Sustainability
ReportEdition 2022

Sustainability
Report 2022
Edition 2022

Contents

Head office
Permobil AB
Box 120861 23 Timrå
SWEDEN
Visiting address
Per Uddéns väg 20
Tel: +46 60 - 59 59 00
Fax: +46 60 - 57 52 50
www.permobil.com

04 Permobil in brief

24 Better for Employees

07 CEO Letter

26 Better for the Environment

08 Our approach to sustainability

28 Case study: Smart solutions to

09 How we established our priorities

		 packaging to reduce climate impact

10 Case study: My capability

30 Better for Business and Communities

12 Our business model

34 Case study: Grass Roots Greening

14 Our sustainability governance

36 Audit

15 Sustainability policies and procedures

37 Risk management

16 Focus Areas

38 EU Taxonomy Regulation

20 Better for Users

40 Permobil Portrait: Gabrielle Wright

22 Permobil Portrait:		 Uri and Helle Løvevild Golman

Front cover: Mary Pedigo

Sustainability Report 20223Permobilin brief

01

At Permobil, we put the people who use our products first.
Our purpose is to innovate for individuals; to create advanced
assistive solutions that make the lives of people living withdisabilities more enriching.

02

Our dedicated teams work tirelessly to make this happen,
no matter if they are designing a new wheelchair, testingseating cushions, or supporting a therapist.

03

Our main focus will always be on the users of our products
and services – bringing them independence by providing
the best solutions for their needs.

11 production sites

across three continents

Permobil products
available in

Direct sales andservice presence incountries

countries

50

18

We
are

Selling
over

employees

products a year

1805 a million

Ourbusinessareas:

Power Wheelchairs
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Manual Wheelchairs

Seating & Positioning

Power Assist

Software and Services
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5

Letter from the CEO
As a global leader of complex rehabilitation technology, we are committed to work
towards and actively support a sustainable society. Our sustainability focus has
always been embedded in our values, the way we work and in our business model.
At Permobil, we want everyone to live full lives andmeet their full potential. We see that Permobil’s greatest
contribution to sustainability is in the area of inclusion
in society. We deliver products and services that enablepeople living with disabilities to do just that: to dowhat they want to do without being limited by a lack oftechnology.
For the past two years, we’ve worked on understanding
and measuring the quality of life for those who havemobility impairments. This topic is close to our hearts
at Permobil and yet one that is often overlooked
when considering sustainability – quality of life
measurements are almost always benchmarked against
able-bodied people.
A reduction in CO2 emissions and our impact on the
climate is in sharp focus at present at Permobil. We
have set ourselves ambitious targets and in 2022
implemented energy-savings program and sustainable
practices. This will continue during 2023, notably withour brand-new manufacturing site in Sweden, designed
to minimize carbon emissions, becoming operationalin 2024.
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We understand that reaching our emissions targets isa long-term commitment, but I am pleased to say wealready now are taking significant steps forward.
Looking further ahead, the new EU Directive on CSR
will significantly change our sustainability work andreporting. In light of the new directive, we will conduct
a new materiality assessment during 2023 and revisit
our focus areas and KPIs accordingly.
We have placed the people who use our products at thecenter of this report. All the images used in this report
are those individual’s own photos they (or their lovedones) have posted on social media. This is their own
portrayal of their lives.
There is much for Permobil to be proud of when it
comes to sustainability. We will take that energy todrive us into the year ahead.

Bengt Thorsson, CEO
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7

Ryan Kenneally

Our approach

How weestablishedto sustainability
As a global organization, we’re committed to operatinga sustainable and responsible business. We understandour obligation to the users of our products, society,employees, and the environment.
We have set out a long-term commitment, through ourfour pillars of sustainability, to make things better:

02
03
04
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We conducted our first materiality analysis in 2019to establish our sustainability focus areas. A newmateriality assessment will be undertaken later in 2023
to meet the European Union’s forthcoming Corporate
Social Reporting Directive.

Materiality Assessment
Better for users

Prioritized areas
Other areas of interest

Assess and engage

Improving their quality of life and ensuring the highest
standards of product service, quality and safety

Address and engage actively
Responsible sourcing
Business ethics
Diversity & inclusion

Better for employees
Building a safe and respectful workplace withdiversity and inclusion as its hallmarks

Better for the environment
Minimizing our impact

Better for business and communities
Strong business ethics and responsible sourcing

Importance to stakeholders

01

our priorities

Permobil has gone above and beyond minimum
legal requirements for many years. We’ve beena member of the United Nations Global Compact
since 2016, reporting annually on implementationof its Ten Principles. We also follow Permobil
owner Investor AB's requirements related tosustainability for its holdings.

Reduce costs forhealthcare systems

Quality of life for users
Product and service quality
Safe and respectful workplace
Environmental impact
Technology leadership

Data privacy

Community engagement

Employee development

AssessAddress and engage when appropriate
Level of importance to Permobil

In defining our priorities, we also considered therequirements of our owner, Investor AB, ensuring ourpriorities would support Permobil’s core values of UserFirst, Leading, Trusted and Passionate and the United
Nations Global Compact.
We have seven focus areas where we believe we cancontribute to sustainable development, with definedtargets and associated actions for each of them:01 Users’ quality of life
02 Product and service quality and safety
03 A safe and respectful workplace
04 Diversity and inclusion
05 Environmental impact
06 Ethical Business
07 Responsible sourcing
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9

The collection's subtitle ‘Don't worry I'll bringa ramp’ is a response to the Designers' Nest
competition. In 2018, I was denied showing my collection at
Copenhagen Fashion Week with models in wheelchairs. The
organizers claimed they could not afford to build a ramp.”
Louise Linderoth, fashion designerCase study:

My capability
Through a collaboration withfashion designer Louise Linderoth,
Permobil is challenging attitudes
and inspiring others to see
possibilities in every individual.
The initiative pushes forward why
diversity and inclusion matters.
Louise is behind the fashion brand
Lou Dehrot, created to encourage
reflection of wheelchair users
in the fashion industry and tostrengthen the belief that fashion isabout the wearer, not the beholder.
The first collaboration with
Permobil in May 2022 centeredaround Louise’s message of “Mycapability is not based on yourassumption”, reinforcing the basic
principle that people should be
defined by who they are, not by our
first impression.
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The project drew attention to rolemodels from Sweden, Denmark,Germany and Netherlands, whoshared their unique stories.
This was followed in September at
Stockholm Fashion Week, whereLouise showed her graduationcollection ‘Who Chairs? (Don't
worry I'll bring a ramp)’.
The collection was based on
second-hand suits reconstructed
for the sitting position of active
manual wheelchair users. The
show used only wheelchairmodels and was the only show in
Stockholm Fashion Week to doso. The message of the collection
is clear: inclusion in the fashionindustry for wheelchair-users.

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11

Our businessResearch and development
Everything starts with our R&D teams. They work continuously with innovating
for individuals with a high focus on safety and are striving to reduce the impactof our solutions.

model

Innovation is in our DNA. It started with our founder, Dr Per Uddén, creating
the company in his garage, and we still carry that spirit of innovation today.
The stories behind all the companies in the Permobil family are similar.

Sourcing
We source high quality materials and components from hundreds of different
suppliers. We recognize our environmental and social impact, and work continuously
to make improvements through responsible sourcing.

The commitment of our founders to pursue their dreams of providing abetter life for people living with disabilities has led to best-in-class products.
It now drives us to push the boundaries of design and technology in pursuitof innovations that help improve the quality of life for the people who use
our products.

Manufacturing

Collaboration
Across the entire value chain, Permobil works in close dialogue withdifferent stakeholders such as patient organizations, healthcare systems,
government authorities, suppliers and partners. This, together with ourgovernance structure, drives our sustainability work forward.

We have 11 production sites in six different countries. We monitor and assess theenvironmental and social impact we have on local communities. Our direct CO2
emissions come mainly from the use of natural gas.

Julia Stamp

Logistics and packaging
These areas are crucial to deliver our products, but carry an impact on the climate.
We are working to fully understand this – from our transport and packing materials –to help us reduce our usage.

Product use
Some of our products and solutions use batteries, and charging them impacts theclimate through energy use. Our ability to influence this phase depends not just on our
product development but also innovations outside Permobil, like battery technology.

Service
The right type of service, at the right time will affect our users’ quality of life –and also the climate, through extended lifetime of our products.

End of life/recycling
To help reduce our climate impact we are exploring more options for extended lifetime,refurbishment and recycling.
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13

Our sustainability
governance

Sustainability policies
and procedures
To ensure that we comply with high ethical standards,
laws and regulations, and deliver according to ourstrategy and vision, Permobil follows a governanceframework for sustainability.

The Board
Our Board sets the direction for sustainable
development within Permobil and decides on the Policy
Framework.

The framework consists of policies, procedures, codesand processes. The policy framework is decided by the
Board.

The Board also monitors how we identify and manage
sustainability risks as part of the overall Enterprise
Risk Management (ERM) process, and the actions
implemented to manage these risks.

The governance of areas within sustainability follows
the company's general governance structure. The
Board, Group Management and other management’s
respective roles and responsibilities with respect tosustainability are described below.

The Group Management
The Group Management team is responsible fordefining our priorities and setting sustainability targets
to deliver according to the strategy. The team also
review and approve most of the policies within thesustainability framework.

