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CSR-RAPPORT 2014a report on sustainability
Gavlegårdarna
Contents
Brief facts about
Gavlegårdarna is Gävle’s public housing company, with a housing stock of over 15,000 flats. Because good housing and residential environments are essential for the city to grow and develop, our company has an important role to fulfil. We should stand for clear public benefit that is widely shared between our tenants, the residents
of the municipality, and the entire city of Gävle. We don’t just manage people’s residential environments right now; we are also an important part of urban planning for the future. We are involved in the work to make Gävle a cleaner, more beautiful, more pleasant, and more accessible city in which to live.
One third of all residents of Gävle
live in a Gavlegårdarna property
6 18
12
24
Editorial 4 Social responsibility 6Environmental responsibility 12 Economic responsibility 18Working with other interested parties 24Good working environment 28Eurhonet 34Definitions 35
34
28
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Corporate Social Responsibility
– or CSR – is extensive. Corporate Social Responsibility, for which the English abbreviation “CSR” stands, is basically about taking responsibi-lity, not only for the positive effects the company has on society, but also for the negative ones. It is about how we voluntarily integrate social and environmental considerations into our operations, in collaboration with
other interested parties. All of this is based on perspectives relating to social responsibility, environmental responsibility, economic sustai-nability, and adopting an ethical approach to our staff. CSR is about being energetic, efficient, trustwor-thy, and open in issues that affect people and the environment.
We are publishing this report in order to show some of the examples related to sustainability issues that we are working on within our company. A CSR report could, in principle, be called a Sustainability Report. However, we have chosen to use the standard English name because this report was developed in collaboration with other European companies opera-ting within the Eurhonet network.
One million square metres of housing
Gavlegårdarna rents out a total living space of almost one million square metres. This area is divided between houses and flats with one to six rooms and a kitchen. In addition to this, we also have almost 150,000 square metres of commercial floor space divided between just over a thousand commercial properties. Some of our tenants there include county council and municipal operations, restaurants, retail establishments, and so on.
Our housing
2 762
1 559
Houses 1 room 2 rooms 3 rooms 4 rooms 5 rooms0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
1,014 2,596 5,927 4,935 1,559
148
Occupancy rate
99.8 %
Average rent, SEK/m²
930
Gavlegårdarna operates in a city that is showing strong and posi-tive growth. The population has increased for the second consecutive year and, according to the calcula-tions, we will soon pass the magic number of 100,000 inhabitants. Suddenly we will change from a big small city into a small big city, at least by Swedish standards.
This development places high demands on Gavlegårdarna being a company with its operations truly in balance. We must be a strong public housing company that dares to take
risks and think innovatively, one that builds new homes and gets involved socially, preferably in collaboration with other parties.
Our commercial benefit must be combined with social benefit. Buil-dings with quality must tie in with economic sustainability. Collabora-tion with other interested parties in the market must be fine-tuned in order to give even more back to our tenants. Our responsibility to the environment and to the social situa-tion of our tenants will continue to remain primary focus areas.
A record number of Gävle’s inhabi-tants, and even prospective Gävle inhabitants, are in Gavlegårdarna’s housing queue today. That number
has already passed 100,000, and never before has the company had so few vacant flats. If we are to cope with this situation in the future, then
we are one of many players in the housing sector who need to increase the pace of new construction.
Our owners, the Municipality of Gävle, have placed clear demands on us as a public housing company. We plan to build another 300 new homes between now and 2017. We got off to a flying start in 2013 by launching almost 200 newly-built and renovated flats onto the market. Last year, ho-wever, the focus was on designing and planning for the next phase of con-struction instead – and a lot is going to happen over the next few years.
One of the more exciting and long-term projects is the new housing district that is currently being plan-ned on land that has tradition. This is because Gavlegårdarna became the owner of a genuine sweet factory in 2014. In the area where the Ahlgren family used to make the world-famous Läkerol pastilles, we are now going to build a modern suburb that will preserve the perceptions of indu-
GavlegårdarnaBrief facts about
Our residential areas
Gavlegårdarna has over 15,000 flats throughout the Municipality of Gävle, most of which are in Gävle’s urban area.
“Our responsibility to the environment and to the social situation of our tenants will continue to remain primary focus areas”
This unique public housing is of real benefit
Number of flats
15,165
Number of tenants
30,000
Housing stock
2010 2011 2012 2013 201415, 000
15,100
15,200
15,300
15,400
15 500
15,16515,206 15,237 15,242 15,348
Editorialstrial history that exist there. In and around the old sweet factory, close to 700 new flats will be built over the next ten years. Even now, at the plan-ning stage, our company is creating a challenging and visionary project that will most certainly put Gävle on the map, from several perspectives.
Social responsibility has long been a key concept in Gavlegårdarna’s work. As a public housing company, we work with sustainability, another concept that can most definitely be about people. One concrete example of this is our Social Living Group (“boso-ciala”) that has made us rather unique in the public housing sector. Together with the Municipality of Gävle’s Social Services Department, Gav-legårdarna has been working with a clear mandate in recent years; namely that the number of evictions must be reduced. This has been carried out as preventive work, where our employees have been seeking out people with problems and offering them help early on. The results we are now witnessing are truly amazing. The negative trend concerning unpaid rent has declined. By means of collaboration, we have succeeded in our goal of broadening our social responsibility, thereby ensuring that more tenants can carry on living in their homes.
During 2014, we saw more fine ex-amples of how our collaboration with others can bring real results. The Leadership Academy that we started as a pilot project with Brynäs IF has now been made into a permanent fixture. The objective, namely to get more well-trained voluntary leaders for the children and young people of Gävle has thereby been secured.
