Sandvik achieved a top score in a sustainability report presented yesterday by Misum, Stockholm School of Economics. We not only talk about sustainability; we also get things done.

The “Walking the Talk?” 2019 report analyses sustainability communication from Sweden’s largest listed companies: what they say they will do, and what they say they have done in their corporate responsibility and sustainability work.

Misum’s third report (the previous ones were presented in 2015 and 2017) shows there is still more talking than walking when it comes to sustainability but it also shows that companies have moved sustainability higher up on the strategic agenda.

Misum researched the “talk” and “walk” from a total of 95 companies. The two scores were then combined into a total score. Sandvik scored 17 in “talk” and 15 in “walk” and a total of 32 (max 40). It places Sandvik in a top position together with other “Talking Walkers” (see chart below). The highest score was achieved by BillerudKorsnäs (37).

Associate professor and responsible for the report Lin Lerpold said: “Communicating measurable goals in time and scope, as well as reporting progress on those goals, impacts our trust in a company’s sustainability work. Only through communicating goals and progress can external stakeholders move beyond projected corporate images to evaluating a company’s sustainability efforts.”