Policy &Procedures

Addresses thefollowing risks• Code of Conduct• Anti-corruption andBribery Policy• Competition Law Policy• Trade Compliance Policy• Whistleblower Policy• Human rights• Labor rights• Discrimination• Corruption & Bribery• Third-Party Misconduct• Export Controls/
Trade Sanctions• External whistleblowing
channel• Results reported to the Board• Sustainability Policy• Emissions to air and water• Water use• Waste• Use of resources(energy, chemicals,
hazardous materials)• Diversity & Inclusion• Quarterly report of performance(water, waste, energy use)
• Employee survey to follow up
on inclusion• Supplier Code of Conduct• Human rights• Labor rights• Environment• Corruption & Bribery• Conflict minerals• Internal assessments• Annual self-assessments• Annual report• Health and Safety Policy• Workplace health and risks• Monthly reporting of
KPIs and incidents
and behavioral discussions
to Group Management

Director of Sustainability
The Director of Sustainability is responsible for leading
the implementation of the identified focus areasand priorities. The director also supports the regions
and global group functions with their sustainability
roadmaps.
The relevant departments are accountable for
implementing and delivering specific targets. This
ensures targets are owned by those who can have thebiggest impact on achieving them.

Kristen Hemming

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Collective responsibility
Sustainability is integrated through every aspect ofour daily work. Planning, initiation and continuous
improvement are part of our DNA. We believe
sustainability is the responsibility of everyone
at Permobil, in order to maximize the economic,
environmental and social benefits we deliver to users,
stakeholders and society at large.

Daniel “Little Zaint” Zeino

Monitoring

Sustainability Report 202215Ásthildur Jóna Guðmundsdóttir

Diversity& inclusion

Focus
areas

Better for
employees

Users’
qualityof life

Betterfor
users
Product& Servicequalityand safety

Betterfor theenvironment

Sustainability Report 2022

Minimizing
ourenvironmental
impactBetter forbusiness andcommunities

Business
ethics16

Safe & respectful
workplace

Responsible
sourcing

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17

Better for

Users

Better for

Employees

Better fortheEnvironment

Business andCommunities

Users’ qualityof life

A safe and respectful
workplace

Environmental
impactEthicalbusiness

TARGET:PERFORMANCE:TARGET:PERFORMANCE:TARGET:PERFORMANCE:TARGET:PERFORMANCE:• Suitable measures
will be further
studied in 2023

• Validated
converters of
MoBQoL-7D toaddress cultural
factors impact• Zero lost time
accidents• Four lost time
accidents• Scope 1 and 2:
Reduce by 70% by
2030• Scopes 1 and 2:
Reduced by 44%• 98% of all staff
trained• Scope 3: Reduceby 20% by 2030

• Scope 3: Baseline
established• 90% of all staff
trained annuallyin our Code of
Conduct

Product and service
quality and safety

Diversity andinclusion

TARGET:PERFORMANCE:TARGET:PERFORMANCE:TARGET:PERFORMANCE:• Zero customer
warranty claims
after one month• 0.94% for all
tracked productlines• Workforce genderbalance Female/Male
40/60• Group Management:
Female/Male
44/56• Employee inclusivity
rating 8/10

• Employee inclusivity
rating 67%• 98% of supply
chain spend
endorsed by
Permobil Supplier
Code of Conduct• 100%. 87% directly
signed the Supplier
Code of Conduct,
remainder indirectly
via our T&Cs

• 100% of high-risk
suppliers screened• 85% of high-risk
suppliers screened• 20% of mediumrisk suppliers
screened• 20% of medium-risk
suppliers screened• Workplace• Workplace
accessibility targets toaccessibility targets
be set in 2022
not set18

Better for

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Responsible
sourcing

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19

Product and service quality and safety

Better for

Users

TARGET• Zero customer warranty claims after one month
PERFORMANCE• 2022: 0.94% across all product lines tracked(2021: 1.17%; 2020: 1.67%)

Users’ quality of life
At Permobil, our purpose is innovating for individuals.
Core to that purpose is continuously improving our
products and services to make life better for users.

TARGET• Define KPI for Quality of LifePERFORMANCE• Validated converters of MoBQoL-7D to address
cultural factors impact.

Our approach
At Permobil, we are seeking to identify the impact of
our wheelchairs and other solutions on the quality oflife of the people who use them.
In understanding the impact on people’s qualityof life (QoL), we want to ensure the continuous
improvement of our existing solutions, and to enable
the development of new products and services that
better meet users’ needs.
We have been exploring a number of methodologies
for measuring people’s quality of life. Generally used
QoL outcome measures include mobility from an able-

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bodied perspective, ranging between bed-bound andwalking, so not suitable for our requirements.
Since 2021, Permobil has collaborated with the
University of Bangor in Wales with the Mobility-related
Quality of Life 7D (MobQoL-7D).
What we did in 2022
The definition of QoL varies between countries becauseof cultural factors, among other things, so only using
the UK definition therefore limits our ability to set a KPI
for QoL and track progress.
To address this, MobQoL-7D and the converter to
QALY (a well-established QoL measure) for the UK
have been validated by the team in Bangor. We
assisted in translating the survey into seven languages
beyond English to allow for further validation inother countries and broadening the range of survey
participants.
Our plans for 2023
We will work with more local partners to validate
MobQoL-7D QALY, starting with Netherlands. Once
validated we will conduct local surveys to continue
to deepen our understanding of the impact of our
products on the people who use them.

