Environmental responsibility

Svenska Spel consistently strives to improve its performance in the environmental area and works actively in the four areas in which it has identified its greatest environmental impact: business travel, materials/products, energy and goods transport.

Svenska Spel is a service company and thus its impact on the environment is limited. Also, the Company’s stakeholders have not expressed any specific requirements in this respect. Nevertheless, as a State-owned company, Svenska Spel wishes to reduce its environmental impact and be prominent in this field.

The Company’s Code of Conduct encompasses Svenska Spel’s environmental policy. Svenska Spel is an environmentally responsible company. Svenska Spel promotes and contributes to long-term sustainable social development by reducing the environmental impact of operations. Svenska Spel achieves this continually by improving its performance and working proactively whenever possible.

Strategy and objectives

Svenska Spel is aware of its impact on the environment, directly through the consumption of energy and other resources used in day-to-day operations, and indirectly via its suppliers.

Svenska Spel seeks to make a positive contribution to the environment by promoting eco-products and via co­­operative initiatives. Environmental consideration shall take place in everyday operations, including planning, investment decisions, purchases and working methods.

Being the market leader, Svenska Spel views environmental programmes as a key factor in the Company’s long-term, sustainable development. The environment offers an opportunity for positive development and potential savings, financially as well as environmentally.

The overall objective is to transform Svenska Spel into a ­climate smart company. In 2011, Svenska Spel’s environmental council, with representatives from the whole organisation, reached a consensus on the goals for 2012–2014 for each focus area:

• Business travel shall be reduced by 20% (domestic) and by 10% (international) compared with 2010.
• Energy consumption will be reduced by 6% (kWh) compared to 2010.
• Goods transport will not exceed the figure for 2010 during the period.
• Svenska Spel will identify, measure and see the results of optimising the amount of advertising materials.

During 2011, the Company – in cooperation with an external party, Tricorona – conducted a climate calculation for the four areas of operations. Among other things, the aim was to re­­solve on a method of measure that will prove sustainable in the long term and will make it easy to compare different periods.

Four focus areas

As a result of an environmental survey of Svenska Spel, the Company has identified the most significant environmental impact and the inputs that make most difference. The ­following four focus areas have been identified: business travel, materials/products, energy and goods transport.

Business travel Offices in two locations and casinos in four cities make business travel a necessity. However, business travel is the factor underlying Svenska Spel’s carbon dioxide emissions. Thus, Svenska Spel’s employees are encouraged
to use video and teleconferencing and to plan their meetings so as to minimise travel.

Materials/products Svenska Spel is a major consumer of paper in the form of gaming programmes, ticket rolls, ­gaming coupons and so forth. Thus, a reduction in materials consumption is a focus area.

Energy By means of consistent improvements and energy saving measures, Svenska Spel attempts to reduce energy consumption. Renewable energy has been introduced in all premises since 2011.

Goods transport Each week Svenska Spel dispatches ­gaming programmes, coupons, advertising materials and ticket rolls to retailers nationwide. Transport can be optimised by means of fewer delivery days and smaller paper batches. Thanks to these measures, goods transport, that used to be the major emissions item, has become a relatively small share of Svenska Spel’s total emissions.

Environmental requirements on suppliers

A substantial portion of Svenska Spel’s environmental impact derives from goods purchased by the Company. Therefore, environmental requirements are imposed on all purchasing processes. These comprise fundamental and general environ­mental requirements, as well as specific and more comprehen­sive environmental requirements for purchasing processes in which a substantial environmental impact is identified, such as freight transports, technology and food.

Activities and results in 2011

Svenska Spel works actively to minimise carbon dioxide emissions. A number of activities were conducted during the year:

• Review of Svenska Spel’s overall environmental goals, and the formulation of goals for each focus area.
• Continuing work in communicating and anchoring key indicators internally in order to increase commitment in the organisation. 2011 monthly reports to managers were introduced covering business travel by employees.
• Svenska Spel continues to train its employees in environmental issues. The aim is to raise awareness of environmental matters and how Svenska Spel can work with them.
• Efforts to optimise goods transport by limiting materials dispatches continued.
• Using its Eco Driving programme, Svenska Spel continues to train employees who use cars in their work.
• Continued work to find energy-saving measures at Svenska Spel’s premises. For example, Casino Cosmopol installs LED lighting in its buildings. This extensive project, which will continue over three years, is expected to have environmental and economic benefits.
• Renewable energy was introduced in Casino Cosmopol’s premises in Malmö and is thereby used in all Svenska Spel’s properties.
• Screen savers introduced for Vegas VLTs provide annual energy savings of some 15% of VLT energy consumption, which Svenska Spel estimates to 1.3 million kWh and that these savings will benefit ­business partners.
• A climate-impact survey calculation was conducted that will form the basis for the new environmental goal.
• The number of video conferences increased. Svenska Spel currently has 31 video monitors, four of which are at the ­Company’s casinos. Efforts are continually made to encourage the use of them in order to decrease business travels.

Focus for 2012

During 2012, Svenska Spel will further develop, communicate and ensure the implementation of the Company’s environmental programme.

• A new climate-impact calculation will be made in 2012.
• Environmental requirements for suppliers will be in focus in 2012 as Svenska Spel adjusts to the Swedish Public Procurement Act.
• On the basis of the climate-impact calculation made in 2011, a new environmental goal will be set up and anchored in the organisation.
• Continuing training of employees in environmental issues.
• Continuing communication and internal implementation of key indicators in order to increase commitment in the Group.
• Additional measures to optimise business travel will be completed.