The pilot project known as Gavli’s Summer Camp, a summer camp which together with Gefle IF was arranged for children and young people from our residential areas, has also grown and seen its future assured. Our idea of creating sum-mer holiday activities for children who might not have many other op-tions has attracted new partners who want to get involved and support the project. The number of weeks, acti-vities, and children involved will all increase this coming year. We think this is just great.
After the summer, it will be time to relocate Gavlegårdarna’s head office, an operation that was in the planning internally throughout 2014 and involved an incredible amount of commitment from our employees. The move will contribute us being able to deliver an even better service to our customers – our tenants and
Gavlegårdarna has 183 employees.53 (29%) are women and 130 (71%) are men.
Employees
Total area rented out
1,146,213m²
Turnover 2014
SEK 1.084 billion
all the other residents of Gävle – and will also give us a greater opportu-nity to work more closely together, regardless of which department we work in or what job tasks we have. Our new approach clarifies the importance of every employee when it comes to delivering benefit to the general public. This is not a day too soon either, because at Gavlegårdar-na we have a lot to be proud of right now. We are a company in develop-ment, in a city that’s growing.
I hope you enjoy reading our CSR Report for 2014.
Cathrine Holgersson, Managing Director
6
Gavlegårdarna’s more than 30,000 tenants should feel that
they have security, accessibility, and close proximity to the
social community. It is natural for people to feel at home
where they live, and the same should apply to a public
housing company that really wants to be of benefit to society.
Social responsibility in residential areas
7
Social living measures
The municipal housing company Gavlegårdarna is operated in a busi-nesslike manner, something that in-cludes a requirement from its owner – the Municipality of Gävle – to pro-duce a profit. This profit requirement is approximately SEK 45 million
annually, the majority of which is to be reinvested in the company’s ope-rations. SEK 10 million of the profit is earmarked to be paid out as a form of dividend. This money will then be used for community improvements in the residential suburbs of Gävle.
2014 was the second year that this dividend money was paid out.
• Running the premises and activities of the Kulturum multicultural association in Brynäs.
• Measures to prevent homelessness, and to better reach out to families with children.
• Emergency accommodation for people with short-term needs (hotels and RIA hostels).
• Management and coordination of the guarantee of accommodation for students at the University of Gävle.
• Employment of hosts (for the well-being of the tenants) at Tickselbo’s sheltered housing.
• Projects to improve integration, together with recreation centres.
• Enhanced care and management of public areas, tidying up, hedge-trimming, etc.
• Nice and secure – projects aimed at increasing social interaction and security in the districts.
money went to:In 2014, the dividend
“All social living money from Gavlegårdarna should be put into projects that create or improve integration and social cohesion in Gävle’s suburban districts”
At the same time, and for a new position, the Municipality of Gävle recruited one of Gavlegårdarna’s key employees in social living issues.
This position means there will be more strength in the area, and the project leader will have the responsi-bility of setting up concrete projects
together with further applicants. The approved projects will thus have clear objectives and purpose, as well as plans for administration and individual responsibilities. The focus on good management of the dividend payments also means that clubs, as-sociations, organisations and other groups wishing to apply for funding
towards an idea or a project will have improved access to coaching and ad-visory services before filing their app-lication. The obvious requirement, as before, is that all social living money from Gavlegårdarna should be put into projects that create or improve integration and social cohesion in Gävle’s suburban districts.
The community in Brynäs
The large residential area has many old buildings in it that have been preserved. Characterising the area are the main street, Brynäsgatan, which has seven streets crossing it, and the verdant Steneberg Park. Unfortunately, there is also the ling-ering notion of a troubled area here, one with lots of trouble and violence. This is despite the fact that busines-ses, clubs, associations, and other
8
organisations (including voluntary ones) all have a strong foothold.
The non-profit, multicultural Culture Centre runs its operations right in the centre of Brynäs. The Culture Centre is a meeting place that offers a variety of activities eve-ry day, such as language support for adults, homework help, baby meets,
sports and theatre, among others. Ideally, as many of the residents as possible will find their way to the venue and then find something to fo-cus on among the range of activities. The objectives over and above this are that they will improve their Swe-dish language development and get to know how Swedish society works.
Active Union of Tenants
Thanks to the Union of Tenants and Gavlegårdarna offering the possibility for self-administration, there is very strong cohesion among the tenants in some parts of Brynäs. There are groups, premises and equipment available for a whole variety of activities – where everyth-ing has been purchased and well- managed over a period of many years.
In the carpentry workshop in lower Brynäs, there is a wide range of tools and machines that are used by both men and women. The adjacent properties offer facilities for weaving and pottery, and there
is also a sewing circle. Thanks to an established self-administration system, in which plenty of people are involved, the tenants also have a functioning system for dealing
The project will last for three years and is funded from Gavlegårdarna’s dividend payment.
Among other things, a theatre group for young guys aged between 13 and 18 started up during 2014. The members of this group had never been on a stage before, but together they improvised and deve-
loped a show of their own based on the district in which they live. The script was based on scenes they had witnessed or experienced themselves, and the objectives were to show the actors’ perceptions of being immi-grants in a Swedish environment and help to challenge stereotypes and prejudice – not least about Brynäs.
“The Culture Centre is a meeting place that offers a variety of activities every day”
9
10
Brynäs is Gavlegårdarna's largest residential district, in terms of the number of flats. And commitment from the tenants has led to a variety of activities. Here are Sonja Olsson and Lena Eriksson, who work in the local carpentry workshop.
with bulky rubbish, a newly-built outdoor gym, plants, and roofs above the patios.