Our approach
At Permobil, we are passionate about delivering for thepeople who use our wheelchairs and other products.
That means ensuring that everyone is happy when
they receive their product. And that is why we haveset an ambitious target of zero customer claims within
the first 30 days after delivery. To drive down claims
as quickly as possible, we are working to collect users’
feedback and analyze it consistently – so that we canlearn from the issues and put them right.

Our plans for 2023
We will continue to work to reduce the number of
products that our users have an issue with, particularlyin the first month. We are working to collect betterdata and better user feedback so that we can resolve
individual issues faster, identify root causes and extend
the lifetime of our products.
During 2023, we will conduct a new materiality
assessment, and we are considering the feasibility ofincluding quality of service.

What we did in 2022
As a global company operating in 18 markets, we havealways tailored our customer support processes tothe needs of each market. During 2021, we worked to
deploy consistent systems and processes for capturing
and learning from customer claims.
In 2022, we continued to build on this and improve our
performance. We have previously identified different
root causes of issues for the different products.
Ordering errors are a source for some warranty claims
for some product lines, so we have put in place a multiyear project to automate our systems.
Minimizing the number of returns of ROHO products
also benefits the environment. With more than
300,000 products sold each year, reducing productreturns minimizes packaging and shipping. Given thecomplexity of our markets and their organizations, we
decided to retain different targets for each market. As
our systems and processes mature, we expect to be able
to move towards our ambition of a single global targetof zero first-month warranty claims.

Antonio Auricchio

Sustainability Report 2022

21Permobil Portrait:

Uri and Helle
Løvevild Golman
Interviewed in February 2023
Uri’s story is about love and humanity.
The love for his wife, Helle, whom hecalls a wild lioness, and for the naturalwonders of this world. The story of
the humanity of the friends and family
and more that have touched him
since the life-altering incident and his
undiminished humanity including for the
person responsible for his injuries anddisabilities.
Uri and Helle, have always been very
positive people. That positivity canbe seen in their wildlife photographythat took them all around the world.
They chose to show their subjects –everything from antelopes to bats tocheetahs – always as their best selves,
no broken tusks or mangey fur.
As National Geographic wildlife
photographers their work reachedmillions of people, but they wanted toconserve as well as record the natural

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world they saw through their lens.
Project Wild started as a photoshoottour of 25 countries, but funding
projects through their registered Wild
Nature Foundation now gives their
meaningful work permanency.
When scouting locations in Gabon in2017, Uri and Helle were attacked bya man with a knife in the middle of amarket. Uri’s bravery and quick thinking
saved them both as well as a third
person. But the injuries he sustained
and subsequent lapses in his treatment
have led to severe impediments to his
movement and speech.

There were times when all Uri felt was
despair or anger but he realized that
only love has moved him forward.
Uri looks forward to testing out therecline to horizontal feature of his new
Permobil power chair, once the weather
is warmer. He will go outside, lie backand look at the sky as he used to. Uri
may miss the feeling of the grass on his
neck and dirt at his fingertips, but heand Helle can look up together at theclouds floating by or the stars twinklingin the night.

Two years in a rehab clinic back in
Denmark started to show results and
Uri was able to move back home to theirhouse on the outskirts of Copenhagen.
Uri could walk an amazing 200 meters
unaided but complications from spinal
surgery erased that progress.

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23

Diversity and inclusion
We believe that fostering a culture of diversity andinclusion is the right thing to do to live our values,
fulfill our company’s purpose and adhere to our Codeof Conduct.

Better for

Employees

TARGET• Gender balance Female/Male 40/60• 8/10 employees say we are inclusive, as measured
in our employee survey• Workplace accessibility targets to be set in 2022

A safe and respectful workplace
At Permobil, we are committed to creating a safe andhealthy workplace with good working conditions for all
our employees.

TARGET• Zero lost time accidents
PERFORMANCE• Four lost time accidents (2021: 18)

Our approach
Empowering our employees to feel physically andmentally safe at work is paramount. We encourage arobust culture of safety and well-being throughout our
workforce, with minimizing workplace accidents at its
core.
Our Key Performance Indicator relates to lost time
accidents – those accidents that are serious enough for
employees to require time off work. We have introduced
and invested in several measures to reduce lost time
accidents and improve reporting.
These include:• Formal data capture of hazards and incidents• Review of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)• Action plans to tackle focus areas identified in thereporting• Continuous discussion at a managerial and wider
employee level to raise awareness around correct
behaviors and best practice.
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Sustainability Report 2022

We recognize there is more we need to do. We aremaking active efforts to address the issues identified inour reporting, and are always seeking ways to improve.
What we did in 2022
During 2022, we had a strong focus on strengthening
our safety record. We continued to implement our
global reporting system and have increased thereporting of both accidents, incidents, behavioral
discussions and observations. We see the increase in
the number of accidents after the implementation of
the reporting system as a sign that unreported incidents
are decreasing. The number of accidents with sick leaveis decreasing as a result of the increased focus. The losttime accidents were due to falls, manual handling andcut injuries.
Our plans for 2023
We will continue with a high safety focus, striving to
reduce the number of accidents.

