Agenda 2030 and LVI – The worlds and our own goals for the future

Through the UN, the world’s leaders have committed to work to achieve three overarching goals by 2030. These are to abolish extreme poverty, to solve the climate crisis and to reduce inequalities and injustices. The agreement is called Agenda 2030 and contains 17
global sustainability goals. The goals were adopted in 2015 and meant that 193 countries together with the business community came together to work for a better world.

In order for the goals to be reached, each part of the business world must analyze its own impact and define within which target areas it can best contribute, develop action plans and follow up on its efforts. The goals that we consider to be most relevant for LVI Low Vision International AB, and where we can contribute to a positive change until 2030, are:
 

*Read more at: https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals

3 Good health & well-being

Our employees are the most important asset for LVI. Security and participation create a good working environment. These are our watchwords within the organization. Security is created by trusting each other, we cooperate in a respectful way and work long-term. Participation arises when we work towards common goals, show understanding for the work of others and help each other.

7 Affordable and clean energy

LVI’s products require electrical energy. Therefore, we are constantly developing our products to make them more energy-efficient and easier on the planet. This includes seeking improvements in the form of new techniques, designs and choice of components. We have a clear environmental goal; to streamline the power consumption in each new product, since the use of electrical energy has a significant climate impact. We measure and follow up this goal every quarter.

Since 2009, we have reduced the total power consumption per manufactured MagniLink system by an average of 35%.* 

*Compared to the full year of 2023) 

Our salespeople make business trips by car, mainly in Sweden but also within Europe. Until the year 2030, cars with fossil fuels in our car fleet must be replaced by cars with more environmentally friendly fuels in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Some of our cars are already electrified.

Properties account for a large part of today’s energy use. During 2023 and 2024, extensive renovation and modernization of our head office/factory in Växjö was carried out to adapt the premises for our operations and to improve the working environment. The renovation also included mounting of solar cells on the roof, that made it possible to use newable energy in our operations. All lighting are LED type and several spaces will have a motion sensor to further reduce our electricity consumption. 

8 Decent work and economic growth

We work for a safe and healthy work environment that complies with established laws, standards and the collective agreement we have with the Teknikföretagen Unionen. All employees are given written information about their terms of employment. 

New employees begin their employment with an introduction to all departments to gain knowledge and understanding. It also includes a review of ergonomics and safety. Later, this is followed up with annual systematic work environment revision. We also have a forum where employees can submit opinions or suggestions for improvement, both on the work environment and on work methods or products. Our
watchwords – security, participation and innovation – must permeate the business. We believe that good working conditions for our employees generate a stable company with good economic growth.

LVI has an equality policy where it is established that no discrimination may take place on the basis of gender, age, ethnic origin, religion, disability and sexual orientation. It is also stated that the company must make it easier to be able to combine gainful work and parenthood.

LVI’s operations must be characterized by good business ethics. One part of this is that we have a purchasing policy with a clause on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) where our suppliers must ensure in their supplier agreement with us that they do not contravene the UN Human Rights Convention and do not engage in child labour. The supplier must also ensure that their entire supply chain complies
with the ILO (International Labor Organisation)..

9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

LVI has its own research and development department (R&D) as well as its own manufacturing of vision aids – all within the same building. This enables close collaboration between the departments and we are constantly looking for improved and more efficient assembly
solutions and products. Innovation is a strong watchword within the organization and we invest a lot to be at the forefront of R&D in our industry. The digitalization of our products has increased, and will continue to increase in the future to meet the increased demands from the market. This also enables more efficient support and service as the products do’nt need to be returned to the same extent for repair, while troubleshooting can be done remotely, reducing transport and speeding up solutions for our customers. We also collaborate with local service companies, which means that the product less often needs to be returned to our production site in Sweden. 

In product development, a basis for understanding our products’ environmental impact is created via analysis with Component Environmental Impact, which shows, among other things, carbon dioxide emissions. This provides a good decision making basis for chosing materials and suppliers. It is also considered whether it is possible to choose a supplier that is geographically close in order to reduce the transport distance. Our goal is that each new product should have a lower environmental impact than the previous generation. Our suppliers must ensure in their contracts that they comply with the applicable legislation and standards that certain materials in our products require. In some products there are built-in batteries that can have an impact on the environment if handled incorrectly. We ensure that these batteries are handled according to the regulations that exist for safe handling and transport. Personnel affected by these tasks have undergone training.. 

12 Responsible comsumption and production

LVI strives to streamline and improve operations in every process within the company. To ensure the quality of all processes, LVI is certified according to ISO 9001 and 14001. Our operating system contains instructions and routines for both quality, environment and work environment. All this is made to ensure that we work with the right things and develop in a positive and sustainable way. Ultimately, this means that our customers can trust that LVI is a responsible producer and supplier.

LVI works to reduce our environmental impact in everything from production to suppliers and recycling. We have a clear environmental goal to streamline power consumption in each new product because the use of electrical energy has a significant impact on the climate. The consumer must know that a product from LVI is energy efficient. Our products are often sold through public tenders, and there LVI invests in increasing the information about our environmental work in order to eventually raise this as a significantly contributing factor in the procurer’s choice of products and supplier.

Freight transport is a major challenge when it comes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Here, LVI tries to, where possible, always choose the kind of transport that causes the least environmental impact. For example, we choose boat transport to our warehouse in the USA instead of air. Similarly when importing materials. This causes increased demands on our planning and forecast in production and purchasing. We invest in developing products that are less bulky and weigh less. This will in turn lead to our goods taking up less space on the transport vehicles.

LVI takes responsibility for its waste and recycling partly by participating in the Environmental Protection Agency’s recycling system for scrapping and recycling electronic products and batteries. We are also connected to the Swedish producer responsibility organization “Näringslivets Producentansvar” and their recycling system for packaging. During Q1 2024, 59% of the amount of packaging used by LVI for products sold in Sweden was fully recyclable. LVI is working towards the national goal of 65% recyclability until year 2029 (source: Statistics Sweden). This is achieved by planning for a larger proportion of corrugated cardboard in our packaging in the development process, and in collaboration with our packaging suppliers find materials with a higher material recycling rate. In our own production, we strive to have an optimal stock of input materials, all to avoid scrapping and increased waste as a result of obsolescence. This is monitored by frequent
need calculations, close contacts with suppliers, as well in the development process as in our planning for the phase-in and phase-out of our products.

Extended product life

In our subsidiary in Germany, we work with a new concept for recycling and circulation of products, called GreenLine. The products are rented out for a period of time and when the rental period is over, the product is taken back, reconditioned and rented out once more instead of being scrapped. This means that a new product does not need to be produced. We hope to be able to incorporate this strategy in other markets in the future as well.

LVI also works actively in other ways to try to increase the lifespan of our products. This is partly done by using newer technology that requires less energy, such as monitors with LED backlight displays. Partly this happens by actively choosing hard-wearing materials in manufacturing, which makes our products last longer.

You can also download this information as a PDF brochure: LVI and the Environment.