Orthex Corporation, Press release, April 22, 2021 at 11.00 a.m. EET

Orthex Corporation published its annual Sustainability Report today April 22, 2021. Our Sustainability Report communicates Orthex’s Corporate Responsibility actions in 2020. In 2020, we continued investing in the use of bio-based and recycled materials and in decreasing the carbon footprint in our production. We also signed the European Plastics Pact.  

We aim to be a forerunner in sustainability in our industry and we actively promote sustainability throughout both production and supply chains. Our sustainability strategy builds on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Through our sustainability actions we promote the following goals: Decent Work and Economic Growth; Industry Innovation and Infrastructure; Responsible Consumption and Production as well as Climate Action.

“Global warming is one of the most important challenges humanity is facing. That is why we have set as a main target to reach carbon neutrality in production by 2030. Sustainability is at the core of Orthex’s business. A sustainable way of working also provides a competitive advantage. Year 2020 was a year of growth for us; our net sales grew by 14.2 per cent to EUR 75.9 million. Strong financials also enable us to keep developing sustainable ways of working and new products. In 2020, we launched the SmartStore Collect recycling solution made of recycled materials, and its reception in the market was excellent,” comments Alexander Rosenlew, CEO of Orthex Corporation.

In 2020, the share of bio-based and recycled materials in our production was 14 per cent. We continuously develop new products with a significant share of bio-based and recycled materials. Last year, for instance, we launched the Red Dot awarded SmartStore Collect recycling solution made of recycled materials, and in cooperation with Woodly, a Finnish biotechnology company, we innovated a storage box made of environmentally friendly wood-based plastics. Furthermore, our bio-based products received the TÜV Austria certification. The rating indicates to the consumer to what extent the plastics in a certain product are bio-based. Our goal is to increase the share of bio-based and recycled material in our production to 80 per cent by 2030.

One of the goals in our sustainability strategy is to decrease our energy consumption. Last year, we improved our relative energy efficiency by 2.3 per cent and reached our energy consumption reduction goal. In addition, our production facility in Lohja, Finland, deployed a green energy solution. Our long-term goal is carbon neutral production in 2030.

An important milestone in our sustainability work was signing the European Plastics Pact as one of the first Finnish companies. The pact aims at the responsible use of plastics, recycling capacity and the use of recycled content.

“By signing the Plastics Pact, we are now part of promoting circular economy of the plastics value chain also at a European level. The lifecycle perspective in sustainable development has been guiding our choices for a long time: we produce long-lasting, recyclable products that are mostly made from recycled materials. In our production, we focus on energy efficiency and minimising the carbon footprint. We continuously look for ways to increase the share of bio-based and recycled materials in our production,” Rosenlew concludes.

Orthex’s sustainability actions are guided by the company’s sustainability strategy, which defines the targets and key performance indicators for Orthex’s Corporate Responsibility for three years at a time.

The full report can be found on Orthex’s website: https://www.orthexgroup.com/orthex-group/sustainability

Further enquiries

Alexander Rosenlew, CEO, Orthex Corporation
Tel. +358 40 500 3826
alexander.rosenlew@orthexgroup.com

Hanna Kukkonen, CMO, Orthex Corporation

Tel. +358 40 053 8886

hanna.kukkonen@orthexgroup.com

Orthex in brief

Orthex is a leading Nordic houseware producer that strives to make consumers’ everyday life easier with its products that are presented under the consumer brands SmartStore™ in storage products, GastroMax™ in kitchenware and Orthex™ in home and plant care categories. Orthex aims to be the industry forerunner in sustainability.

Orthex’s net sales in 2020 was 75.9 million euros and operating profit 12.3 million euros. The company has customers in more than 40 countries and local sales offices in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Orthex is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange.