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Sustainable Decisions | Skagerak

Skagerak is a family-owned design company from Denmark established in 1976. In its transformation to a global modern design brand, Skagerak’s passion for quality materials and state-of-the-art craftsmanship has only grown stronger. By developing long-lasting and functional design, Skagerak aspires to facilitate memorable moments in both indoor and outdoor settings – making houses into real homes. Good relations make happy homes, and Skagerak is all about providing the right frameworks for this. Today, Skagerak designs, develops and markets its interior, outdoor and accessory collections in more than 30 countries. At Skagerak, economic growth and sustainability are two sides of the same coin. To maintain its business of creating design that lasts for generations, the secret is not to compromise on neither quality, functionality nor aesthetics. This is only possible by ensuring that the same high-quality materials the company uses today are also available in 20, 50 and 100 years from now.

A crucial part of Skagerak’s long-term strategy is to promote sustainable forest-management. To make sure that the wood it uses comes from forests where no more trees are felled than it can manage to reproduce. Where biodiversity, environment, and local communities are protected. Where forest workers are guaranteed proper rights and access to training/education. Most of Skagerak’s wood is therefore either FCS or PEFC certified, depending on the type of wood and the area it grows in. Furthermore, to help prevent illegal logging, we adhere to EU’s Timber Regulation from 2013. This means that we perform due diligences on all shipments covered by the EUTR, to ensure that the wood comes from legal sources. Our due diligences are carried out in close cooperation with NGOs and national databases and are approved by the Danish authorities.

Another major aspect of Skagerak’s long-term strategy is embedded in the company’s Code of Conduct (CoC). The CoC is an agreement between Skagerak and its suppliers. It deals with a range of requirements which Skagerak’s suppliers must live up to. Hence, all new suppliers are screened and asked to sign Skagerak’s CoC. The CoC is based on guidelines from the ten principles of UN Global Compact. From these, Skagerak has – in close cooperation with NEPCon (a non-profit organisation that works for sustainable use of the world’s natural resources) – selected six points which are indispensable requirements for its suppliers and which it treats with zero tolerance. The six points of zero tolerance are:

no forced labour
no child labour
respectful treatment of employees
avoidance of hazardous work environments
active initiatives to reduce pollution
observance of international conventions

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