With the power to help more
Gavlegårdarna’s Social Living (or “bosociala”) group is a unique ven-ture in the public housing sector. The tight-knit group works with one clear objective – to broaden the company’s social responsibi-lity. More tenants should be able to remain in their flats and fewer tenants should ultimately have to be evicted. Since June 2013, two employees from the Municipality of Gävle’s Social Services depart-ment have also been linked to Gavlegårdarna’s project “BoKvar” (which literally means “keep living where you are”). They have been working by reaching out to people, making unannounced visits to tenants who have not paid their rent. In two years, these two em-
11
Indicator Unit 2012 2013 2014
New construction of rental flats Qty 5 193 3
Property acquisitions Qty - - -
Disposals (number of flats) Qty - 5 186
Operational cost development SEK/m² 451 450 449
Housing rental development SEK/m² 889 909 930
% 2.9 2.0 1.9
Evictions due to disturbance or for financial reasons Disturbance Qty 0 0 2
Financial
reasons
Qty 41 44 28
Proportion of housing in the company’s stock accessible for elderly
and/or disabled people
% 45.5 45.7 47.4
Moving within housing stock (excluding students) External % 20 19.8 13.4
Internal % 5.8 4.3 4.05
Safety and security index Proportion
feeling safe
and secure
% 79.4
• Figures from Social Services show that benefits paid out to offset plain rent arrears decreased by SEK 450,000 during 2014.
• The Deacons Council in Gävle announced that it did not have to help as many people with their rent during 2014 as it had in previous years. It has also noticed that more people are asking for help in good time; fewer cases concern a large pile of unpaid rental invoices.
• In 2014, 98.5 per cent of all rent was paid on time. The corresponding figure for 2013 was 96.8 per cent. Gavlegårdarna’s goal for 2015 is to reach 99 per cent.
• A total of 1,597 cases were dealt with and closed by Gavle-gårdarna’s BoKvar project during 2014. Of all of these, 1,503 (94 per cent) have continued to live in their homes.
This collaborative project between Gavlegårdarna and Gävle’s Social Services began in June 2013 and was extended two years later by an additional six months.
Two social workers based at the University of Gävle are currently writing a paper where they look more closely at how collaboration between public housing and social services affects the overall housing situation. Is this type of collaboration a successful way of reducing homelessness?
The paper is part of the evaluation process of the project which in turn can then be extended or, alternati-vely, integrated into Gavlegårdarna’s ordinary day-to-day activities.
ployees have managed to knock on well over 5,000 doors.
The group offers help with wha-tever is needed to resolve the tenant’s situation; it all depends on the scope of the problem.
The work of the Social Living
group shows clear results for 2014. It has managed to bring down the total number of reminders, ad-ditional fees, payment orders, and payment demands. The number of calls to the Social Living group at Gavlegårdarna fell during the year,
as did the number of cases sent for debt collection. The positive statis-tics show that the preventive work carried out succeeded in helping many people to solve their problems in time, i.e. before the problems got out of hand.
Social Living statisticsThe BoKvar project
2012 2013 20140
1
2
3
4
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
50
100
150
200
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
1 000
2,000
3 000
4,000
5 000
6,000
7 000
8,000
Number of debt collection cases
2012 2013 20140
1
2
3
4
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
50
100
150
200
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
1 000
2 000
3 000
4 000
5 000
6 000
7 000
8 000
2012 2013 20140
1
2
3
4
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
50
100
150
200
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
1 000
2 000
3 000
4 000
5 000
6 000
7 000
8 000
Proportion of rent unpaid in % (average) Number of evictions
2012 2013 20140
1
2
3
4
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
50
100
150
200
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2010 2011 2012 2013 20140
1 000
2 000
3 000
4 000
5 000
6 000
7 000
8 000
Number of eviction notices served*
* The tenant has received a letter from the Enforcement Authority giving the date and time of the planned eviction.
Gavlegårdarna was one of the first companies to focus on active
environmental work. That may prove to be decisive if the tough
goals set by the Municipality of Gävle’s Strategic Environmental
Programme are to be achieved by 2020. It is also important that
the housing company’s investments in environmental issues have
a broad spectrum; everything from reducing energy consumption
to well-planned outdoor environments in the suburbs.
Responsibility for our environment
12
13
14
Investment in outdoor
environments ...
Gavlegårdarna increased its focus on long-term improvements to the company’s outdoor environments during 2014. The goals in the busi-
ness plan here are set challengingly high. At least 80 per cent of the tenants should be satisfied with their outdoor surroundings by the year 2017. This figure stood at just over 70 per cent in the spring of 2014, but a number of new projects have been launched since then, many of them under the guidance of the company’s newly-employed landscape gardener. Among other things being planned right now are a lot of playgrounds
and meeting areas that will match many different needs. Playground equipment for both younger and ol-der children, trampolines at ground level, barbeque areas, an outdoor gym, and covered seating areas are
just some examples of measures that will prove attractive for activities and socialising.
... in Andersberg among
other places
Andersberg is a suburb where renova-tion of the outdoor surroundings was being carried out throughout 2014, work that should be completed during the latter part of 2015. The district
• Better lighting for increased safety and security.
• More seating areas.• New playgrounds for both small
and larger children.• More barbecue areas.• New curbs and planted areas.• New, large recycling rooms.• New, floodlit activity arena, with
fixed goals, basketball hoops, seating and barbecue areas.
