Mats W Lundberg and Carina Silberg

We invited Carina Silberg, head of governance and sustainability at pension provider Alecta and Mats W Lundberg, head of sustainability at Sandvik to discuss sustainable business and how companies can make a real difference. Climate action was in focus since Sandvik has committed to net-zero emissions and science-based targets.

Alecta is a major occupational pension provider in Sweden and one of Sandvik’s largest shareholders.

“We believe that companies simply cannot create shareholder value unless they take sustainability into consideration”, Silberg said. “We have had a focus on climate for the past few years and we want companies in our portfolio to show how they are on a path to transition to a more climate-adapted business.”

One of the reasons for gathering Silberg and Lundberg for this conversation was the fact that Sandvik has committed to net-zero emissions and the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). SBTi is a third-party organization that validates that your climate targets are in line with the Paris climate agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

“We have a huge opportunity by creating products that impact our customers’ business in a positive way, whether they are better for the climate or reduce risk”, says Lundberg. “It’s important to take responsibility for your own business but also before and after in the value chain and to collaborate. If we collaborate we can make a big change and have a big impact.”

Silberg agreed: “It is so interesting that you point at the parts of the value chain. A lot of the impact you can provide is in the customer part of the scope 3 and it’s so important since that’s where you can find opportunities to capture.”