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The mail order business that Clas Ohlson started in 1918 in Insjön is now an established European retail business. There are about three thousand staff working in Sweden, Norway, Finland and the UK who all follow our company motto “Making things easier for people to solve their everyday practical problems”. You are warmly welcome to read about the journey we have made, the future challenges we face and the values, concepts and responsibilities on which our business operations based.
Clas Ohlson is a rapidly expanding retail business with sales of over SEK 5 billion in Sweden, Norway, Finland and the UK. The Head Office lies in the same town where its business operation began in Insjön, Dalarna County. The company has been listed on Stockholm's Stock Exchange (OMX) since 1999.
Our Media Centre contains an overview of our press releases, current store openings, relevant company information and other news of interest. Images, video clips and important contact information are also found here. You are welcome to contact us regarding any of your media related requests. Ring our switchboard at +46 (0)247-444 00 or e-mail us with any queries at press@clasohlson.se
Do you share our view that helping people solve their everyday problems whether big or small is one of the most satisfying things one can do? Then Clas Ohlson may be the company for you with exciting multifaceted roles and job assignments on local, national and international levels. At Clas Ohlson the possibilities for advancement, training and personal development are endless.
There are several ways to contact us. Click on the link that best suites your needs and you will access your information more quickly. Uncertain about who to contact, call our main switchboard at +46 (0)247-444 00 or Customer Services at +46 (0)247-445 00 and you’ll receive the assistance that you need. We look forward to hearing from you!
It should always be easy and convenient to find what you need at Clas Ohlson. In Sweden and Norway, we sell a wide array of home, multimedia, electrical, leisure and hardware products both though our online store and by mail order. In both Finland and the UK, sales are conducted through our expanding retail network. All our purchasing, transport and goods are handled responsibly according to strict environmental and sustainability standards.
Environmental Indicators
At Clas Ohlson we do our best to minimise our impact on the environment. We abide by existing laws and regulations, but our efforts even extend to having an internal plan of action for improving our company's handling of environmental issues.
Per Hedberg, our Environmental Coordinator at Clas Ohlson relates on how Clas Ohlson handles these relevant environmental issues.
There is an increasing consciousness about the current situation on our planet. Almost everyday you’ll see a TV news story about environmental impacts on our planet. Today’s youth are beginning to take courses on the environment as part of their curriculum. Environmental issues are prioritised at the highest possible political level e.g. decisions to phase out incandescent bulbs and environmentally damaging chemical substances, for instance. Additionally, various sectors of industry are concentrating on marketing their products and services with increased environmental performance. In short, consciousness about the environment has spread from being strictly the domain of environmental organisations, to becoming a part of our everyday lives.
Environmental issues form a part of our sustainability programme and is coordinated by our CSR forum. Participants, besides me, are the CEO, Internal Controller, CSR Supply Chain Manager, HR Managers, and the Purchasing and Communications/IR Departments.
There are many in our organisation that are involved in different ways in our environmental work. Everyone from those involved in recycling to those who negotiate specific services and products.
- We are mainly influenced by EU directives regarding our use of environmental and health hazardous substances found in our products (RoHS, REACH)) and assuming responsibility for the resulting waste production from our electrical products (WEEE). Since 2006 the RoHS and WEEE regulations have been in full effect, and as a result we now have well established routines in place to comply with these regulations.
Clas Ohlson takes full responsibility as a producer of electrical waste in each of our respective markets by cooperating with various national electrical waste collection agencies like, El-Kretsen in Sweden, Elretur in Norway, Serty in Finland and Valpak in the UK. Through our membership in these organisations, we help finance the local collection and safe handling of our produced electrical waste (WEEE) and batteries.
Complying with REACH regulations has resulted in our increased scrutiny of the chemical substances contained in our products. For our part, this has meant establishing clear and efficient routines regarding the standards that we demand of our suppliers.