• Prepared area for garden allotments.
in Andersberg
improve the outdoor surroundings
“At least 80 per cent of the tenants should be satisfied with their outdoor surroundings by the year 2017”
A list of what has been done to
15
The benefits of gardening
in residential areas
was built in the 1970s and there are large areas between the buildings for playing and socialising; playgrounds, lawns and small copses. Some large families live in Andersberg, and they have a lot of children who often are outdoors. This means that the sur-roundings there are in regular use, but also that they get worn out.
Ahead of the area’s planned renovation, all tenants were invi-ted to four meetings, at each stage of the construction, and given the chance to speak out. In the sketches that were subsequently presented to the tenants, Gavlegårdarna showed the company had tried to meet the wishes that the tenants mentioned the most. There will be to bet-ter lighting, newly-built recycling rooms, new playground equipment and new meeting places. Further-more, n-ew kerbstones and planted
areas have been carefully laid out – specifically to reduce traffic between the buildings, something that has been perceived as a problem.
The activity arena that has been built also received a lot of positive comments in a short time. The pitch area is floodlit in the evenings, and there are both barbecue and seating areas right next to it.
Now the suburbs are blooming
Gardening in urban environments is a trend that has been growing strongly in the world’s big cities in recent years. A lot of this is because it gives people the chance to make themselves self-sufficient in locally-grown produce, but there is also a strong desire to get some greenery in among all the asphalt and concrete.
When Gavlegårdarna got the
• Access to organic, locally-grown and poison-free vegetables.
• Possibility for people living in a flat to have a small “garden”
• Possibility to be outdoors, meet the neighbours, talk and socialise.
• Chance to share an interest with other people.
• Will please all residents, not only garde-ners.
• A project for children too. When you put a seed in the ground and later have a carrot in the autumn, suddenly a lot of things make more sense.
• Flowers make everyone happy.
chance to acquire a hundred pallet collars, which otherwise would have gone to landfill, the idea arose of creating something totally new together with the tenants.
An invitation was sent to all tenants to create a box garden of their own in a pallet collar, and the response was enormous. The hundred pallet collars were booked up within a week, in addition to which Gavlegårdarna also had a long reserve list.
The result of this means that al-most every suburb will soon be green and blooming in an entirely new way. Each of the gardeners, in addition to the pallet collar, received some packets of seeds, a catalogue for inspiration, and a plant of their choice from a local garden centre. A Facebook group has been created where everyone who is interested can share their experiences,
ask questions and look for answers. Five of the gardeners will also be blog-ging about how they are getting on with their ideas.
Gavlegårdarna sees many bene-fits with this project. Using the pal-let collars like this is an easy way to create something positive out in the suburbs. The material itself is cheap and is being recycled rather than scrapped. By using pallet collars to create box gardens there is no need for digging, as they can be set up to
make use of whatever space is avai-lable. They can stand on anything, such grass areas or even asphalt.
Another important aspect, of course, is that of giving people who
live in a flat – and therefore don’t have a garden – the chance to be outdoors, creating something.
Internal environmental
programme
During 2014, a lot of Gavle-gårdarna’s environmental efforts were focused on the targets set out in the Municipality of Gävle’s Strategic Environmental Programme, and which should be achieved by 2020.
The municipality’s ambitions are high and Gävle will become one of the best eco-municipalities in the country. To clarify the objectives and Gavlegårdarna’s work towards
achieving them, the company has developed an internal environmental programme with intermediate goals and activities that will lead to the overall objectives being reached.
Gavlegårdarna has, among other things, put a great deal of focus on reducing energy consumption, both in new construction and in the management of existing properties. This led to several interesting acti-vities during 2014. As an example, Gavlegårdarna’s water saving project received considerable attention in both the local and national media. In total, the project has resulted in a saving of around 136 million litres of water, a figure that is much higher than the original target of 120 mil-lion litres. The result of such a saving can be compared to 3,000 tankers with trailers, or 900,000 filled bathtubs.
“It’s important to give people the chance to be outdoors, creating something”
16
17
Indicator Unit 2012 2013 2014
Energy consumed within the property portfolio
(statistically normalised), of which:
Total kWh/m² atemp 159.8 157.6 154.0
District
heating
% 87.2 87.3 87.0
Electricity % 12.8 12.7 13.0
Oil % - - -
Biofuel % - - -
District
cooling
% - - -
Solar
panels
% 0.001 0.001 0.001
Amount of greenhouse gas emitted by the housing stock from energy
use (statistically normalised for annual heating consumption)
kg/m² atemp 2.2 1.4 1.0
District
heating
% 100 100 100
Electricity % - - -
Oil % - - -
Biofuel % - - -
District
cooling
% - - -
Solar
panels
% - - -
Proportion of renewable energy company uses % 95.0 99.2 99.7
Amount of waste produced in the housing stock,
excluding bulky waste
Organic waste
kg/flat 103 105 135
ousehold waste
kg/flat 177 185 264
Recy-clable material
kg/flat 101 47 111
Environmentally certified, according to ISO 14001 Yes/No Ja Ja Ja
Water consumption in housing stock Total m³/m²atemp 1.24 1.15 1.15
Hot l/m² atemp 470 410 400
Cold l/m² atemp 770 740 750
Carbon dioxide emissions from company vehicles tons of CO2/year
180 160 24
Average emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents by company cars grams of CO2/km
0
Within just a few years, Gävle is expected to become a real big city for the
first time in its history. The population is increasing and there are enormous
demands for an increase in new housing construction. Reconciling social
benefit with economic sustainability is therefore one of Gavlegårdarna’s
biggest challenges. During 2014, the company’s focus was on design and
planning for future expansion.
