Positive impact on people and the environment in Raksystems’ everyday work – Impact and ESG from theory to practice

The development of Raksystems’ sustainability efforts continued in autumn 2022 with our new principal owner, Trill Impact. At the same time, we implemented the Impact Champion programme launched by Trill Impact in Raksystems Group. Trill Impact actively works with the UN’s 17 global sustainable development goals. The fund only invests in companies that they believe will have a positive impact on people and the environment. Impressed by this, we set out to deconstruct the core of Raksystems once more and to specify our possibilities of making an impact.

UN sustainable development goals guide sustainability efforts

The UN’s sustainable development goals are a big part of the development of Raksystems’ sustainability efforts. The purpose of internal workshops facilitated by Trill Impact in our company is to dig deep into the core of Raksystems and create a solid foundation for the continuous sustainability efforts. These are summarised in the annual sustainability report.

Raksystems’ current mission, vision and strategy have been re-examined in the discussions. As the work progresses, they can be updated if necessary to meet the company’s current needs and objectives. Along with the updating work, the UN’s principles of sustainable development are used constantly to support reflection and discussion.

Impact and ESG

For the sake of clarity, the development work was divided into two parts: Impact and ESG. The purpose of the Impact section is to examine what kind of positive impacts our work and services have externally and how we create value. The ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) section, in turn, looks at how we do our work internally, i.e. whether our ways of operating are sustainable and responsible.

The sections are considered more broadly at the level of Raksystems as a whole and will later be examined at the level of individual services as well. Several product managers have already been tasked with reviewing their own services from an Impact perspective. This is done in order to create value-generating goals for the future and to measure the positive impacts of their services.

At the turn of the year, all Raksystems employees were issued a stakeholder survey. Its purpose was to find out their views on where we are now in our sustainability efforts and what is important to develop still. The same survey was also widely sent out to other representatives of our stakeholders. In spring/summer 2023, the aim is to create a sustainability report based on our development work.

Impact Champion to support sustainability efforts

In autumn 2022, the Impact Champion programme organised by Trill Impact was started alongside our sustainability efforts. Impact Champions are our employees who inspire, lead and set an example for how everyday work should be carried out while being guided by the principles of sustainable development, but who are also involved in the entire sustainability process. We, as Raksystems’ Impact Champions, have very different roles in the company. That’s why our participation introduces different points of view and facilitates the implementation of the efforts among regular employees.

The programme also helps to support the management team in dealing with sustainable development problems and measuring impacts. This allows us to more accurately and measurably monitor the achievement of our goals and demonstrate concrete impacts.

At the time of writing this, in addition to myself, the participants in the programme include Keijo Leppävuori. He is currently still the head of the Raksystems Green Building Services business but will start in the role of Country Manager of Raksystems Finland as of 1 February 2023, as well as two of our experts from Sweden, Elina Magnusson and Christian Nae. In addition, Lotta Kauppinen, Sustainability Manager of our subsidiary EcoReal, will be joining us. Lotta and her team have compiled and analysed our stakeholder survey conducted at the turn of the year.

At least one representative from each company owned by the private equity firm Trill Impact participates in the Impact Champion programme. Because of this, the programme also offers an opportunity to learn from other companies and start cooperation across company boundaries.

We are positively contributing to more sustainable development goals than we think. We should all have a tangible understanding of how we contribute to a healthy and sustainable world. Having said that, I feel proud of our company, values and purpose.