’ energy dependency and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions

Optimizing transports

One of the company’s major challenges is the optimization of transports as nearly half of all transports are made by road. The units work locally with this since the conditions vary between the different countries. The companies actively work to find transport companies that have a explicit and deliberate sustainability and environmental focus. The transports in Sweden are increasingly made by trucks powered by diesel with an add-mixture of non-fossil HVO/BIO components and there are also trucks powered by biogas. In Finland, the focus is on optimizing transports via a consolidation center for transshipment and onward transport to end customers. The units in Sweden and Finland account for the majority of transports and, together with the transport companies, gather detailed data for current fuel consumption to gain greater knowledge of the emissions and how the company can influence them from an environmental perspective. During the year, 94 percent (91) of the shipments were handled by ISO 14001 certified suppliers.

Emissions from own operations

BE Group’s own operations cause only limited emissions. Emissions primarily originate from the production units in Norrköping and Turku where operations such as painting and blasting are carried out. The filtration of solvents (VOCs) from painting facilities and dust from blasting and cutting equipment is efficient and is continuously followed up. An important contribution that BE Group in Sweden has made over the year is large-scale testing with water-based paint in production. Today, solvent-based paint is used and a transition to water-based paint would entail both reduced emissions of volatile organic compounds and an improved working environment for employees.

Residual materials

Residual materials in BE Group’s operations are mainly metals, wood and cardboard. These are sorted and recycled to the greatest possible extent. Steel production is a heavy and energy-intensive industry, but at the same time, the life expectancy of steel structures is long and the recycling rate is high compared with many other materials. In 2022, the Group recycled a total of 98 percent (98) of the total number of residual products from the operations.

BE Group works with internal processes and reporting tools to be able to detect irregularities in the organization. The company shall apply sound business principles and an important part of this work is to combat corruption. The company strives to be a financially, socially and ethically responsible actor and complies with the laws and rules applicable in the respective market where the company operates

Internal work

BE Group is working to have healthy employees and a safe work environment and to safeguard diversity, equality and the development of the company’s employees. All workplaces shall be free from harassment and discrimination. As guidance, BE Group has the code of conduct. It is established by the Board of Directors and includes all operations and employees within BE Group. These ethical guidelines provide guidance in the daily work to achieve the Group’s goals and point out everyone’s responsibilities towards business partners, owners, employees and society. The Code addresses issues of business ethics, anti-corruption, child labor, equality, work environment, career issues and competence development.

Target figures are available for the work on the safety of operations and additional indicators are to be developed as part of the work on Agenda 2030. The employee survey is an important tool in the follow-up of internal work, where the working groups after the survey work with their results and the outcome is followed up by the management teams.

Part of society

BE Group strives to be an active part of the society surrounding our units. This is achieved through various activities such as sponsorship of local sports clubs, organizing internships and summer jobs and working together on degree projects.

During the year, for example, the Lahti unit donated traffic workbooks to local schools with the purpose of teaching children important traffic rules at an early age. Together with another company, BE Group in Sweden financed a grant for the year’s best degree project in steel construction in 2022.

Surrounding world

With units in several countries in Northern Europe and a geographically widespread supplier base, insights regarding human rights may be limited and there is a risk that the company may involuntarily contribute to human rights violations. These issues are addressed in BE Group’s code of conduct. The follow up takes place through the whistle-blower function where employees have the possibility to report serious inaccuracies within the organization. When working with the suppliers there is a code of conduct for suppliers and follow up is made through talks with the suppliers.

This year, a lot of focus has been on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and earlier in the year, BE Group chose to donate money to the UNHCR and UNICEF. The people in Ukraine are living in terrible conditions following the invasion about a year ago and the humanitarian needs are huge. Around Sweden, various networks have worked together to be able to help and many projects have recently been about the production of stoves, in order to be able to give the people of Ukraine heat and the opportunity to cook hot food during the winter. BE Group and the networks of customers in Sweden and Finland have been involved in several such projects. In these charitable works, BE Group has contributed materials to the stoves, particularly sheet metal and tubes, while the networks of industrial customers have contributed with production capacity and labor hours.