Lost Time

Total Case

Accidents (LTA)

Incident Rate (TCIR)

2020

11

0.63

2021

18

1.06

2022

4

0.22

PERFORMANCE• Gender balance Group Management:
Female/Male 44/56• Inclusiveness: 67% (as measured in Let’s Talk
2022, -1% percentage point from 2021,+4 percentage points from 2020)• Workplace accessibility targets not set

Our approach
We strive to make our workplaces widely accessible toall staff, regardless of who they are. It is our mission
to ensure that our employees never feel discriminatedagainst and always feel able to bring their full selves towork.

Our annual Let’s Talk survey was sent to all employees,
as every year. There has been a continuing multi-year
trend of positive change with respect to diversity andinclusion, however in 2022 the Inclusiveness Index
dropped by one percentage point to 67%.
Much work has been done over recent years to bolster
communications and dialogue at all levels and to build
a common Permobil identity after several years of
rapid growth. We will continue this work to ensure that
employees feel included.
Our plans for 2023
We will continue to use Let’s Talk to understand andevaluate employees’ perceptions and identify any
actions needed.
We will also review our HR processes and talentmanagement practices to support our diversity andinclusion targets, including ensuring our applicant
pools are diverse.
We will perform a new materiality assessment and will
also look at how to measure workplace accessibility at
our workplaces, using existing survey data of our sites.

We know that diversity and inclusion is not only crucial
for the well-being and happiness of our teams, but also
our productivity and success as a company. Diverse
groups make better decisions than homogeneous ones,
and teams perform better when they are made up of abalance of both genders. Having employees who livewith disabilities helps us understand our customers
even better.
We use reporting from our employee survey – Let’s
Talk – to review and address points around diversity
and inclusion across our workforce. There are three key
action areas:• Workplace accessibility• Employee perception of inclusiveness• People processes.
What we did in 2022
We increased the share of women at the groupmanagement level and exceeded our target.
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25

Carbon emissions (CO2e)

Emissions within Scope 1 and 2 (CO2e)
generated by Permobil

Change compared to baseline(scope 1 and 2), %Scope 2*
Scope 1

Better for

the Environment

15 0002018(Baseline)
10 000

Environmental impact
TARGET• Scope 1 and 2: Reduce by 70% by 2030
(against a 2018 baseline)• Scope 3: Reduce by 20% by 2030
(against a 2019 baseline)
PERFORMANCE• Scopes 1 and 2: Reduced by 44% since 2018
• Scope 3: We have started to capture emissions
for a limited number of categories. The next stepis to calculate emissions for more categories andreplace spend-based data with more granular data.

As defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, Scope 1
covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.
Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the purchaseand use of electricity, steam, heating and cooling. Scope
3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in the
upstream and downstream activities of an organization.

Our approachWith a direct presence in 18 countries around the world,
producing hundreds of thousands of items every year,
we recognize Permobil has an impact on the planet. We
take responsibility for our impact and are working tominimize it. We have set ambitious targets for Scopes 1,
2 and 3 emissions for 2030.

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Many of our sites have already implemented energy
saving and sustainable practices, and in 2022 we
implemented quarterly reporting of our environmental
performance, including use of water, energy andgenerated amount of waste.
What we did in 2022
In addition to purchasing renewable energy certificates(RECs) we continued to explore ways to convert torenewable energy at our sites in the US, Permobil’s mostenergy-intensive plants. This work will continue during
2023.

2020

5839
4209

5 000

0

1987

2021

-20 %

4612

4282

4447

3864

2018
(baseline)

2020

2021

2022

2022

-44%

* Scope 2 is calculated using market-based emissions

2018 Baseline Emissions

We continued to develop our systematic environmental
work. Workshops with leadership teams from different
Permobil regions were conducted to explore how theirunits could contribute more to achieving our climatechange targets.
Our operations in Norway were ISO 14001 certified
during the year, concluding a process initiated in 2021.
A focus area during the year has been to ensure thequality and extent of the emissions calculations. This
resulted in some changes to historical inaccuracies
being corrected. This report, and future reports, willreference the corrected historical emission data.

Our plans for 2023
The project with real estate developer
Vectura, to build a brand-new
manufacturing site in Sweden, will continue.
The site will have multiple features designed
to minimize carbon emissions. The new siteshould be operational from 2024.