Responsibility for our economy
18
19
A “Kombohus” is a kind of prefab building, de-veloped on behalf of SABO, the Swedish As-sociation of Public Housing Companies. The objective with the “kombohus” concept is that local public housing companies will be able to build more rental housing more quickly. The buildings are pre-designed and have already undergone the public procurement process, making them cheaper to produce. The “kombohus” is one way of achieving the directive given to Gavlegårdarna by the company’s owner, namely to have a portfolio of properties that meets the demands and requirements of people looking for housing in terms of standard, size, location, service, design, and level of rent charged.
Kombohus
20
Increased demand for housing
The growing big city of Gävle is taking shape. The population has been increasing steadily in recent
years, and statistics suggest the next few years will hold no exception. During 2014, Gavlegårdarna also hit a new record, when the number of people in the queue for public housing reached 102,000. At the end of 2013, there were only a few flats vacant in the portfolio, and demand for rental properties remains very high throughout the municipality today. In the city centre, the housing shortage is palpable.
With Gävle growing at such a rapid pace, the significance of Gavlegår-darna to continued growth means that high demands are placed on the
company. More housing is needed and public housing is important if people are to continue to move to the city. People who want to live in Gävle must be able to find attractive accommodation, and Gavlegårdarna has a strong desire to create the homes of the future.
The directive laid down by the owners to the company is crystal clear. At least 100 new flats per year should be constructed for a five-year period.
“With Gävle growing at such a rapid pace, the significance of Gavlegårdarna to continued growth means that high demands are placed on the company”
Gavlegårdarna is working intensi-vely these days to identify potential projects for new construction. The company is also looking at the pos-sibility of turning some commercial properties into flats.
Meanwhile, the renewal of the existing suburbs remains one of the company’s most important tasks, and even here the rate needs to increase. In order to live up to the vision of bu-sinesslike public housing, the focus on quality, environmental initiatives, and social responsibility must be synchro-nised with legislative requirements and commercial principles.
A year of planning
During 2014, very few new flats were completed. This should be seen as a natural consequence of 2013, a very strong year in terms of new
The planning of a new suburb in Gävle is underway. Gavlegårdarna now owns the land on which a traditional factory stands, where Ahlgrens used to manufacture confectionery.
21
construction; almost 200 newly-built and completely renovated flats were launched onto the market that year.
By contrast, 2014 was a year for the design and planning of a variety of projects that will be realised within the next few years.
As part of the planning pro-cess, Gavlegårdarna is looking into alternative ways of building the properties of the future. Following the easing of some restrictions in the Planning and Building Act, there
are now some new opportunities to produce smaller, more space-efficient flats with lower rents.
The total investment in new con-struction and maintenance activities during 2014 was SEK 201.5 million (up from SEK 161 million in 2013).
Expansive years ahead
During the years 2015 and 2016, a new nursing and care home at Gävle Strand will be completed, with 80
During 2014, Gavlegårdarna acquired the premises where Cloetta had their factory and production facilities. Over the next ten years, the so-called Ahlgren site will be transfor-med into a modern residential district with the construction of 500-700 flats. The vision for the new district involves the creation of modern buildings with a homely neighbourhood feeling, but where the roots of the industrial history and culture are also allowed to thrive. This acquisition of these premises is one of several strategic initiati-ves that will significantly increase the production of rental housing in the years to come.
sweet factoryOur very own
“Following the easing of some restrictions in the Planning and Building Act, there are now some new opportunities to produce smaller, more space-efficient flats with lower rents.”
new flats. A new residential area on Almvägen in Fridhem will see 60 or so new flats become available for oc-cupancy, and a “kombohus” (see page 20 for details) containing 12 flats will be completed in Villastaden.
A noticeable change in the cityscape is taking place in Sätra, where three tower blocks are being demolished to make room for three new “kombohus” buildings. This renovation will turn the existing 36 flats into 96 new flats. In the eastern part of Sätra, another tower block is being built and will provide student housing. And in the Andersberg suburb, laundry rooms and vacant business premises are in the process of being converted into more than thirty small flats, each with their own little patio.
22
23
Indicator Unit 2012 2013 2014
Annual investments
Unused investment and maintenance costs Existing stock
SEK 454m 347m 370m
Existing stock
SEK /flat 30k 23k 24k
Existing stock
% of total
turnover
45% 33% 34%
Company's investment in new construction and property acquisition New
construction
SEK 146m 75m 48m
% of total
turnover
14% 7% 4%
Acquisition SEK - - 53m
% of total turnover
- - 5%
The company’s rate of occupancy Flats % 98,3 98,7 98,6
Does the company follow an established procurement policy that includes sustainability criteria?
Yes/No Yes Yes Yes
During the year, Gavlegårdarna sold some parts of the company’s property portfolio. These sales were made with one clear goal in mind, namely to free up capital for new construction in the future. Among other things, we sold 186 student flats situated right next to the University of Gävle.
to build
Sell in order
Collaboration agreements with external organisations have one obvious
intention for Gavlegårdarna. Every agreement must include something that
will be of benefit to our tenants, to children, young people, and all residents
of Gävle. Children and young people who live in the company’s housing
estates should be offered activities and opportunities to socialise.
But Gävle must also be a better city to live in – for everyone.
Working with other interested parties
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Success for Gavli’s Summer Camp
The football school that has been or-ganised by Gavlegårdarna in collabo-ration with Gefle IF football club for many years attracted more and more children each season. The children li-ving in public housing there have been able to participate in their favourite sport, completely free of charge.
