Sustainability at Fabege

In your opinion, where does Fabege have the greatest opportunity to influence development in sustainability?

As a company, we have a major impact, and as an industry we are at the cutting edge, which says a great deal about our approach to sustainability. Tenants, potential tenants and financiers all place demands on us, making sustainability a high priority. We see great potential in developing all parameters of sustainability. At present, we’ve made the most progress on climate and environmental impacts, but social sustainability and corporate governance are equally important. We are a property owner and urban development company that wants to contribute to the development of society. For example, we’re developing Flemingsberg, in southern Stockholm – one of the biggest urban development projects in Sweden.

Because we work with property and are major customers of the construction industry, we see an opportunity to make a positive impact on that industry. Substandard working conditions and contracts are a problem. We are therefore clear about setting requirements through our Supplier Code of Conduct, which is based on the UN Global Compact's ten principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Almost all of our framework agreement suppliers are audited on sustainability through a questionnaire that we developed together with other major commercial property companies. For us, sustainability is not an issue of competition, but an industry issue, which is why we work together.

Where is Ocab making a difference for you and for your sustainability efforts?

Ocab is an important partner for us, especially through emergency services. The fact that Ocab arrives quickly in response to damage means significant resource and cost savings. Time is crucial. The faster we can stop a leak, the less damage there will be, both for us and for our customers. We base our procurement on a number of evaluation criteria in which price is one factor, along with experience, quality and sustainability. We want to work with our suppliers to reduce emissions, so our suppliers will now begin to report their greenhouse gas emissions to us. Ocab will thus report emissions per project with Fabege, including scope 3. If a supplier cannot provide data on their emissions, we will first try to help to the best of our ability, but there may be consequences if a supplier refrains from reporting emissions.

When it comes to the circular economy, your goal is to use 20% recycled materials in all new projects. Do you see the potential to include dehumidified materials among those recycled materials?

Right now, a recycling hub provides us with recycled materials, but we definitely see an opportunity in the future to use Ocab’s rescued materials among our recycled materials.

How do you prevent damage?

We have carried out a reorganisation of our operating organisation, dividing our operations into preventive and corrective maintenance to avoid the risk of de-prioritising preventive efforts. This has given us a structured approach to preventive maintenance. Unfortunately, we will never be able to completely avoid damage, but it is cheaper to do the right thing from the beginning. If we don’t meet environmental or social labour standards, it will be expensive in the long run, and I am convinced that making smart environmental choices from the start has an economic benefit.

Is there anything Ocab can help with in terms of damage prevention efforts?

Given that Ocab has the proper expertise and resources, I believe you can help us produce data on the benefits of preventive maintenance. Damage directly impacts our business, so we want to prevent it as much as possible. And we are open to seeing how we can work together to improve sustainability.