Pioneering positive impact

Recognizing the fact that we live in a world with finite natural resources, Alfa Laval is pioneering innovative technologies and solutions to help customers unlock the full potential of these resources. Alfa Laval is uniquely positioned to play an essential role in enhancing the efficient use of energy, food, water, and other critical resources on which we all depend, and in this way also contributing to a more sustainable and decarbonized world.

Innovating for tomorrow

Together with our customers we are innovating solutions to meet tomorrow’s demands on more circular business models with a limited climate impact. Each of Alfa Laval’s divisions have exciting possibilities ahead, with opportunities to change the way our customers do business and support them on their journey to a fossil-free and less resource-intensive future.

In the Energy Division, we partner with many industries to optimise energy efficiency and reduce emissions with new generations of heat exchangers, but also extending the useful life of already installed products with our service offering. We are also contributing to a new energy landscape, driving the shift towards cleaner energy with a leading range of products to produce biofuels, hydrogen power, and for energy storage.

In the Food & Water Division, we are also seeing a significant demand for more energy-efficient products. As separators and pumps are typically always in use and have comparatively long lifetimes, Alfa Laval can make a significant contribution to customers’ energy efficiency by developing products with a low energy intensity. In addition, Alfa Laval products help customers recover and reuse water while reducing wastewater to a minimum.

In the Marine Division, we are actively supporting the switch to carbon-neutral shipping by developing products for new and more sustainable fuel types. Alfa Laval provides pioneering solutions that reduce the need for fossil fuels and improves energy efficiency in the marine sector, helping sustainably transport cargo and people around the world.

Partnerships for sustainable innovation

The transformation towards a more sustainable business and society requires extensive collaboration between many different stakeholders. Alfa Laval seeks out strong partnerships with suppliers who also want to contribute to this transformation, for instance by innovating materials with a low carbon footprint or providing services that increase the circularity of products and resources.

By establishing the Alfa Laval Innovation House at our facilities in Copenhagen, we are aiming to accelerate the transformation by supporting start-ups that focus specifically on sustainability innovations. Partnering with other local organizations, Alfa Laval Innovation House hosts several start-up companies intent on solving a variety of resource and energy efficiency issues that can produce new knowledge and potentially also be a foundation for new business ideas.

Sustainability reporting

Alfa Laval’s Sustainability Report according to the GRI Standards, including the Statutory Sustainability Report (with EU Taxonomy disclosures) according to the Swedish Annual Accounts Act, is found on pages 46–79 in this Annual Report.

Supplementary sustainability information to ensure reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards (including a GRI index) is found in the separate document “Sustainability notes” published on our corporate website www.alfalaval.com.

Alfa Laval’s sustainability reporting covers the 2023 calendar year and focuses on material topics and activities in line with stakeholder concerns. It covers the entire Alfa Laval group and all wholly owned subsidiaries. Sustainability reports for previous years are available at www.alfalaval.com/about-us/sustainability/a-matter-of-trust/sustainability-reports/

 

For more information about Alfa Laval sustainability activities and reporting, please contact

Anna Celsing, VP Group Sustainability
Tel: + 46 730 55 48 00
e-mail: anna.celsing@alfalaval.com

We exist to accelerate the success of our customers, people and planet

The purpose of the sustainability strategy is to focus on those areas where Alfa Laval has the largest impact and wants to show leadership as a company. The strategy is divided into four main areas – caring, committed, circularity and climate. These areas reflect the environment, social and governance (ESG) issues that are most significant and where Alfa Laval can contribute most.

Each area includes a vision that sets out the ambition. For the different areas, Alfa Laval has also set long- and short-term targets which are followed up through relevant performance metrics to ensure continuous progress and to meet potential challenges through action. Where applicable, Alfa Laval will encompass the whole value chain in its ambitions including how the products and technologies we put on the market contribute to the sustainable transformation of business and society.

The sustainability section of the annual report for 2023 follows the structure of the 4C sustainability strategy. Each section provides an overview of focus areas, targets, processes, governance and how we follow-up on progress.

Assessment of sustainability focus areas

Materiality assessment

Alfa Laval regularly conducts a materiality assessment to review the sustainability issues with greatest significance and ensure that the company’s sustainability strategy remains relevant. This assessment is typically informed by interactions with internal and external stakeholders to fully capture material sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities. The materiality assessment is validated by Group Management and the Board of Directors.

During 2023, Alfa Laval has initiated activities to align with the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) to be able to publish compliant sustainability statements in the 2024 annual report. The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) that are a part of the CSRD regulations mandate that a double materiality assessment shall be carried out to identify sustainability topics on which to report.

Alfa Laval has performed such an assessment of sustainability impacts as well as financial risks and opportunities as required by ESRS, and this largely confirms that the focus areas of the current sustainability strategy are material topics. In addition, some new potentially material topics have been identified and will be analysed in more detail. The assessment also highlights the financial materiality of Alfa Laval’s business opportunities in helping customers improve their energy and resource efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. We will disclose full details of the double materiality assessment in the 2024 sustainability statements.

Stakeholder engagement

Alfa Laval has identified customers, shareholders and investors, employees and future employees, and business partners as priority groups for engagement on sustainability issues. We have selected the stakeholder groups that make up our value chain and that can provide meaningful insights on our company’s sustainability strategy.

We have regular contact with all these significant stakeholder groups throughout the year, and frequently address various aspects of Alfa Laval’s sustainability strategy in these dialogues. Customer contact is typically handled by the business units, and in addition we regularly conduct customer surveys, which provide in-depth understanding of how customers perceive the company, including how Alfa Laval contributes to sustainable business development.

Alfa Laval shareholders participate in Annual General Meetings and investors are invited to annual capital markets days. Alfa Laval’s potential to effectively respond to future sustainability challenges is one of the topics discussed at these meetings. In addition, we answer numerous ESG questionnaires during the year, and submit responses to rating organizations such as CDP and EcoVadis. These information requests from investors and analysts also provide input to our materiality assessment.

Employees are encouraged to give feedback directly to their managers and through recurring employee surveys. Suppliers are important partners for Alfa Laval’s business success. Regular interaction with them results in mutual development. Alfa Laval has an open dialogue with the communities in which the company operates, including collaboration with universities and local governments.