Winners of Procuritas’ Sustainability Award 2023

Team Olivia, SEM, and Polarn O. Pyret won the Procuritas’ Sustainability Award 2023. The winners were announced during a half-day event at Villa Källhagen in Stockholm where Albright held an inspirational talk about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and our companies got the chance to meet and learn more about all the great sustainability initiatives being implemented in our portfolio.    

In this year’s Sustainability Award, we had three prize categories in line with Procuritas’ sustainability strategy: Good Governance, An Attractive Workplace, and A Planet in Balance. Companies were asked to nominate projects at the beginning of the year and over half of our portfolio contributed.   

– In total, we received eleven high-quality nominations from eight companies which I think really shows that sustainability is high on the agenda in our portfolio companies. It was tough to decide the winners, but we have chosen three well-deserved initiatives, says Linda Leifsdotter, head of ESG at Procuritas. 

Team Olivia won the prize in “Good Governance” for its extensive work to increase the quality-of-care services which benefit more than 7000 clients.

– Team Olivia has committed significant financial and personnel resources to improve the quality of work throughout the whole organisation. As a board member, I have closely followed the work they have done and I must say that I am impressed by the efforts made to ensure high quality care services and compliance in a heavily regulated industry, says Daniel Schuss, partner at Procuritas. 

In the category “An Attractive Workplace” SEM was awarded for its persistent and long-term commitment to supporting vulnerable groups in entering the labour market. The company has for several years conducted numerous initiatives to reduce unemployment among youths and at the same time secure competence in the company. For example, SEM cooperates with local schools, and offers various internships, master thesis, and summer jobs.  

The prize for the best project in the category “A Planet in Balance” went to Polarn O. Pyret (PO.P) and its focus on creating a circular business model. The company has implemented second-hand selling in all its Nordic stores. During fiscal year 21/22 more than 48,000 garments were sold via PO.P’s in-store second-hand service. This was an increase of 370% compared to the previous period.

– Sustainability really is in the DNA of PO.P. Their overall motto is “at least three kids in each garment” and I admire all the efforts they have made to create a circular economy. We know that at least 58% of all PO.P clothes and 66% of PO.P outerwear are worn by three or more children. I think that is a really good result, says Johan Conradsson co-managing partner at Procuritas.

Procuritas’ Sustainability Award will be and recurring event going forward. The purpose of it is to promote sustainability initiatives within our portfolio and enable networking and knowledge sharing among our portfolio companies. – The main goal is to inspire our companies to enhance their sustainability efforts. I believe events of this kind are very good for encouraging improvements, and I am proud of the active involvement of our companies in promoting sustainability. I am already looking forward to next years’ Sustainability Award, says Linda Leifsdotter.