Lantmännen – “Sweden’s most sustainable brand” 2014

Swedes have chosen Lantmännen as “Sweden’s most sustainable brand” in the Sustainable Brand Index survey.

Lantmännen has worked for many years on its brand promise to take responsibility from field to fork. This year Lantmännen has climbed from fourth to first place.  In the survey 9,000 consumers assessed how Sweden’s major brands perform in terms of both environmental and social responsibility.

 “We’ve worked consciously for many years to show how much responsibility we take in our operations. We’ve tried to highlight this both through our communication and our internal work. Our brand promise, Lantmännen taking responsibility from field to fork, is at the heart of our organisation and the way we work. So it’s so great that we’ve been named as Sweden’s most sustainable brand in the Sustainable Brand IndexTM, which is the most comprehensive Swedish survey in this area,” says Per Olof Nyman, CEO and Group President of Lantmännen.

“We’ve worked on our brand promise at every level of the organisation for many years. From our seed, where Lantmännen BioAgri won eco-company of the year, through our green energy, with Sweden’s most eco-friendly ethanol production, to our sustainable food production. We also invest in research and development in agriculture, energy and food, which are important focus areas for sustainability for the future. As we are owned by 32,000 Swedish farmers, we have both the obligation and the opportunity to take responsibility,” says Madelaine Hellqvist Kongstad, Director of Communications at Lantmännen.

Lantmännen has used its communication work to highlight topical sustainability issues and to inspire people to make responsible choices. These activities include, for example, the book ‘Var rädd om maten’ (Look after your food) which encourages people to economise on food, healthy school meals and an app that inspires people to cycle to the supermarket.

Lantmännen accepting the award: Madelaine Hellqvist Kongstad, Eva Blixt, Jenny Svederman, Anneli Hansson, and Claes Johansson.

Sustainability work at Lantmännen in full focus
Lantmännen’s responsibility from food to fork impacts many decisions, and the organisation works to ensure that its sustainability work is always in full focus. This includes following up its suppliers to ensure that they comply with Lantmännen’s Code of Conduct and setting targets for sustainable purchases of soya. Lantmännen also aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent by 2020, by working in a structured way on energy efficiency and moving over to renewable energy sources.

“Sustainable food production is a major global challenge. Growing ingredients accounts for a major part of the environmental impact of most food value chains. Lantmännen uses its competence and responsibility throughout the chain from field to fork to provide new sustainable solutions for its customers and consumers. It’s fantastic that consumers recognise the hard work we’re doing in this area,” says Claes Johansson, Head of Sustainable Development at Lantmännen.