We also adopted a policy on how to make adjustments
to climate data, including the base year as a result of
acquisitions of companies. The base year 2018, for
Scope 1 and 2, has been recalculated, as well as all years
up to and including 2021.

Our next step is to continue to address CO2
emissions in the most energy-intensive areasof our business, where the cuts will make thebiggest difference.

We are now able to capture some Scope 3 emissions
data, and that work will continue in 2023.

-19 %

3930

For Scope 3, we will continue our work tomeasure and categorize our emissions before
putting action plans in place.

Scope 1

Scope 24612 tn

5839 tn

Scope 3

Based on spend assessment

173 625 tn

Scope 3 breakdown:pPurchased goods/services 77%
pCapital goods 5%
pFuel/energy related activities 1%
pTransport/distribution (upstream) 6%
pBusiness travel 2%
pEmployee commuting 1%
pOther 8%
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27

Overall, these highly-engineered packaging design
projects reduced CO2 emissions by more than 460
metric tons in 2022 alone, which is equivalent to removing
97 cars from the road each year, while also lowering freightcosts. Permobil greatly appreciated working with Nefab to findsupply chain solutions that optimized environmental impact
and costs, illustrating that collaboration will be key in tacklingthe climate crises.”

Case study:

Smart packaging
solutions to reduceclimate impact
Better packaging and shipping
solutions are an effective way to
reduce the amount of materials
used and our CO2 emissions, andeven find cost savings. A numberof projects came online for
Permobil in 2022 after a careful
period of design, development
and planning.
The Box-in-Box (BiB) solution
revisited how power chair battery
boxes were shipped from our
Kunshan facility in China to
the production sites in Timrå,Sweden, and Nashville, U.S. We

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are now able to maximize spacein shipping containers andstorage by revisiting the assembly
process, accommodating a mix ofcomponents and shipping themon a single pallet.
SPOT
The SPOT Project ‘Sustainable
Packaging Optimization andTransport’ focused on changes
to the packaging used for power
chair components. The project
affects about 80% of power chair
components coming throughour facility in Kunshan. This

contributed to a complete
packaging overhaul, including
customizing all corrugatedpackaging and replacing wooden
pallets with plywood ones.
Another packaging solution
prioritized the most common,
fast-moving components. A
more flexible, modular system
is now used when shipping
components to avoid leaving
empty space in the boxes. This
has increased efficiencies inloading, unpacking, storage, andeven waste management.

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29

Centra “Cece” Mazyck

Better for

Business andCommunities
Ethical businessWe aim to drive sustainable, ethical development
across our value chain, our customers, our suppliers
and our own practices as a company. We want to createa collaborative culture at Permobil and a healthy, open
dialogue with suppliers to support a better, safer andhappier society.

TARGET• 90% of all staff trained annually in our
Code of Conduct
PERFORMANCE• 2022: 98%

Our approach
The Code of Conduct for employees is one of our key
tools for defining and securing an ethical business. The
Code covers diversity and anti-discrimination, humanrights, health and safety, culture, relationship withcustomers, confidentiality, anti-bribery and corruption,
conflicts of interest, speaking up, competition, trade
restrictions and protecting the environment.

Code of Conduct training is mandatory for every
employee. Our target is set at 90% since we assume a
7% staff turnover. Also, as our business has grown withacquisitions, each new member of the Permobil family
is asked to complete the Code of Conduct training.
In addition, we have a whistleblowing hotline, where
employees and other stakeholders can report concerns
in their local language. These are reviewed by an
external service who work closely with our HR and
Legal teams as appropriate.
What we did in 2022
The percentage of employees trained in the Code of
Conduct increased from 92% (in 2021) to 98%. We
communicated more intensively about the Code of
Conduct using our internal communication channels.
We also introduced the Code of Conduct training into
the Permobil induction program.
Our plans for 2023
Going forward, we will continue the annual rolloutof the Code of Conduct training and deepen internal
knowledge about our core values: User First, Leading,
Passionate and Trusted.

The Permobil Foundation
The Permobil Foundation in the United Statesoffers valuable support and assistance throughproduct donations, partnerships with disability
organizations, college scholarships and volunteer
initiatives in local communities.
Since launching in the US in 2017, the Permobil
Foundation has assisted almost 4,000 individuals
with their mobility needs.
In 2022, we supported over 1,000 people throughthe donation of 18 wheelchairs, 991 seat elevators,
191 other wheelchair parts, and eight SmartDrives.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Additionally, this year’s scholarship program awarded
six college scholarships to wheelchair users andthe Foundation supported 182 disability non-profit
organizations.
The Foundation fundraised, ran wheelchair clinics
and offered free wheelchair servicing, as well as
engaging with Permobil employees to volunteer at
non-profit organizations events. One highlight waswhen 400 Permobil employees participated in the
ALS Association’s flagship event Walk to Defeat
fundraiser.

