A trusted sustainability leader in our industry in 2030

Where people meet around food and drink to socialize and feel good, and do it in a sustainable way, that’s where Duni Group should be. Over the past two years, it has been a tough challenge.

As we entered 2021, everyone was looking forward to getting back to some sort of “normal”. However, the continued restrictions during the first half of the year meant that restaurants, cafés and hotels were closed in many places. When these customers do badly, our Duni business area with its solutions for table settings also suffers.

The BioPak business area continued to develop strongly. It benefited from a high demand for environmentally adapted take-away packaging as the market chose other ways to offer and consume food and drink. Here the challenge was instead to cover demand.

In the third quarter, profits increased

When restrictions were eased in Europe in the third quarter, people could meet again. Demand recovered and we made a fantastic result. Unfortunately, things got tougher again in the fourth quarter. The pandemic took a new turn and we saw the results of other external factors, such as rising inflation and rising material and energy costs. In addition, the global shortage of transport containers led to increased shipping costs and delivery times. With some lagging, all this affected our results, and further reduced the weak Christmas sales.

Group sales in 2021 amounted to SEK 5,061 (4,501) million, which corresponds to a sales increase of 12.4 percent. Adjusted for exchange rate fluctuations, net sales increased by 14.4.

Despite a difficult start to the year, the Duni business area increased its sales in fixed gear rates by 4.2 percent compared to 2020. The BioPak business area increased by 28.6 percent year-on-year. Together, this has a direct impact on the Group’s operating profits, which amounted to SEK 279 (149) million.

Several important initiatives with an environmental focus

In 2020, we learned a lot, including that we need to become a more flexible company, so that we can respond quickly to changes in the world. Just as we did when we focused on hygiene products and increased digitalization in 2020. We also saw a need to further strengthen our focus on sustainability as well as to create clearer goals for the organization.
In 2021, the EU Taxonomy, intended to create a common terminology around sustainability and investment, was confirmed. We welcome this development and see it as appropriate that the initial focus is on climate issues. Our business is not initially covered by the Taxonomy but we will closely monitor developments where we believe it is possible that our business will be covered in the forthcoming expansion.

Inspired by the UN’s Agenda 2030, we are planning our own “Decade of Action”. It has laid the foundation for an updated strategy with a very strong sustainability focus. We have also signed and communicated the UN Global Compact. Our annual report expresses our full support for the ten principles on which the UNGC is based.

Sustainability and circularity drive our business

Our overall goal is to lead our industry towards circular solutions with net zero carbon footprint. The strategy will help us get there, and to support it we have formulated a higher purpose and a new vision. This is something I am passionate about. Our employees need to know what the Group stands for, what we want from the business and where we are going. Especially when the playing field and the rules of the game can literally change overnight.

The updated strategy integrates sustainability into all aspects of the business. We have set ourselves the goal of achieving net zero GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions for Scope 1 and 2 by 2030 and to become fully circular. This applies not only to us, but also to a substantial improvement in our entire value chain, that is, including Scope 3.

Already in 2021, we started activities with a strong signal value. Two of them are, as far as we know, the first in the world. The Duni business area launched fossil-free airlaid paper for premium napkins and the Skåpafors paper mill received its first delivery of BioLPG, which will reduce emissions by up to 90 percent after full implementation.

New exciting collaborations

Our ambition is to be able to offer each customer the most sustainable solution based on their circumstances – whether it is a single-use or multi-use product, or a completely different solution.

To achieve this goal, we give innovation a central role. We will stay one step ahead, seek out new companies with exciting solutions and build mutually rewarding partnerships.
We have already launched partnerships with three exciting start-ups that combine sustainability and circular models with digital solutions. We have invested in two of them and for the first time we are investing in services rather than products.

Committed employees a success factor

The commitment of our employees is crucial to achieving our goals. An important milestone is that the HR department has become People & Culture and will now work much more on culture and competence issues.

We have seen a need to strengthen our corporate culture. Now we are integrating it in a completely new way into our business through the new values that employees have worked out cross-functionally. This means that the values reflect the organization and will be a good support in our work to inspire, involve and include both new and existing employees.

My first year as CEO has been eventful. The pandemic has affected us for longer than we could ever imagine. We have also set a new long-term goal for the whole Group. The aim is to inspire the world around us to give more than we take, so that people both today and in the future can enjoy good food, well-being and togetherness.

When I accepted the position, I realized that it would include an extensive change process. However, I saw it as a positive challenge. Despite a sometimes uncertain environment, I am very enthusiastic about the important steps we have taken. They make going to work worthwhile and I feel that the organization shares my positive outlook.

We are deeply concerned about events and the geopolitical situation in Europe. There is great uncertainty about the situation in Ukraine and it is difficult to assess the long-term effects, but at this stage our direct impact is limited. We support the UNHCR, which provides emergency humanitarian aid in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, and also sends products to the border where many refugees gather.

I am grateful for the internal commitment and the energy of the staff in 2021. Together we have planned and embarked on a journey that will make Duni Group even more amazing. It’s a long journey, but already in 2022 we will start to see results. This will be an exciting journey.

Malmö, March 2022

Robert Dackeskog
President and CEO