The Church of Sweden has sold its shareholding in Securitas

“We encourage the company to strive actively to take an industry-leading position in the field of sustainability. A number of Swedish companies are doing just that. This is enabling them successfully to seize new business opportunities and gain new customers”, says Anders Thorendal, Chief Financial Officer at the Church of Sweden. Photo: Magnus Aronson/IKON

The Church of Sweden, National Level, has sold its shareholding in Securitas. The company is not living up to the Church of Sweden’s requirements as to sustainability and responsibilities for the environment, social issues and business ethics.

“We seek proactively to influence companies in which we hold shares to take responsibility for their operations. Our basic requirement is that companies in which we invest should manage and monitor their risks vis-à-vis the environment, social issues and business ethics”, says Anders Thorendal, Chief Financial Officer at the Church of Sweden, National Level. Where investments in the capital management programme total around SEK 5 billion.

For several years, an external rating firm has graded Securitas low for its efforts in sustainability. The company has also been repeatedly criticised - most recently for poor working conditions in in India. The company has used employee questionnaires, but not in low-pay countries, only in markets where breaches of labour law etc. are less common.

“In response to a number of questions we have asked, Securitas has not been able to provide answers about how risks and opportunities in sustainability are addressed out in the organisation’s 1,800 units. The company points to its decentralised structure, but as investors, we have to be able to get answers to basal questions about what the situation is and how people work in the various parts of the organisation. Securitas has not been able to give us this”, confirms Anders Thorendal.

Many opportunities but risks too

Securitas is one of the leading security companies in the world, with 280,000 employees worldwide and a rapid pace of expansion in growth markets. This means that the company’s operations offer many opportunities, but also a number of risks in terms of the environment, human rights and corruption. Nevertheless, Securitas today lacks clear structures and systems for management and monitoring of its impact. For example, according to the company, it does not conduct any audits or similar reviews of its work on the issue of social responsibility.

In the past year, new standards of corporate responsibility were developed through negotiation. The OECD’s new Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN’s framework for human rights and corporate responsibility state, for example, that companies are responsible not just for acting in response to problems relating to their own operations but also in their business relationships. In May, Securitas was scarcely able to report any sustainability work in connection with suppliers (such as manufacturers of work uniforms) or customers (such as mining companies). Reporting to the public is also extremely scant.

“We encourage the company to strive actively to take an industry-leading position in the field of sustainability. A number of Swedish companies are doing just that. This is enabling them successfully to seize new business opportunities and new customers. The company has promised an improved Code of conduct and risk management, as well as reporting on its climate impact, which we welcome”, says Thorendal.

“We will be willing to invest again in the future, but first we want to see results and evidence of a high level of ambition on the part of the company’s management and board with regard to sustainability issues as well”, he says.

The shareholding in Securitas amounted to SEK 8.3 million.