Sustainability at all levels: Keeping our people safe and healthy

As the renewable materials company, Stora Enso is leading the way towards a fossil free future. Sustainability is at our very core and in every part of our business. The workplace environment is one important area. Because no company, no matter how green and clean, is truly sustainable if it fails to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of its employees.

Malin, Anders, Camilla and Magnus form the Safety and work environment department at Nymölla Mill where Multicopy is made. Their responsibilities include both production facilities and the office space, as well as every employee, from summer extras to Mill Director. We had a talk with Malin Nilsson, one out of two work environment engineers at Nymölla, about her job and the department’s broad mission.

Safety and ergonomics

– My colleagues and I have got a helicopter view on safety and health at the workplace. We perform security checks, risk analyzing and make sure that everyone has got the appropriate equipment. Ergonomics is a key factor for a sustainable work life.

– Our department plays a supporting role, helping managers to improve the way we work at the mill. We aim to be proactive and are constantly figuring out new ways of working smarter and with less risk of injury or wearing out. We are also responsible for safety education and other types of training. I’m really fond of the wide area of responsibility and the variety that I get from this role – it’s very satisfying!

Blood and sweat – no tears

– The area of well-being and health is a really wide one as well. I’m part of the “Health group” here at Nymölla with representatives from different departments. We meet up regularly to set up health related offerings for the employees. For example, we have a gym at the mill plus a beneficial deal with a local training center and a Weight Watchers discount. We even offer our employees the possibility to do good by donating blood at the facilities. The blood bus comes by a couple of times a year.

Working from home – the new normal?

– Variation is one of the main topics of the recommendations that we have been sending out since the pandemic started. Many of our employees have been working from home for several months, or at least much more often than before. Sitting at home, where most of us have a less ergonomic work environment, it’s even more important to change the working position often and pay attention to posture.

And then there’s the constant “glaring” at a screen that is tiring for your eyes. Research has shown that people miss having access to the company printer and the possibility to read on paper. I guess that is especially true here at Nymölla where we are all big paper fans. The most important thing, all other things aside, is to get a bit of change – both in posture and between paper and screen.

The pandemic is still very much ongoing and there is no way of knowing for how long. That means we will have to keep up the social distancing and face the psychological challenges brought by not having colleagues around. In the communication to our employees, I stress the importance of interaction – chatting, talking on the phone or sharing a lunch or coffee in front of the computer.

When all of this is over, I think we will hang on to some of the new ways of working, because this situation has made us all more creative and open to change.

Why Nymölla?

– I first came to Nymölla to do my thesis during my studies to become a Work environment engineer. Prior to that I studied Integrative Health Science and worked in that area. Now I’ve been enjoying my role at Nymölla’s Safety and work environment department for 3,5 years.

As I said earlier, I really like the fact that my job is so diverse. Another great thing is that I get to take part in the never-ending job of finding both the large and small improvements of the work environment here at Nymölla mill. Even great things can get better and I like that challenge – asking myself and my colleagues what we can do next.