Chief Executive’s review
A year of growth, accelerated sustainability efforts and innovations
It is time to look back on a year in which Coor won many new deals while maintaining continued high variable volumes, stepped up its sustainability efforts and where the demand for innovative solutions accelerated.
Every winter, between the run-up to Christmas and the New Year celebrations, I usually spend time reflecting on the past year. When I look back at 2023, I do so with great pride and joy at Coor’s fantastic employees and at how much we have achieved together.
In recent years, we in the Nordic region have faced a more challenging world. Unfortunately, 2023 was no exception, with a declining economy and rising inflation, as well as continued war in our neighbouring Ukraine and a war in Israel and Gaza. My heart goes out to all the people in the world’s conflict zones who are suffering in some way. At Coor we have always been ready to adjust, whatever the economic situation or state of the world. This proved a great strength in 2023.
Many small and medium-sized deals
It has been a very good year in terms of both new sales and growth in project volumes. I am very proud to note that the year was our third best ever in terms of new sales. We won major new contracts with companies such as Swedbank and Locum in Sweden and ATP Ejendomme and Clever in Denmark, but above all it was a successful year in terms of new small and medium-sized contracts. When the books were closed, our business had grown despite the loss of a major contract during the year. In May, we acquired Skaraborgs Städ, which is now being integrated with Coor. The acquisition further expands our geographical coverage in Sweden.
Strong customer relations is another Coor hallmark. We have a strong pool of expertise in the company, which we deploy to constantly improve our deliveries. During the year, we deepened our partnerships with many of our customers. One example is Aibel in Norway, where Coor’s broad service offering and expertise are being put to full use in an integrated facility management delivery which in 2023 was extended for another five years.
We have also strengthened our customer offering in security. During the year, Coor in Sweden merged two businesses. The merger of Addici Security, with 700 security guards, and Coor’s security business area with 100 specialists in technical security services, gives us an even broader portfolio of security and peace-of-mind solutions. It enables us to respond to changing customer requirements arising from an escalated security situation.
Our employees – our most important asset
Happy employees make for happy customers. At Coor, we have fantastic employees who go to work every day with the goal of creating the very best experience for the customer and the customer’s employees. Our employees are our most important asset; without them we would be nothing. We see this not least during our annual Coor Awards ceremony, where employees are honoured for their achievements and commitment. The number of nominations for the Coor Awards continues to grow every year. In 2023, nearly one in ten employees were nominated in some category. This is an incredible testimony to our employees’ passion for service and people.
We have also had a strong focus on work environment and safety and it is very gratifying to see that our safety culture has been further strengthened and that the number of work-related injuries has decreased. Our goal is, of course, that no employee should be injured in the workplace. A country that has significantly reduced the number of work-related injuries during the year is Finland.
In the autumn, Coor in Sweden was named one of the country’s top Career Companies for the fourth year running, which shows that we also have a strong brand as an employer. This is a great asset when we seek to attract the best talent in the market to new roles, but it also means that our employees stay for a long time at Coor, where they have great opportunities to develop in their current or new roles. We recruit from a broad base and have employees with many different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. Numerous studies have shown that having people with different viewpoints and backgrounds represented in a team increases its ability to make the best decisions and find effective solutions. It is very clear to me that different perspectives and experiences strengthen Coor.
In recent years, we in the Nordic region have faced a more challenging world. Unfortunately, 2023 was no exception, with a declining economy and rising inflation, as well as continued war in our neighbouring Ukraine and a war in Israel and Gaza. My heart goes out to all the people in the world’s conflict zones who are suffering in some way. At Coor we have always been ready to adjust, whatever the economic situation or state of the world. This proved a great strength in 2023.
Many small and medium-sized deals
It has been a very good year in terms of both new sales and growth in project volumes. I am very proud to note that the year was our third best ever in terms of new sales. We won major new contracts with companies such as Swedbank and Locum in Sweden and ATP Ejendomme and Clever in Denmark, but above all it was a successful year in terms of new small and medium-sized contracts. When the books were closed, our business had grown despite the loss of a major contract during the year. In May, we acquired Skaraborgs Städ, which is now being integrated with Coor. The acquisition further expands our geographical coverage in Sweden.