In 2014, the pilot project known as Gavli’s Summer Camp ran for the first time. The project’s initia-tor, Gavlegårdarna, developed the concept along with GIF, who in turn managed the actual operation. The goal was to expand one week of football school into a summer camp brimming with activities and lasting for three weeks. Despite the short amount of time available to plan eve-rything, 62 children applied for, and were allocated, a place at the very first Gavli’s Summer Camp.
The reaction to the camp was overwhelmingly positive. Grate-ful parents were able to follow the activities and experiences that their
excited children were involved in. Children and young people, many of whom had no plans at all for their summer holidays, instead went back to school and could tell everyone about all the fun they’d had.
With Gavli’s Summer Camp, Gavlegårdarna together with GIF managed to create a concept that had real social benefit. The idea originated from a genuine need and became a concept for the children who needed it most.
After the 2014 trial, Gavli’s Sum-mer Camp attracted many compa-nies and organisations to join in as future collaborative partners. This means that the camp has already been expanded for the years to come, with more activities available and for more weeks. This in turn means that there will be places for even more children in future.
New leaders every year
In Gavlegårdarna’s collaborative agre-
Gavlegårdarna and Gefle IF's joint concept, Gavli’s Summer Camp, offers a wide variety of activities and experiences for the children who perhaps need it the most.
ement with Brynäs IF, a lot of effort has been directed towards the annual Leadership Academy. The objective is to get voluntary leaders, the enthusi-asts, to feel more confident about their leadership. This is very important, be-cause they are often a huge influence on the lives of the children and young people with whom they work. If they have the right tools, good leaders are very good role models – and for a lot of people. At the same time, more children now have access to well-trained leaders.
The Leadership Academy also started out as a pilot project, but thanks to the collaboration with Gavlegårdarna it is now a natural part of one of the activities at Brynäs – “A good start” – which, together with UNICEF, works for the good of the children and young people in Gävle. The objective is that 24 new leaders will graduate from the Lead-ership Academy in Gävle each year.
agreements
The municipal housing company Gavlegår-darna has a crystal clear policy for the col-laboration agreements that are signed with Gävle’s associations, clubs, and other and organisations.
Such collaboration should include a lot of things – and for a lot of people. It’s all about the citizens of Gävle in general and Gavlegårdarna’s tenants in particular. Gav-legårdarna should take responsibility for the city of Gävle’s well-being in general, partly by using its contract agreements to offer activities to children and young people who live on the company’s housing estates. The guidelines for the intentions of the various collaborative agreements can be clearly seen in Gavlegårdarna’s business plan and at all levels of the company’s operations. It has been obvious for a long time that, as a public housing company, Gavlegårdarna works for the benefit of the general public.
Collaborative
Summer Evenings
On each of the four Wednesday nights in July, a free summer party is arranged in the centre of Gävle. The activities include outdoor con-certs and creative activities for children and young people. The event gives families who might not have the chance to go away on holiday an opportunity to get together and have some fun on their home ground.
The Balcony Party
In August, the Balcony Party is arranged at Gävle Theatre in the centre of Gavle. The free party takes to the main streets outside the theatre which are closed to traffic and provide the space for the audience and cultural artists. The theatre’s balcony then becomes a stage for a variety of artists in various different genres. The goal is to show everything that Gävle Theatre has to offer – and hopefully increase the interest that the residents of Gävle have in culture.
Events staged in collaboration
For Gävle’s benefit
The collaboration agreements that Gavlegårdarna signs with external par-ties must include a lot of things. And for a lot of people too. Furthermore, when local players step in and get involved, even more value is created.
Children and young people should be able to get in touch with clubs and
associations, and try out meaningful leisure activities. Tenants should be able to meet new neighbours and friends. But even the citizens of Gävle who are not Gavlegårdarna tenants should be able to take part in the free events and experiences on offer in the squares and on the streets. For a company that works for the benefit of
Indicator Unit 2012 2013 2014
Is the company environmentally certified according to ISO 9001? Description Yes/No Yes Yes Yes
Percentage of women in management positions Board % 22 22 22
Management group
% 44 50 33
Proportion of the company’s tenants who are satisfied with their
housing
Service index % 82.9 83.1 81.5
Does the company actively work with action plans aimed at increasing
the satisfaction of the residents?
Yes/No Yes Yes Yes
Does the company have a working method for continuously evaluating
the board and management?
Yes/No Yes Yes Yes
Does the company operate by a documented code of ethics? Yes/No Yes Yes Yes
Does the company initiate and carry out regular dialogue with its tenants?
Yes/No Yes Yes Yes
Does the company have long-term goals towards which to navigate, derived from its business plan?
Yes/No Yes Yes Yes
Is the company’s CSR work evaluated by an external organisation? Yes/No No No No
the general public, it’s important to us that Gävle becomes a little bit more of a fun place in which to live.
Gavlegårdarna has therefore signed multi-year agreements that will provide security and continuity to some of Gävle’s larger events in the areas of sport and culture.
GD/GIF Olympiad / athletics school
For almost forty years now, the GD/GIF Olympiad, an athletics competition for all of the children in grades 3-6 of the municipal school system, has been arranged each year. This arrangement is unique in Sweden, and more than 3,000 children collect points for their class by participating in various events held during one weekend in May. In addition to the sporting activities, there is always a specific theme for each school year. This can be about friendship, the environment, traffic safety or, as it has been the last few years, “Stop vandalism!”
