ESG Report 2023-2024

Introduction

In the 2023-2024 Strategy Plan, Uni-way A/S addresses three topics that are essential and will require a high degree of focus, now and in the future.
1. Sustainability
2. Job Satisfaction – Human Capital
3. Digitalization
In the fall of 2022, we invited all employees on a weekend stay in Skagen where job satisfaction and sustainability were the main topics. Prior to this weekend, Consultant Carsten Stenrøjl – who had been selected for this task – personally interviewed all employees and had meetings with the co-owners and the board.
Subsequently, Carsten Stenrøjl prepared a report detailing the issues which employees and management alike wanted to include in the two seminar focus areas: sustainability and job satisfaction.
Now, the management and the board have worked determinedly with sustainability – job satisfaction and digitalization, and this ESG Report reflects this work. As both the management and the board are aware that all three topics are very important to the business foundation in relation to requirements from customers and the outside world, they are prepared to invest the necessary resources and means to meeting the defined requirements while at the same time gaining a competitive edge in the long run.

ESG

ESG covers three areas:
E = environmental
S = social
G = Governance
In our view, the better we perform in the aforementioned three areas, the more responsible we would be perceived as a company. In order to demonstrate corporate social responsibility including sustainability, CSR etc., we need to relate to ESG in a strategic way – in terms of risks and reporting -which requires actions and guidelines from the management.

Environmental

Here we worked dedicatedly with scopes 1 – 2 – 3

Scope 1 – 2

Cover direct emissions from the company and indirect emissions via our purchase of energy.

1. We use approx. 70.000KWH (2022) covering Uni-way A/S itself and Europart which leases 936m2 of non-residential premises. Our goal is to become self-sufficient in relation to this energy by means of solar panels. This process was kicked off in January 2023 and we anticipate its completion by late 2023 or early 2024
2. As of 2026, our fleet of vehicles available to employees and co-owners will be electric vehicles only.

Scope 3

Covers indirect emissions divided into 15 categories

1. As we, as a transport operator, do not have our own vehicles but only trailers, we need to keep an eye on future developments in terms of fuel / vehicles in our field and to guide and help hauliers and drivers think in a sustainable way. As we are currently using B7 diesel only, we are doing everything we can to reduce our CO2 emissions by using the newest vehicles (EURO6) – trailers with adjustable shafts – driving courses for drivers – a higher degree of unloading on our trailers.
2. On January 1, 2023, we implemented a new waste sorting plan.
3. As we have implemented a large-scale digitalization process, we will be buying less office supplies from 2024.
4. By mid 2023, our IT provider anticipates introducing a new calculation model capable of calculating CO2 emissions for each individual transport. Our goal is to issue monthly or annual CO2 emission statistics for all shipments, retroactive to January 1, 2023, to our customers.

Social

For several years, we, the management, have made a point out of treating our employees with respect and we have always been aware that a high degree of employee satisfaction has a direct impact on how our company performs – value creation and yield. The result is that many of our employees have been with us for years.

We will never stop focusing on Human Capital nor ensuring that our company is attractive and capable of attracting and maintaining skilled and competent employees. Following our 2022 strategy seminar in Skagen, we have implemented the following:

1. An Activities Committee with seven members tasked with arranging four social company events every year.
2. We have changed our work hours to 08:00 AM to 04:00 PM
3. We have prepared trainee program plans
4. Quarterly department meetings

Furthermore, we have always made the following available to our employees:

1. Further training – Certified Forwarding Agent or Customs Diploma.
2. WellB (previously Mindstepcare) agreement – health
3. Optional massage therapy during work hours – health
4. Four annual employee meetings with refreshments/dinner
5. Annual staff development interview

Governance

Uni-way A/S is an employee-owned company with currently nine co-owners who are strategically divided between the various departments.
The board is comprised by four co-owners, each with a 20% ownership share, and a representative from the five owners with a combined 20% ownership share.
The board and the group of owners are all male which is an issue we are aware of. Each year, we have 4 or 5 board meetings where all the owners and another two representatives participate in the first three items on the agenda and then the representatives leave and the five board members finish the remaining items on the agenda.
This means that the board is independent of the business which, in a number of ways, we see as a strength. Twice, we have solicited the assistance of an external consultant to help us prepare our future strategy (2014 and 2022); said consultants subsequently participated in our board meetings with a view to following up on agreements made and goals set.
The Uni-way A/S annual report is presented in accordance with the provisions of The Danish Financial Statements Act regarding class B enterprises including the addition of certain class C provisions.
Furthermore, EY presents an independent accountant’s statement by means of an expanded control of the annual accounts.
In addition, Uni-way A/S endorses the Danske Speditører Code of Conduct.
As the group of owners and the board members all are employees of the company, we are completely in control of avoiding fraud, corruption, money laundering, competition law violations, and dishonest management.
Currently, we are 29 employees – 24 male and 5 female. In our future hiring of trainees, the goal is to hire male, respectively, female trainees in equal numbers.
For many years, Uni-way A/S has had an amazing culture which is highly supportive of our job satisfaction and sustainability strategy.

Global Goals

Uni-way A/S have chosen to work with the following Global Goals:

UN Global Goal # 3

Here job satisfaction for all generations is relevant

UN Global Goal # 8

Here working conditions, decent jobs, job satisfaction, and financial growth are relevant.

UN Global Goal # 13

Here investments in new technology and an active sustainability effort are relevant

UN Global Goal # 17

Here cooperation, partnerships, and coalitions in relation to sustainability are relevant