JYSK appoints sustainability manager
Furniture retailer JYSK has boosted its sustainability credentials with the appointment of Sam Harrington to the newly created role of sustainability manager.
Originally from the US, Harrington worked for 10 years as co-owner of a start-up company producing biomaterials before moving to Denmark in 2016 to to join LEGO as senior manager of sustainable packaging.
At JYSK he will be accelerating plans to move the retailer in a more environmentally responsible direction within different areas of the business.
Rune Jungberg Pedersen, communications and CSR director in JYSK, said: “JYSK has already cut the per-store consumption of energy with LED lighting and modern, energy-efficient distribution centres. We have reduced waste, sourced raw materials from more sustainable sources and much more. However, JYSK needs to do more, and the aim to become more sustainable is an important part of our future strategy.”
With his engineering background, Harrington is planning to take a data-driven approach to assessing where JYSK needs to make the biggest changes.
“He said: “While we are excellent at measuring financial aspects of our business, the environmental impacts from JYSK have never really been quantified. So I am initially focusing on conducting a greenhouse gas audit, which will inform our strategy and tell us where we should focus our efforts to fight climate change.”
Harrington will be working from JYSK’s international head office in Brabrand.
JYSK has more than 2,900 stores and 23,000 employees in 51 countries and has a turnover of €3.794 billion.
