Krónan Sjálf­bærni lyk­il­at­riði í blómstrandi rekstri Krón­unn­ar

Krónunn's management has placed great emphasis on having a positive impact on the environment and the public health of its customers. The company sees its role in society as not only offering its citizens a diverse range of products for everyday use, but also as being in an ideal position to promote public health in the country, reduce waste and litter, and encourage customers to make informed food choices.

Gréta María Grétarsdóttir, CEO of Krónun, says that initially the motivation for putting these issues at the forefront was not financial. “We have not calculated the financial benefits and focused on that. However, we know that it is our moral duty to do our part. There is no future without environmental issues. We are a large company and by virtue of our size at Krónun, we are constantly looking for ways to have a positive impact on society.” She says, on the other hand, that she feels that the actions the company has taken have had a hugely positive impact on the business. For example, Gréta, along with Krónun, received the Business Award from Viðstikkablaðið and Frjálrar velsnar in 2019, and a news article about the award states that the current operating year will be the largest in the company’s history. "Turnover in the first nine months of the year amounted to 27.1 billion ISK, and is therefore likely to be between 35 and 36 billion in the operating year. For comparison, turnover amounted to around 28 billion in 2018, as well as in 2017. For the last three years, Krónan has returned between 700 and 850 million ISK in profit per year. This year, the profit is on track to exceed a billion," says a report in Viðskiptablaðis.

"Of course you wouldn't go into something that you'd lose big on, this won't work if we don't deliver a positive operating result in the long term," she says.

“The biggest financial benefit is satisfied customers,” says Gréta. “In fact, it’s not necessarily a question of financial benefit as such, because if we don’t contribute, we won’t have customers in the future. Then we’re not in it.”

"The consumer will punish you very quickly if you don't take this seriously. There will be no settlement in two, three years if you don't do this."

Stjórnendur hjá Krónunni ákváðu árið 2015 að leggja sín lóð á vogarskálarnar þegar kemur að umhverfisáhrifum verslunarinnar með markvissum hætti. Þá setti Krónan sér það markmið að velja orkusparandi búnað þegar byggja á nýjar verslanir og við endurnýjun á þeim eldri. Fjárfest var í lokuðum kælum og frystum, CO2 kælikerfum og LED lýsing nýtt í stað flúorlampa. Þetta hefur orsakað 20 til 50 prósent minni orkueyðslu á ári. Árið eftir tók Krónan að bjóða viðskiptavinum sínum að kaupa vörur sem voru komnar fram yfir síðasta söludag á niðursettu verði til þess að sporna við matarsóun. Þessi ákvörðun hefur ekki einungis aukið jákvætt umtal í samfélaginu heldur einnig minnkað sóun hjá fyrirtækinu sem kemur fram í sparnaði. Þannig minnkaði matarsóun um rúman helming fyrsta árið sem Krónan tók hana föstum tökum.

Þó sé mikilvægt að halda til haga að svona aðgerðir séu ekki hristar fram úr erminni, til þess að ráðast gegn matarsóun hafi verið hannað kerfi fyrir starfsfólk til þess að halda utan um rétta birgðastöðu og taka upplýstar ákvarðanir um hvenær vara er söluhæf og hvenær ekki. Tiltaka má fleiri aðgerðir fyrirtækisins sem hafa góð áhrif á umhverfið en bera einnig fjárhagslegan ávinning; til að mynda tóku stjórnendur Krónunnar þá ákvörðun fyrir þremur árum að hætta að senda auglýsingabæklinga í hús og sparast á því 92 tonn af pappír árlega. Sama ár var tekin sú ákvörðun að nýtast við græna fjölnota kassa fyrir innfluttar vörur en af því sparast 162 tonn af pappa á ári. Á vefsíðu Krónunnar má finna tímalínu þar sem fyrrnefndar aðgerðir fyrirtækisins eru teknar saman.

Gréta says that some of the actions the company has taken may not be profitable at first glance. “Taking away the candy bar and removing sweets from boxes is not in itself a step towards financial gain, candy is a product that has a high margin, so if you were to remove it without doing anything in return, it would simply reduce profits. However, we find that customers are happy with this emphasis, for example tired parents who are relieved to listen to the buzzing of the boxes at the end of the day, and then they are more likely to come back.” This decision was made as part of Krónun’s goal of promoting public health in the country. In 2015, the company also decided to give health the best place; fruit welcomes Krónun customers and snacks and sweets have to be sought out separately.

"The younger generation is much more aware than the older generation and we feel that this is more important to them. They are our future customers, they will choose a company that is socially responsible. So this is a benefit that we will see multiply in the future."

Gréta segir framtíðarsýn eins og þessa nauðsynlega ef skapa á langlíft fyrirtæki. Framtíðarsýn starfsmanna Krónunnar sést í fleiri verkefnum en Gréta nefnir að draumur hennar sé að þróa hugbúnað í allar verslanir sem viðskiptavinir geta notað til þess að skoða næringarinnihald, virðiskeðju og kolefnisspor söluvara.

All companies can manage their operations in a way that delivers both operating profit and social benefit, according to Gréta. The two actually go hand in hand and can no longer be separated. Some things simply cannot be measured in terms of money.

„Fjárhagslegi ávinningurinn mælist óbeint í ánægju starfsmanna og viðskiptavina.“

„Starfsumsóknir hjá okkur hafa aukist og þeir sem eru að sækja um hjá okkur segjast samsvara sig stefnu okkar í samfélagslegri ábyrgð. “

"We see less employee turnover, although the nature of the work at Krónunn is such that people often come to us temporarily."

Gréta María says companies in her sector are in an ideal position to contribute when it comes to climate issues and social responsibility.

"Grocery stores are in a great position to have an impact because everyone needs to shop for food. The customer comes to us often, some daily, there are not many companies like that. I see our responsibility as even greater in light of our unique position when it comes to the number of customer visits." Gréta then points out that the things that create the most garbage and waste are consumer goods, and therefore grocery stores can work to reduce plastic use.