Through its collaboration with Gefle IF athletics club, Gavlegårdarna is not only invol-ved in supporting the Olympiad; the company also contributes by offering children from its own housing estates a free place at the athletics school during the summer holidays. There has been a lot of interest in this, and many of the children participating have then chosen to continue with athletics afterwards.
agreements with Gavlegårdarna
Proud & Sober
On graduation day every year in June, a drug-free celebration party is organised for those pupils who have just finished secondary school. Proud & Sober (“Stolt & Nykter”) of-fers some of the best artists in Sweden and many exciting activities, all free of charge. The organisers also cover the cost of bus transport to and from the zoo and amuse-ment park at Furuvik, where the party takes place. Proud & Sober is an arrangement that appeals to a large number of young people each year who might otherwise remain in the city. Around thirty young volunteers also work as officials at this Furuvik event. They are prepared for this work via their leadership training course.
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Being an attractive employer is an obvious objective for a company that works
closely with social responsibility. During the year, all of our employees participated
in the planning of Gavlegårdarna’s move to the new head office, a move that will
entail changes to everyone’s working methods. The company’s vision, “Feel at
home” (or “Känn dig hemma” in the original Swedish) also conveys the feelings
we want our employees to have with them at the new office.
Good working environment for our employees
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Relocation of head office
In 2014, Gavlegårdarna took the decision to move its head office. The move is far more than merely a physical relocation; the new
premises also mean a change to the way in which all of our employees work. In the new activity-based of-fice there will be, much like a private home, a lot of areas with varying functionality. Employees will have no fixed place to work but will, instead, find a spot that matches the type of work they will be performing that day. The modern office has places for those who need to work in peace and quiet, but also places designed for group work, visits, and
meetings. The flexibility and free-dom will increase yet further with the ability to change posture; there are workstations for carrying out sit-ting, standing, and walking (!) tasks.
Through common servers, each employee will be able to access their own work material from wherever they log in – any workstation in the office, out on external visits, or when working from home.
Closer to the customer
– and to each other
The company’s vision, “Feel at home”, is all about creating wel-coming and hospitable feelings
– for customers, but also for our employees. The traditional office from which Gavlegårdarna operates today makes it difficult for different departments to interact and col-laborate. The new common areas will contribute to a more uniform approach, something that has several advantages. The company’s employ-ees, through various workgroups, will find themselves closer together and thus able to work together and collaborate more easily. When the employees are all working together, the final product that is delivered to the customer is, of course, even better. And improvement of that kind is part of Gavlegårdarna’s primary mission and a key objective. The re-location of the company’s head office will take place during September and October 2015.
“Gavlegårdarna’s new approach should have the best possible customer focus”
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ahead of the moveternal working processes
• A reference group consisting of employees from different departments met regularly throughout 2014. All of them were interviewed individually, but the group also carried out joint discussions and held workshops.
• All employees were offered the chance to go on a study visit to larger companies that have implemented similar changes before. Those who took up this chance also had the opportunity to have a meeting with their counterparts at the organisation they visited.
• All employees were invited to spend a whole day with the architect.
• Individual talks were conducted with everyone who has some kind of management role.
• The many workgroups that met continually during 2014 produ-ced a list of more specific tasks concerning the design and the purchasing. Among other things, these were about the common areas in the new building, for example the kitchen area, and the health and wellness area.
• The regular meetings with employees will continue after the move, as many issues can be evaluated then and followed up.
Internal preparation
for the relocation
During 2014, several internal work-groups looked at ideas, questions, and comments prior to the major change that awaits. A large number of employees chose to participate in groups that discussed how various processes could best be adapted to the company’s new activity-based ap-proach and office. The goal of these workgroup discussions was unequi-vocal. Gavlegårdarna’s new ap-proach should have the best possible customer focus, but the company’s employees should also be able to expect to have “a good day at work” every day.
The ideas and views of the work-groups led to a variety of proposals that have directly influenced the final design of the new premises.
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Good results in the survey
The employees showed great com-mitment to the change process that continued throughout 2014. The annual employee survey carried out also showed improvements in all areas. The overall performance le-vels, or the total values accumulated in the survey, were also higher than in previous years.
This good result shows that Gavlegårdarna has the capacity to manage change in its organisation. Gavlegårdarna’s new head office will not entail a reduction in workspace, as there will be more free worksta-tions than there are employees. The company will get a flexible office that can be adapted to fit the work of any particular working day.
High pressure for
summer workers
As in previous years, almost 500 young people aged between 16 and 18 applied for one of the summer jobs announced by Gavlegårdarna in 2014. One of the requirements was that the applicant or the applicant’s parents were Gavlegårdarna tenants. A few of the positions were also allo-cated to young people whose parents were company employees. Before making the final appointments, we took into account age, area of residence, and gender, as well as con-sidering the diversity perspective.
Every year, more than 70 young people are given the chance to meet perhaps their very first employer at Gavlegårdarna, something the company sets great values upon, as
Gavlegårdarna prioritises good health throughout the whole of people’s working lives. A large proportion of our employees value our health and well-being program-mes highly.
The company has both its own staff club and trained health promoters to encou-rage a healthy lifestyle through a variety of activities.
Gavlegårdarna has actually been awarded a health diploma for its deliberate and structured work on employee health and well-being. The company’s wellness hour and its fitness allowance are both widely used by the employees, which is very good because many of them have a job that is both physically and mentally rather strenuous.
