Sustainable responsibility for generations to come

2020

Despite the challenges of 2020 brought by the pandemic, we were able to operate in line with our customer promise. Ensuring safe working conditions and providing employees and our customers with tools to adopt to the new, unexeptional circumstances, were among our main priorities.

Our responsible operations also received two recognitions: LOGY ry Indoor Logistics of the Year award and the Company of the Decade in Sustainability in Finland award by the European CEO.

Read the ISKU Responsibility Report 2020

2019

2019 was a year of great change for us. We continued to actively develop responsibility-related issues in different areas. In this report, we present our responsibility efforts and the most important related themes for 2019.

Read our Responsibility Report 2019

3 x INNOVATION = BENCH - the GESS Awards 2021 Finalist

ISKU is shortlisted as GESS Innovation Awards 2021 finalist with Bench. This award is given to a product or service that is ahead of current thinking and demonstrates innovation at the highest level, with a way of doing something differently or more effectively. Bench emphasizes sustainable design and tackles safety issues brought forth by the pandemic.

Read more about Bench solution here

Nook - the GESS Awards 2020 Winner

Nook is a novel space-in-space learning solution, successfully combining pedagogical sustainability and eco-friendly manufacturing methods.

The easy set-up of the lightweight Nook felt elements encourages team work, creativity and problem-solving skills with an emphasis on the concept of joyful learning. The manufacturing material consists mainly (60%) of recycled Polyethylene Teraphthalate (PET) plastic bottles and is further fully recyclable.

Nook was awarded as the Best Sustainable / Eco-friendly Product in the GESS Education Awards 2020. Read more here.

Environmental responsibility

More than 90% of all the wood we use is PEFC certified. For the treatment of wooden components, we use UV-curable and water-soluble varnishes, wood stains and paints. In our products, the metal parts are 100% recyclable and the upholstery fabrics do not contain harmful substances nor do the plastic parts include phthalates.

We have implemented geothermal and solar power systems at our HQ and over 99% of the waste generated at our production can be recycled as material or energy. Also, by using mostly renewable materials in our packaging, we have reduced the amount of plastic by 20 000 kilograms/year. In our purchases, we prefer Finnish, environmentally-friendly materials.

Social Responsibility

To us, social sustainability means close collaboration and responsibility for our customers, staff and partners. ISKU creates employment for thousands of Finns throughout its supply chain. By ensuring good working conditions, creating jobs in Finland and acting globally in a responsible manner, we carry out corporate social responsibility and long-term sustainability.

During the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the majority to our employees started working from home. To ensure effective and safe working, tools to cope with the changed conditions and opportunities for online training were actively provided.

At the ISKU factories, safe and healthy working practices and conditions were investigated and assessed. To prevent the epidemic from spreading and to ensure safe working conditions, employees were provided information on practices for factory visits, hygiene, such as hand washing, disinfection and cleaning of equipment, breaks and meals, work clothing, use of changing rooms and meetings. In addition, cleaning of the factory was increased.

All products are carefully tested

We carry out committed work to ensure that ISKU products are safely manufactured and safe to use. The foundation of ISKU’s product development is formed by compliance with the requirements of EN and ISO standards and comprehensive testing. We test the strength, stability and safety or our products and the durability of the surface materials.

The products are tested at various stages of the product development process and in spot tests during production. ISKU has its own testing laboratory where hundreds of products go through the process of multiple tests every year.