The Environment
At JYSK, we work to minimise our and our suppliers' environmental impact. A number of concrete initiatives both large and small, are firmly in place at concern, store and warehouse level. However, it is the responsibility of the management in each country to decide what to focus on, which is why initiatives can vary from country to country.
Across national borders:
- Investment in efficient waste sorting in, which cardboard in particular, but also plastic are sent for recycling.
- A focus on reducing total packaging volume and removing unnecessary and excess packaging.
- About 80 percent of the wood used in our garden furniture is FSC-certified.
- Corporate travel is kept to a minimum and is being replaced by web conferences.
- Reducing the use of PVC and phthalates in our products; e.g. all of our vinyl tablecloths are now 100 percent phthalate-free, which goes beyond Danish legal requirements.
- The use of plastic bags consisting of one third recycled material originating from milk cartons and soft drink bottles. Because bags are thinner than before, bag shipments from Asia have been reduced by 20 percent annually.
Eco-label products
JYSK sells a number of textiles, duvets and pillows that bear different environmental or health labels and we also sell bed linen made from environmentally friendly cotton. The labels are:
| The Flower is an eco-label used to indicate high environmental standards. This label can be found on bed linen and sheets. |
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| The Swan is an eco-label which guarantees that the environmental impact of a given product is extremely low, without resulting in a lower standard of quality and function. The Swan Label can be found on bed linen and sheets. |
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| The Oeko-Tex Standard is intended to protect consumers from harmful chemicals in textile products. The label ensures that the products are checked for dangerous colouring agents and chemicals, and that the Oeko-Tex Standard requirements have been fully met. Around 90 percent of the bed linen, sheets, towels and quilting used in our duvets, pillows and mattresses bare the label. |
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| KRAV is the Swedish eco-label. of an organisation authorised by the Swedish state to inspect and certify environmentally friendly production. The inspection includes everything from regulations concerning the use of additives, pesticides, fertilisers and the keeping of animals. The label is a voluntary initiative which the producer pays to use. The label can be found on bed linen and sheets. |
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| The Fairtrade label is the mark of fair trade showing that the given product meets minimum requirements for wages, work conditions, democratic development and the environment. The Fairtrade label also guarantees farmers a minimum price for their cotton if world market prices fall. This means that they will be less vulnerable to price decrease and are able to plan their future. Work is done to improve farmers' working conditions, and environmental considerations are taken into account. The label can be found on towels, bed linen, duvets and pillows. Read more in JYSK's intern magazine. |
The warehouses
JYSK has invested heavily in new and automated warehouses in Denmark and Poland with environmentally friendly construction features. For example, considerably less CO2 is required for heating as the three high bay warehouses in Denmark and the two in Poland are only heated to 5º C. Only one fourth of JYSK's new 1.3 million m3 warehouse in Uldum, Denmark is heated, as machines perform much of the manual labour.
In the event of a fire at the Uldum warehouse, all outlets are blocked to contain any contamination and prevent it from spreading to the nearby lake. There are light sensors in the offices to save electricity and around 3,800 lorry transport kilometres are saved on a daily basis, as 15 former warehouses have been consolidated into the Uldum facility. In addition, JYSK Denmark is working with the Danish Road Directorate on the use of super lorries, which can be up to 25 metres in length and can transport more products at once, which will reduce both kilometres and fuel. In 2010, part of JYSK's road transport to and from the warehouse in Radomsko, Poland will be replaced by rail. Many containers already arrive at the Swedish warehouse in Nässjö by rail.
Read the article 'A Boon to Eartwworms and the Bottom Line' in JYSK's staff magazine.