The number of substances regulated by REACH has increased substantially. Clas Ohlson has invested substantial effort in educating our suppliers around regulations, and training them on how to keep abreast on the substances to be aware of in various products. Our suppliers have complete access to various informational guides concerning chemical substances and quick-links to current legislation in this area to help them keep updated on any relevant changes that might affect their operations. Since 2009 we have employed a Chemical Substance Coordinator who’s main assignment is to monitor any legislation regarding chemical substances in products, and to create relevant routines for handling them.
We work hard at improving quality and in increasing a product’s durability and performance. Improving quality is based to a great extent from the information that we receive by following up claims and through product tests.
Those substances that REACH deem as risk posing, we phase out by setting our own max level of 0.1% content by weight. We have independently identified other substances in textile and leather products, which fall outside of current legislation, which we also seek to minimise in our products. These concern e.g. nonylphenol, formaldehyde and allergens dispersion substances. We have also implemented stricter requirements for identifying risk posing substances that are found in materials which come into contact with skin or are used by children.
Our objective is also to offer products that minimise our customers’ eventual environmental impact. Our main concentration in this area is improving energy efficiency, something which affects both the environment and the economy. What other environmental issues do you currently prioritise?Primarily, carbon foot-printing and energy use.
The transportation of goods, from our manufactures to our Distribution Centre (DC) in Insjön, and further to our customers, contributes to a substantial carbon foot-print, since a major part of this is still dependent on fossil fuel. Currently, we have developed routines for optimising the load capacity in our lorries and we try to make use of trains wherever possible. Of all goods that arrive to us by boat in Gothenburg, 85% are transported by train to Insjön. This means about a 1.5% carbon footprint when compared to ordinary carriageway transport. We are striving to find the most optimal hybrid (lorries/trains) solutions regarding our transportation methods from DC out to our stores, in order to minimise our carbon emissions as much as possible.
A lot is also occurring on the energy front. Since December 2009, all our facilities in Insjön have begun receiving their heating supply from a bio-based district heating facility, a step which reduces our carbon dioxide emissions by 1000 tonnes per year.
In the spring of 2010 we will be beginning a project to reduce electrical consumption in our Swedish stores and our facilities in Insjön. This will be accomplished by IT support for operational monitoring and accurate identification and record keeping of electrical consumption of our facilities and equipment. The project will give us insight into our electrical usage and allow us the ability to streamline and reduce our energy consumption.
2002/95/EC on the Restriction of the Use of certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment – limits the amount of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
RoHS forbids the use of mercury, cadmium, lead, hexavalent chromium and flame retardant substances PBB and PBDE in newly produced electrical and electronic products released to market from the 1st of July, 2006. The limit is 0.1% by weight and for cadmium 0.01% by weight, in homogenous materials. RoHS covers all product categories contained in WEEE. In Sweden the responsible authority is the Swedish Chemicals Agency.
2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment – waste which consists of, or is produced by electrical or electronic products.
The objective is that all electrical and electronic products shall be designed and produced in such a way that electrical waste is prevented. Where waste still occurs, it should be collected and recycled in an environmentally friendly manner. Manufacturers and importers pay for recycling the of the products and oversee their collection and proper recycling. In Sweden the responsible authority is the Swedish EPA.
Large household appliances Small household appliances IT and telecommunications equipment Consumer equipment Lighting equipmentElectrical and electronic tools Toys and leisure and sports equipment Medical devices Monitoring and control equipment Automatic dispensers
1907/2006/EC Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals
Regulations came into effect throughout the EU on June 1st, 2007. The provisions in REACH will be enacted successively until June, 2018. REACH is based on the principal that those who manufacturer or produce chemicals for market should also be responsible for their possible risks before they are released for use by the general public.
Those who manufacture and use chemicals shall be responsible for detailing the chemicals’ properties and their assessed risks to the general public. A new authorisation process will be instated for chemicals which pose a health and environmental hazard.
Especially dangerous substances will be examined in a so-called “Candidate List”. All manufacture, import or sales of goods which contain more than 0.1% by weight of a substance listed on the “Candidate List” must make available such information to their customers on their use in a safe manner. In Sweden the responsible authority is the Swedish Chemicals Agency.
Per Hedberg Environmental Coordinator Phone: +46 247 445 30 E-mail: per.hedberg@clasohlson.se
