Although there is an ongoing pandemic in the world and we have full respect for the challenges that we all face, both privately and at work, we would like to proudly present our new sustainability report for 2019, which we published recently. We are happy to report that 2019 was a year of several significant achievements for Elos Medtech, not least in terms of our sustainability work.

Pushing for greater sustainability through our Elos Medtech Cares focus areas

There is an intensifying debate around how to create a truly sustainable world. At Elos Medtech, we are committed to doing our part in this work, primarily by contributing to sustainable development in the medical technology industry. This, in turn, can improve the lives of millions of patients.

We have identified three focus areas – our Care Areas – that we believe are critical to our sustainability agenda. These are the areas where our business has the greatest impact, and where we have the best potential for improving the lives of patients. Our Care Areas are Care for our Business, Care for our People and Care for our Responsibilities.

2019 saw great sustainability results in a number of areas

Elos Medtech set the following six goals for our sustainability work in 2019. We are very happy to report that we were successful in accomplishing what we set out to do during 2019. Listed below are some of last year’s sustainability achievements:

Care for our Business

  • Inform all critical suppliers about our Code of Conduct.
  • Secure sustainable investments corresponding to at least 5% of the agreed investment budget.

We have informed all critical suppliers about our strong compliance culture. The majority of our investments could be considered sustainable since they contribute to improved resource efficiency. However we want to create an awareness of investments to reduce our environmental footprint, e.g. by reducing energy and water consumption as well as CO2 emissions. By this said, 5.4% of our overall investments for 2019 were related to sustainability.

Care for our People

  • Increase the response rate to 80% in the Employee Engagement Survey.
  • Give up to 10 employees the opportunity to spend at least one month at another site/in another country.

As our employees’ engagement and dedication are essential for our competitive edge, we have expanded the annual employment survey in 2019.  The survey shows that employees feel respected by colleagues and management. Also, employees feel they live our core values: passionate, trustworthy and result-oriented.

During 2019 we also modernized our site in Timmersdala, Sweden. When we began streamlining our Timmersdala production site, we involved everyone at the facility. We inspired each other and focused on areas we knew we could improve and that would create a more practical and rewarding workplace for everyone. We have not only created a great team spirit by reorganizing our layout, it has also had a positive impact on production workflow and output.

Care for our Responsibilities

  • Investigate possible ways of reducing energy consumption in relative numbers, e.g. by installing electricity meters, performing energy audits or similar. The goal is to further increase awareness, identify possible sources for improvement and seek to use renewable energy wherever possible.
  • Achieve a maximum scrap rate of 5%.

Every year, we measure our greenhouse gas intensity. By the end of 2019, we were able to confirm that we had managed to reduce this ratio.

We increased the share of renewable energy in our plant in Memphis. Renewable energy sources make up more than 60% of our overall energy consumption, and our goal is to increase this ratio.

Last year also saw a significant reduction of our scrap rate and an improved recycled waste ratio. Minimizing the amount of production waste is an important sustainability goal, as it impacts both our environmental footprint as well as our financial results. 

Substantial water consumption reduction and other Elos Medtech sustainability goals and achievements for 2019

We have successfully reduced our water consumption, especially in China

Our team in Tianjin evaluated the facility’s 2018 water consumption, in particular how we could increase the efficiency of the handling of wastewater from the production. Back then, wastewater was collected in sealed plastic containers, which were then handled as hazardous waste by our carrier. We saw a potential for improvement in this handling process. Not least in terms of us being able to lower our environmental impact, which would subsequently have a positive effect on our economy.

During the second half of 2018, we initiated the installation of a new wastewater treatment plant to recycle water from our production processes. This was followed by test runs and process validation. By early 2019 we were up and running, and could use the new equipment at full effect. This had an immediate impact, and substantially reduced the volume of wastewater.

By the end of last year, we saw a 53% reduction in water consumption at our production facility in Tianjin. Thanks to efficient wastewater recycling, we were able to save 6,261 tons of water. The impressive results in China contributed successfully to reduce the total water consumption from all our production processes globally by as much as 36%.

Please visit our website if you want to know more about our Elos Medtech Cares initiative, and how we contribute to sustainable development in the medical technology industry. You can also find a lot more information on the work we do, globally and locally, here at the Elos Medtech blog. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at malin.gustavsson@elosmedtech.com!