Good health for
the whole working life
Many tenants are also happy when summer workers take their places in the surroundings outdoors. “It's wonderful when our courtyard looks so neat and tidy,” is a common comment.
there aren’t too many jobs out there for people aged under 18. Our sum-mer jobs run for two periods of four weeks each. The youngsters work from 7am to 4pm every weekday and their assignments include jobs such as weeding, painting, and oiling wooden planks, as well as clearing up and keeping our residential areas neat and tidy. For many of the sum-mer workers, this means that they help to make the area they actually live in look better.
The surveys that are comple-ted by the summer-working young people give high marks, even though the jobs themselves can often be quite hard work. This was especially the case in 2014, when the tempera-ture for long periods of the working day was over 30 degrees.
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Indicator Unit 2012 2013 2014
Company’s employees Qty 194 191 190
Form of employment Full-time % 96 96 96
Part-time % 4 4 4,7
Until further notice % 98 98 96
Seasonal % 2 2 3,6
Age Women 18–29 yrs 4 3 4
30–44 yrs 11 13 11
45–54 yrs 19 19 17
55–64 yrs 13 14 15
65+ yrs 7 0 9
Total 54 49 56
Men 18–29 yrs 8 6 7
30–44 yrs 19 36 17
45–54 yrs 42 53 35
55–64 yrs 52 46 58
65+ yrs 19 1 17
Total 140 142 134
Special employment, salaried Trainee Qty 16 16 13
Distribution of average monthly salary (MD’s salary excluded) Office workers, male
SEK/month
35,458 37,874 38,028
Office workers, female
SEK/month
29,683 30,682 30,461
Blue-collar workers, male
SEK/month
24,289 24,472 25,581
Blue-collar workers, female
SEK/month
22,706 23,203 24,131
Staff training costs – course fees Total SEK/ employee
12,228 9,584 11,395
Staff training time per employee per year Hours 32 32 32
Absence from work Total % 3.26 3.10 2.54
Proportion absent from work because of: Work-related accidents
% - - -
Proportion of employees who are happy in their work % - - -
Is there a health and safety at work policy? Yes/No Yes Yes Yes
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European Housing Network, Eurhonet, is a network of almost 30 public housing companies from England, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden. Within Eurhonet, there is a strong will to work towards a sustainable so-ciety where the impact on our shared environment is minimised through awareness and the implementation of active measures.
www.eurhonet.eu
FranceEurhonet
Germany
England
Italy
Sweden
Delphis – Paris
FSM – Melun
Habitat 62/59/Picardie – Calais
Le Foyer Rémois – Reims
bauverein AG – Darmstadt
BWG Bielefeld – Bielefeld
DOGEWO 21 – Dortmund
GBG Mannheim – Mannheim
Gewoba-Bremen – Bremen
GWG München – München
PRO POTSDAM – Potsdam
Bolton at Home – Bolton
ALER Brescia – Brescia
ALER Milano – Milano
ATC Torino – Torino
Arte – Genova
IACP – Bari
IPES Bolzano – Bolzano
Bostadsbolaget – Göteborg
Familjebostäder – Stockholm
Gavlegårdarna – Gävle
Mimer – Västerås
Helsingborgshem- Helsingborg
Hyrebostäder – Norrköping
Stångåstaden – Linköping
VätterHem – Jönkoping
ÖrebroBostäder – Örebro
© AB Gavlegårdarna, 2015.Production: Baringo reklam & kommunikation, in collaboration with AB Gavlegårdarna. Photography: Albin Bogren, Jana Damröse, AB Gavlegårdarna, and others. Printing: Gävle Offset AB.
DefinitionsRenovationThis concept refers to flats that were, during the year, affected by major mainte-nance work, renovation, refurbishment or retrofit measures. Renovation is defined as changing a building, part of a building, or an installation into a state that is, from a functionality perspective, comparable to the condition of new. The concept of “renovation of flats” includes the replace-ment of waste water downpipes, so-called “re-lining”, improvements made to seals in the bathrooms and kitchens, new kitchen cabinets, etc. Normal maintenance, such as wallpapering, painting, carpet replacement, and the replacement of individual sanitary products, is not included.
Operating costsOperating costs refer to operational, admi-
nistrative and overall business costs.
Definition of renewable energy
Renewable energy means a source of en-ergy that is constantly renewing itself and, as far as we can tell today, will not run out in the foreseeable future. Fossil fuels are not considered to be renewable. It is true that certain types of fossil fuel are renewable, but the process takes a very long time; many millions of years. Furthermore, they are being used today at a rate far greater than that at which they are being renewed. Nuclear power is not considered to be rene-wable either, since its production is based on finite resources. From the sustainability perspective, it is of critical importance whether energy is, or is not, renewable. Solar energy, biofuels, hydropower and wind power are all renewable energy
sources. Stored energy (fossil fuels) such as oil, coal, gas and uranium are not renewable energy sources. This means that electricity can be considered to be renewable energy when it is produced in hydro or biomass power plants, but not when it is produced in nuclear power plants or power plants driven by oil or coal.
Other renewable sources of energy:
• Solar energy – solar cells, solar heating, solar panels
• Wind power – wind farms, wind turbines
• Hydropower – salt and wave power, tidal power, ocean thermal power
• Terrestrial power – heat pumps, underground heating, geothermal heating, water heat exchangers
• Bioenergy – fuel pellets, biofuel
AB GavlegårdarnaBox 456, SE-801 06 Gävle, Sweden
Street address: S. Kungsvägen 25, GävleTel: +46-(0)26-17 27 00 | Fax: +46-(0)26-17 28 00
[email protected] | www.gavlegardarna.se
