Industry Spotlight: ROL
ROL Workplace and ROL Retail Concept are the names of the two business areas that contribute to creating functional and sustainable environments. ROL’s vision is to enable inspiring, integrated, and sustainable solutions where people live, work, shop, and socialise. To learn more about what drives the company, we sat down with Stefan Soneus, the Head of Marketing Communications, and his colleague, who is also the category leader, Boris Lindqvist.
Gold medallist in sustainability
Recently, ROL was awarded Ecovadis Gold. Ecovadis is the world’s most trusted assessment system for sustainability work. It becomes clear that ROL takes sustainability seriously when Stefan elaborates on the reasoning: “ROL’s total score was 72, which is 26 percent above the industry average. Only four percent of all companies reporting to Ecovadis achieve the gold level.” Since ROL owns and controls its entire production chain, they have all the opportunities to actively work on sustainability issues. Collaboration benefits sustainability development, and therefore, the company is involved in joint projects with customers to increase the lifespan of the products. “ROL has identified 13 focus areas related to the UN’s sustainability goals and is determined to create positive change by 2030. We are ready to meet the upcoming reporting requirements according to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Sustainability runs as a common thread throughout our operations and involves all divisions. All employees are welcome to contribute development ideas to make the world a better place for everyone.”
Supplier requirements
Boris continues where Stefan left off, mentioning that ROL has developed an extensive, policy-based, and data-driven assessment system for suppliers. “Much of our own sustainability work has evolved over time through demands from our customers. This development has led to larger customers with high sustainability requirements choosing to continue working with us. We do the same to develop our suppliers and support them in their environmental, social, and corporate governance strategies.”
Swede-Wheel and Hilfa meet the requirements
ROL and Swede-Wheel Group have collaborated for many years on both small and large projects. When we ask Boris to clarify, he illustrates the collaboration with some examples. For confidentiality reasons, he cannot mention the customers. “When we launched a new product for a well-known global furniture company, we chose to use a levelling foot from HILFA. In a procurement for a large customer in the USA, we chose a wheel from Swede-Wheel. Performance versus price was the deciding factor in Swede-Wheel’s favour.”
More connected products
Looking ten years ahead, both Stefan and Boris acknowledge that ROL’s products are well-prepared to be part of a circular business model, and ROL will offer more digital solutions for connected environments. Stefan hints that the ROL team has many exciting projects and solutions under way that will position the company at the forefront of future demands.