Environmental awareness
Environmental activities at Nobia are integrated with the operations of each business unit. A Sustainability Policy containing guidelines on Nobia’s priority areas is in place at Group level. The business units then adopt individual environmental targets and strategies based on these guidelines.
Nobia’s core operations comprise the manufacture, assembly and sale of kitchens and accessories. It is also these parts of the operations, combined with transports, that generate the greatest environmental impact. The following areas in the production of kitchens are prioritised in environmental activities:
Energy consumption
Both electricity and heating
Choice of materials
Such as types of wood and chemicals
Surface treatment
Use of paint and emissions from solvents
Waste
Recycling and reducing waste
Carbon dioxide emissions
From transportation and production
Packaging
Volumes and types of materials
The most common material in the production area is chipboard. A total of 80 per cent of all chipboard materials used for manufacturing within the Group is recycled material. Waste products from production can be used for heating production plants.
Environmental certification for plants
All of Nobia’s plants fulfil the environmental requirements established in each country. The production units in each country have had their licences assessed according to applicable environmental legislation.
Nobia’s aim is that all manufacturing plants shall have environmental certification. Acquiring environmental certification forms the basis of systematic environmental activities. At the end of 2009, 15 (15) of the Group’s 16 production units had obtained ISO 14001:2004 certification and/or were registered according to the EU’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
The Marbodal brand offers a wide range of products certified according to the Nordic Eco-label, also known as "The Swan". Read more about what it entails.
Reducing emissions
Two elements of Nobia’s operations generate the greatest environmental impact. The first is the exhausts from transport vehicles (carbon dioxide, sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide) and the second is emissions of volatile organic compounds from solvents used in surface treatments of cabinet doors. Nobia endeavours to optimise product transportation and logistics flows to minimise the environmental impact caused by transportation.
A Group-wide video-conferencing system is used to minimise use of passenger transportation for internal meetings. Telephone conferences and online technology are also used to exchange information.
The amount of water-based and UV-tempered paint and lacquer for surface treatments is constantly increasing. The advantage of these products is that they give off minimal emissions compared with organic solvents. At the end of 2008, approximately 48 per cent of all surface treatments in Nobia were based on water based and UV-tempered paint and lacquer, corresponding to a 5-per cent increased compared with the preceding year.
Nobia’s climate activities: Carbon Disclosure project
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent, non-profit organisation aimed at measuring the emissions of greenhouse gases from companies. CDP seeks information from companies on business risks and opportunities based on their environmental impact from emissions of greenhouse gases. Nobia has responded to the CDP questionnaire since 2006. The company’s responses are available from CDP’s website at www.cdproject.net.
Key Performance Indicators
Based on Group targets, Key Performance Indicators are broken down to measureable targets at business-area or plant level, allowing benchmarking to continuously improve the KPIs.
All business units report their use of environmentally harmful substances, amounts of waste and emissions and use of raw materials. These reports are used to create KPIs for measuring the consumption of materials, energy and emissions in the manufacturing process. Nobia has utilised the same KPIs since 2002. The total level of carbon dioxide emissions declined in 2008 compared with 2007. However, production volumes have also fallen, which means that the reporting of emissions per cabinet states a higher level of emissions.
The reported increase in the use of packaging material is an effect of conscious consideration of protecting products to avoid damage during transport.