Sustainability Report 202231

Miriam Blanco

Responsible sourcing
TARGET• 98% of supply chain spend to have endorsed
our Supplier Code of Conduct• 100% of high-risk suppliers screened• 20% of medium-risk suppliers screened
PERFORMANCE• 87% directly signed the Supplier Code of
Conduct, and an additional 13% accepted it
indirectly via our Terms & Conditions(2021: 89% and 9%)• 85% of high-risk suppliers screened (2021: 89%)
• 20% of medium-risk suppliers screened(2021: 18%)

Our approach
We believe in empowering our suppliers to standalongside us as ambassadors for social responsibility.
We see every supplier as a partner, with whom we wantto build strong, positive relationships – so that we canwork together to do what is right for society.
Permobil has a robust framework for ensuring a highstandard of responsible sourcing at every stage of our
supply chain. Firstly, we have a Code of Conduct whichmust be signed by all new suppliers. This covers areas
such as diversity and anti-discrimination, humanrights, relationships with customers, anti-bribery andcorruption. It also demands transparency aroundconflict minerals to improve our material sourcing
processes. All our suppliers must be able to show usthat they operate in line with International Labour
Organization standards.

What we did in 2022
We continued our work to drive responsible sourcing,and increased the percentage of our supplier spend thathas signed our Supplier Code of Conduct or Terms andConditions to 100%. During 2022, we onboarded many
new suppliers due to acquisitions made in 2021 andearly 2022. This is reflected in the result of our supplier
screening.
During the year, we explo1red different solutions towork with more granular data for our indirect (Scope3) emissions in our value chain of suppliers and thiswork will continue during 2023. (See previous section–
Environmental impact – for explanation of Scope 3)
Our plans for 2023
For 2023, we will update our responsible sourcing
program and continue our work with more granular
Scope 3 data to be able to better improve our footprint.
This will require us to work actively with our suppliers
throughout the value chain.
Supplier screening will continue to assess sustainability
performance and ask them to commit to our Supplier
Code of Conduct.

Cory Moses

We never work with sanctions list countries. We screen
high- and medium-risk suppliers to assess their risk forsustainability. These might be suppliers from countries
with a high risk of corruption or those who supply
materials with a high environmental impact, such as
metal or chemicals. We ask all suppliers to complete a
self-assessment every three years and we work closelywith any suppliers to take corrective actions.
Environmental factors are highly important to us whenit comes to suppler relations. We put great emphasison ensuring that all our partners have (or are working
towards) the highest environmental and sustainability
standards and regulations.
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33

Case study:

Grass Roots Greening
A positive impact can also bemade through local initiatives.
Through our local initiatives weare embedding a sustainability
mindset and culture into
Permobil.
Permobil teams in the Asia
Pacific region have embraced
the sustainability commitment
by launching localized
initiatives to be better. The
employee led initiatives secured
high engagement rates andempowered teams to work handson with the focus areas.
A number of teams have focusedon community gardens creating
green spaces where there might
not have been any. In Auckland,
New Zealand wooden planters
have been installed to a tarmacked
area where fruit and vegetableseedlings will be planted.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Permobil Japan have added
a garden to the top balconyof their office building. The
harvest of coriander, bitter gourd
and tomatoes was lower thanhoped for, however the boost in
teamwork and well-being was
significant. Plans are already inplace for improving 2023’s yield.
The team in Australia have had
success with a composter andworm farm. They produced 10kg
of compost from organic waste
collected in the Permobil office,which was then used for thegarden and office plants.
The local projects have direct,
tangible outcomes that inspire
and influence colleagues to takesustainable actions that can havea greater impact further on.

Sustainability Report 2022

35

AuditOur owners, Investor, conducted
an audit of the 2022 sustainability
metrics they require Permobil
to report. The audit included
Permobil’s performance inrelation to CO2 emissions,
responsible sourcing, healthand safety, gender balance andCode of Conduct trainings. All
portfolio companies within
Patricia Industries were similarly
audited. Investor continues towork collaboratively with its
companies to improve reporting
processes.

Risk management
In 2022, we participated in
Investor-led training sessions
on reporting, data quality
and internal processes. A
deeper review of reportingand data quality will be madein 2023 in preparation for the
coming requirements of the
EU CSR Directive as well as toensure a high standard in oursustainability work.

As part of the business planning
cycle, we carry out annual risk
assessments using the Enterprise
Risk Management (ERM)
process. The overall objective
is to understand our current
risk exposure and to develop
strategies for managing each risk.
The risk assessment includes
areas such as environmental
risks, climate change, bribery& corruption, and data privacy.
The major risks are consolidated
into a global Enterprise Risk
Map to assess the impact andlikelihood, with mitigating
actions set against each. The
risks are managed and monitored

throughout the year, and the risk
assessment is reviewed by the
Board prior to the end of the year.
Climate related financial risks
In 2021, we began to identify
climate-related financial risks,
according to the Task Forceon Climate Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) guidelines.
Many related to our production
and supply chain. In 2022, theassessment of climate-related
financial risks was integrated
into our ERM process. Work to
mitigate these risks and identify
other possibilities will be further
developed in the coming years.

