Sustainability is an intrinsic part of our business

Considering the nature of the consultancy business, the companies’ own carbon footprint can be considered small. The company strives to have a positive handprint, i.e. enabling positive environmental impacts of the clients and ultimately across the value chain. The bounds and eventual implementation for sustainable design choices are not determined by subsidiaries independently but are decided in dialogue with clients and other project partners.

The current sustainability services include sustainable solutions for low-emission construction, circular economy, strengthening biodiversity and climate change adaptation. Environmental expertise is used in different phases of planning, infrastructure, and construction projects, for example by recycling building materials, optimizing the energy consumption and environmental effects of the building’s life cycle as well as planning organic green environments. The green transition and increasing regulation concerning biodiversity open new business opportunities for Solwers companies. The Company has established an internal ESG group with representatives from each of the subsidiaries to support the strategic development of sustainable products and to identify business opportunities. During 2024 the ESG group focused on three themes: emission calculations, use of materials and environmental services.

Several Solwers companies have an environmental program in place, and many of the subsidiaries have also obtained environmental and quality accreditations such as EcoVadis GOLD (ELE Engineering AB), Ekokompassi (Architects Davidsson Tarkela Oy and Finnmap Infra Oy), ISO 14001 environmental management system accreditation (Falk Construction Management AB, Dreem Architects AB, ELE Engineering AB).

The well-being of the personnel is key at Solwers. The fundamental pillars of the strategy include the attractiveness of our companies as employers for diverse experts and continuous development of expertise. To promote positive employee experience, the group regularly organizes versatile training. Our concept of light integration of subsidiaries enables a sense of independence and agility while being part of a larger multidisciplinary team of experts. As an example, employee benefits vary between Solwers companies, depending on what is considered meaningful at each company.

In 2024, 66 per cent of employees replied to the satisfaction survey. The employee net promotion score (eNPS) in the group was +25 (33), which is classified as very good.* The variation in results between the subsidiaries was significant, with lower scores emphasized in those subsidiaries where redundancies or layoffs had taken place, or where the workload had temporarily been imbalanced. We recognize the impact of job satisfaction on our performance and strive to improve it even further. At the end of the reporting year, the group initiated 360 leadership evaluations, especially at those subsidiaries where the eNPS results indicated room for improvement.

The Company is committed to being good corporate citizen and contributes to the well-being of the surrounding society. In 2024, we continued monetary support to Hyvä Mieli fundraiser for low-income families in Finland and the children’s cancer fund Barncancerfonden in Sweden.

* Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) tells how willing employees are to recommend the company as a place of employment to their friends or colleagues. eNPS gives a value between -100 and 100, and the result below 0= room for improvement, 0-20= good, 20-50 very good, above 50 = excellent. Source: eletive.com

The Company operates openly and transparently, following good governance and promoting the diversity of the working community. The group has common Code of Conduct principles and an anonymous whistleblowing reporting channel in Finland and Sweden. No incidents were reported through the channel in 2024. During the reporting period, the Company has developed its internal control environment and advanced risk management development projects.

For the subsidiaries, the group strives to be a growth platform and enabler. Solwers is a long-term and committed owner and partner that supports the development opportunities of the personnel. Solwers’ Board of Directors was shortlisted as a TOP3 finalist in the Board of the Year 2024 competition organized by Nordic Listed Leaders. The evaluation criteria included sustainability actions and the diversity of the Board as well as the financial performance of the Company.