Strong customer relations is another Coor hallmark. We have a strong pool of expertise in the company, which we deploy to constantly improve our deliveries. During the year, we deepened our partnerships with many of our customers. One example is Aibel in Norway, where Coor’s broad service offering and expertise are being put to full use in an integrated facility management delivery which in 2023 was extended for another five years.
We have also strengthened our customer offering in security. During the year, Coor in Sweden merged two businesses. The merger of Addici Security, with 700 security guards, and Coor’s security business area with 100 specialists in technical security services, gives us an even broader portfolio of security and peace-of-mind solutions. It enables us to respond to changing customer requirements arising from an escalated security situation.
Our employees – our most important asset
Happy employees make for happy customers. At Coor, we have fantastic employees who go to work every day with the goal of creating the very best experience for the customer and the customer’s employees. Our employees are our most important asset; without them we would be nothing. We see this not least during our annual Coor Awards ceremony, where employees are honoured for their achievements and commitment. The number of nominations for the Coor Awards continues to grow every year. In 2023, nearly one in ten employees were nominated in some category. This is an incredible testimony to our employees’ passion for service and people.
We have also had a strong focus on work environment and safety and it is very gratifying to see that our safety culture has been further strengthened and that the number of work-related injuries has decreased. Our goal is, of course, that no employee should be injured in the workplace. A country that has significantly reduced the number of work-related injuries during the year is Finland.
In the autumn, Coor in Sweden was named one of the country’s top Career Companies for the fourth year running, which shows that we also have a strong brand as an employer. This is a great asset when we seek to attract the best talent in the market to new roles, but it also means that our employees stay for a long time at Coor, where they have great opportunities to develop in their current or new roles. We recruit from a broad base and have employees with many different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. Numerous studies have shown that having people with different viewpoints and backgrounds represented in a team increases its ability to make the best decisions and find effective solutions. It is very clear to me that different perspectives and experiences strengthen Coor.
“My goal for Coor is simple and clear – to continue to deliver the market’s strongest offering to our customers while providing a fantastic service experience.”
Sustainability and innovation go hand in hand
During the year, we further accelerated our sustainability efforts. We are committed to achieving the target of net zero emissions by 2040, ten years earlier than required for signatories of the SBTi. In October, we became the first Swedish facility management company to have our targets validated by a third party. In order to reach our targets, we have taken initiatives such as gradually transitioning our vehicle fleet to electric vehicles, using electricity from non-fossil fuel sources and choosing suppliers whose climate goals are as ambitious as ours. Our ambitious sustainability targets will demand a lot, not only from us but also from our customers and suppliers, but we are confident that this work will future-proof Coor as a company, among our customers, employees and investors.
For a number of years now, Coor has also been a signatory to the UN Global Compact whose work is based on its Ten Principles, formulated on the basis of international conventions on human rights, labour, environment and anticorruption. Our participation in the UN Global Compact is of course ongoing.
I like to say that innovation is part of Coor’s DNA. Our ability to innovate enables us to deliver solutions to our customers’ practical problems, but it is also a powerful enabler for increased sustainability. That’s why we always strive to create new services that both fulfil our customers’ demand for efficiency and help them strengthen their sustainability efforts.
Smart Lighting, our automated lighting service, is an excellent example of an innovation where the interest from our customers has increased significantly. The service provides value in several dimensions: it reduces energy use for lighting by up to 90 per cent compared with traditional lighting, which reduces both the carbon footprint and the costs. The good lighting also improves employee well-being.
Another example is our innovative solution for the washing of cleaning cloths and mops, which we developed together with the start-up company Mimbly. This innovation reduces the use of water, while filtering microplastics so that they do not spread to the environment. Our customers are very much aware that they need to reduce their carbon footprint. This is where our ability to innovate can support them. We have several new innovations in the pipeline that will help our customers calculate their emissions, identify areas for improvement and prioritise measures.