Hirokazu Nagaya

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37

Mihai Bratu

EU Taxonomy Regulation
This is the first year for Permobil to report on
Taxonomy eligibility and alignment, under a new EU
regulation.
Most of Permobil’s activities are included in one of
the Taxonomy’s sectors.
Judgement on the Taxonomy-eligibility of ouractivities
Permobil’s activities are included in “7 Construction
and Real Estate” in the Taxonomy.
The activities consist of “3.3 Manufacture of low
carbon technologies for transport” with NACE
code “C.30.92 manufacture of bicycles and invalid
carriage”. Since Permobil is manufacturing thewheelchairs and not just rent or sell the products,
6.4 Operation of personal mobility devices” is not
relevant.
We do not disclose activities within the value
chain that are not external revenue-generating.
For example, processes that are essential for ourrevenue-generating activities, such as electricity
generation for own consumption. They are notreported as Taxonomy-eligible activities and are
not included in our turnover KPI
as they do not
generate external turnover on a standalone basis.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Proportion of Taxonomy-eligible
economic activities (in %)Turnover

78

CapEx

56

OpEx

93

Permobil’s activities are carried out in compliancewith the minimum safeguards. Permobil addresses
human rights, labor rights and anti-corruption
through our policies, see the chapter on Permobil
policies. Permobil reports public on progresses every
year in our Sustainability Report and the report to
the UN Global Compact.
Permobil’s activities contributes to theenvironmental objective ‘Climate change
mitigation’, according to the technical screening
criteria ‘3.3.e Personal mobility devices with apropulsion that comes from the physical activity of
the user, from a zero-emissions motor, or a mix ofzero-emissions motor and physical activity’.
Permobil’s activities do not fully meet the technicalscreening criteria for ‘Do no significant harm
(DNSH)’, and as a result none of our activities are
Taxonomy aligned.

The Taxonomy Regulation sets out a classification system for environmentally
sustainable economic activities. It is a key component of the European
Commission's action plan to redirect ainvestment towards a more sustainableeconomy. It represents an important step towards achieving carbon neutrality
by 2050 in line with EU climate goals as the Taxonomy is a classification systemfor environmentally sustainable economic activities.

Sustainability Report 2022

39Permobil Portrait:

Gabrielle
WrightInterviewed in March 2023
Gabby’s story is one of quiet
determination and a passion for doing
the things she loves. At 12 years old,she played competitive netball and she
loved playing. But then her life took adrastic turn when she became one ofthose one-in-a-million stories.
No-one could have foreseen that acommon cold would trigger her bodyto over-react and attack itself. She
was diagnosed with traverse myelitis,a rare complication affecting between
1–8 people per million, and requiring awheelchair.
Seven years on and Gabby presents
the story with surprising calmness. She
recalls that her first thoughts as theimplications of her sickness sunk in
was that she would not be able to play
netball again. If she wasn’t going to play,then she knew she had to find anotherway to remain involved in a sport she
loved.

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Sustainability Report 2022

Within a few years Gabby not only
qualified as a netball umpire, but theworld’s first wheelchair using netballumpire. To be clear, Gabby presided
over netball games, not wheelchair
netball games.
Today she still umpires college grade
netball as well as sitting on Netball
New Zealand’s Youth Board, providing
opinion and insight on range of issues
affecting the sport.
With no wheelchair netball to play,
Gabby has moved into wheelchairracing, focusing on 100m, 200m and
400m track sprints. For the handfulof wheelchair racers in New Zealand,
the Paralympics in Los Angeles 2028
is the goal. Paris 2024 comes too soon
alongside the realities of limited funding
and lack of specialist coaches.
A budding Paralympian, Netball NZ andhanging out with friends fit around thearchitecture degree course she has
just started at Auckland University inTechnology (AUT). Through high school
Gabby found that she enjoyed art anddesign and coupled it with a desire
to improve urban environments andbuildings. Buildings may be accessible
but not inclusive. Even in the relatively
modern university buildings, lecturehalls may be accessible but requiretime-consuming detours to avoid justa few steps. Design without firsthandexperience.
Just like all new students, Gabby isnavigating university life and living
away from her family for the first time.
Gabby’s SmartDrive power assist
device makes university life easier.
The SmartDrive means she can spend
all day on campus and still conserve
enough energy for actual training.
Training for sprint racing is not the same
as long days on the hilly AUT campus.

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41

For further information, please contact:
Marika Isberg
marika.isberg@permobil.com
Camilla Andersson
camilla.andersson@permobil.com