During the year, we further accelerated our sustainability efforts. We are committed to achieving the target of net zero emissions by 2040, ten years earlier than required for signatories of the SBTi. In October, we became the first Swedish facility management company to have our targets validated by a third party. In order to reach our targets, we have taken initiatives such as gradually transitioning our vehicle fleet to electric vehicles, using electricity from non-fossil fuel sources and choosing suppliers whose climate goals are as ambitious as ours. Our ambitious sustainability targets will demand a lot, not only from us but also from our customers and suppliers, but we are confident that this work will future-proof Coor as a company, among our customers, employees and investors.
For a number of years now, Coor has also been a signatory to the UN Global Compact whose work is based on its Ten Principles, formulated on the basis of international conventions on human rights, labour, environment and anticorruption. Our participation in the UN Global Compact is of course ongoing.
I like to say that innovation is part of Coor’s DNA. Our ability to innovate enables us to deliver solutions to our customers’ practical problems, but it is also a powerful enabler for increased sustainability. That’s why we always strive to create new services that both fulfil our customers’ demand for efficiency and help them strengthen their sustainability efforts.
Smart Lighting, our automated lighting service, is an excellent example of an innovation where the interest from our customers has increased significantly. The service provides value in several dimensions: it reduces energy use for lighting by up to 90 per cent compared with traditional lighting, which reduces both the carbon footprint and the costs. The good lighting also improves employee well-being.
Another example is our innovative solution for the washing of cleaning cloths and mops, which we developed together with the start-up company Mimbly. This innovation reduces the use of water, while filtering microplastics so that they do not spread to the environment. Our customers are very much aware that they need to reduce their carbon footprint. This is where our ability to innovate can support them. We have several new innovations in the pipeline that will help our customers calculate their emissions, identify areas for improvement and prioritise measures.
Share of renewable energy in our premises
77%
TRIF (Total Recorded Injury Frequency)
Committed and motivated employees
The year ahead
Future – a meaningful word. To many, it represents both uncertainty about what will come and a sense of hope. Looking ahead at 2024, I feel above all the latter. Coor is standing strong and we are set to achieve new successes in the coming years in a market replete with opportunities. Half of the potential customers in the market have not yet procured FM services, instead they are implementing them in-house. My long experience shows that many companies want to find a higher degree of efficiency during a recession and therefore chose to outsource their FM services. Coor is the Nordic market leader and therefore the natural choice for companies that are looking for a trustworthy FM-supplier.
My goal for Coor is simple and clear – to continue to deliver the market’s strongest offering to our customers while providing a fantastic service experience. We will also continue the successful acceleration of our sustainability and innovation efforts. I would like to conclude by saying a big thank you to our customers who continue to show their confidence in Coor. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to all my colleagues who are contributing to Coor’s continued development and success.
Finally, I want to thank our shareholders for your continued commitment to Coor as an investment.
AnnaCarin Grandin
President and CEO
March 2024
Future – a meaningful word. To many, it represents both uncertainty about what will come and a sense of hope. Looking ahead at 2024, I feel above all the latter. Coor is standing strong and we are set to achieve new successes in the coming years in a market replete with opportunities. Half of the potential customers in the market have not yet procured FM services, instead they are implementing them in-house. My long experience shows that many companies want to find a higher degree of efficiency during a recession and therefore chose to outsource their FM services. Coor is the Nordic market leader and therefore the natural choice for companies that are looking for a trustworthy FM-supplier.
My goal for Coor is simple and clear – to continue to deliver the market’s strongest offering to our customers while providing a fantastic service experience. We will also continue the successful acceleration of our sustainability and innovation efforts. I would like to conclude by saying a big thank you to our customers who continue to show their confidence in Coor. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to all my colleagues who are contributing to Coor’s continued development and success.
Finally, I want to thank our shareholders for your continued commitment to Coor as an investment.
AnnaCarin Grandin
President and CEO
March 2024