"We exist to create elegant, thoughtful and sustainable everyday products." Hey! We’re excited to share our Impact Report for 2023. Who are we? agood company was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, on the principle that we can do better than others before us, and actually – pause for drumroll – be agood company! Since our launch in 2019 we’ve been a Certified B Corporation (with a re-certification score in December 2022 of 95.1 points), because transparency is how we do business. We have a close relationship with our factory partners and our culturally diverse team consists of enthusiastic people located across the globe who enjoy a healthy work + life balance. As a global leader within our field, we continuously push the envelope for sustainable innovation. That’s why we created agood Foundation where a share of the sales of each product supports specific environmental and social causes. Our impact agenda Environmental Responsibility is built into our DNA and is, in many ways, the foundation of our business. It informs the products we make, which partners we work with to make them, what materials we use and how we help manage their end-of-life. However, it is not the only area where we believe our business practices can make a positive contribution to society. We support the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact on Human Rights, Labour, environment and anti-corruption. We therefore believe that Responsible Sourcing, Good Governance and Social Impact all form a part of our 2023 Impact Agenda. In December 2022, we were proud to receive an improvement in our B Corporation Impact Score to 95.1, validating our commitment to doing business the right way. We are socially responsible. With every product we sell, we contribute to a specific charitable program through agood foundation. In 2023 we worked with 6 different charitable partners through agood foundation and we contributed to a number of charitable projects either via direct financial contributions or product donations. We link different product categories to different charity partners, so the level of contribution can vary significantly depending on how successful our sales have been in each category. We support Save the Children through our clothing sales and were able to donate 424 food kits, helping those most in need in a small way. We support Days for Girls through our toilet paper subscription sales and were able to fund 113 Period Poverty kits. We support Malala Fund through our mobile accessory sales and were able to donate $35,997. This contributes to education services which positively impact 12,000 girls. agood company ◣ charity:water In 2023, our largest partnership was with charity:water. They work exclusively with local partners who build sustainable, community-owned water projects. Their partners also facilitate comprehensive water, sanitation, and hygiene programming to protect everyone’s long-term health. 703 million people lack basic access to clean and safe drinking water. Through our sales of water bottles and stationery products, we were able to donate the equivalent of 14,062,700 litres of clean, fresh water. But of course that’s just an intangible number. Which is why we are so pleased that our donations go towards specific water projects. Together, we’ve helped to build 12 water tap stands in Madagascar, providing clean water to local communities in 3 different regions. Getting to this stage isn’t easy and our support helped charity:water establish partnerships with local communities, update feasibility studies for future water systems, select service managers and construction companies, all before construction was initiated. Even though the the water taps are installed, the work is ongoing including water source catchment for the Andramasina system. Responsible Sourcing Regardless of what it costs, we will always pick production materials that have the least environmental impact. We only work with suppliers that we know inside out, to ensure we share the same values and get an intimate understanding of their production techniques. We never ever use harmful industrial chemicals in our production, such as acidic bleach or Bisphenol A plastics. We meticulously identify the potential environmental impact of all our operations and make sure to always compensate for emissions resulting from shipping & travel. Contributing to a responsible supply chain. In 2023, we purchased goods or services from 16 different suppliers, 4 of which were new. We were able to personally visit 12 of our partners to see first hand their ways of working and to witness their general working conditions, spending time with managers and workers as well as factory owners. 7 of our suppliers are based in Europe, with 9 in China. 7 of our suppliers were ISO 9001 certified and 4 were ISO 14001 compliant. We updated our code of conduct, adding that our partners must attain 3rd party approved working standards, such as SMETA or BSCI, within 2024 and to share action plans if necessary. In 2023, 83% of our product purchases were made in Sweden, and 90% of our custom print services happened there too. Our long term objective is to have a manufacturing solution for every one of our product categories within the EU. We are in product development locally for two new categories and will begin a long term project in 2024 to manufacture recycled steel bottles in Sweden. Our Commitment to Inclusivity and Good Governance Supporting an inclusive society. To pack and prepare our products we collaborate with Samhall. Samhall, backed by the Swedish Public Employment Service, empowers individuals with disabilities to join the workforce. State-operated, it provides fulfilling jobs, aiming for 1500 annual transitions to other employers. Specializing in training and matching in areas like cleaning, care, logistics, and manufacturing, Samhall fosters a sustainable, inclusive society. Their approach turns an under-utilized resource—people with disabilities—into proud contributors, shaping a better society for all. In 2023, 30 individuals supported our projects. Building an inclusive company. For us, good governance starts within. How we work together as a team, how we treat each other, our suppliers and our customers. How we build diversity and inclusion throughout the layers of the company. In 2023 we had 21 members of staff (direct employees or full time consultants). 5 were based in the UK, 3 in Serbia, 4 in the Philippines, 1 in Canada and 8 in Sweden. In addition we welcomed 5 interns through the Jobbspranget program, and have now offered 4 people permanent roles via this scheme. 66% of our colleagues are female. 2 colleagues identify as LGBT and 3 of those based in Sweden identify as ethnic minority. At a leadership level we have work to do. 2 (33%) of our leadership team are female and one board member (25%) is female. None of our leadership team or board identifies as LGBT or comes from an ethnic minority background. Listening to our employees and improving together An important part of our company values is to listen to our staff and to react to their needs. We conducted weekly all staff catch ups and implemented monthly Townhall sessions to ensure staff members are informed on company progress, policies and challenges too. We conducted an annual staff survey to capture views and receive valuable feedback and we had a participation rate of 76%. As a result of feedback we improved the healthcare provision and parental leave policy for our staff, introduced quarterly performance reviews, committed to salary and benefits reviews by Q3 2023 and committed to a dedicated staff training budget. Environmental responsibility. Our environmental initiatives can be split into 4 areas: Material Testing Circularity Life Cycle Analysis Carbon Impact These 4 areas underpin our product design principles. We will never use harmful chemicals; we always strive to make our products circular, and easy to recycle; we measure the environmental impact of our products so that we can improve and we track our overall company carbon impact, and compensate accordingly. Independent material testing. The materials we choose to use in our products is incredibly important. And while we work closely with our suppliers so that we build a level of trust with them, it is always advisable to independently test our products to ensure they contain what they should contain, and nothing more! Our partners provide us with material data sheets and verify compliance with relevant industry standards, which of course is a great start. In 2023 we started working with QIMA to independently verify that our products are free from harmful materials and chemicals, and that they comply with all relevant industry standards such as REACH, RoHS and California Prop 65. We tested our phone cases, bottles, soft cover notebooks, hardcover notebooks and wheatgrass pens, which accounts for 91% of our sales. None of our products contained any harmful chemicals and all passed every test conducted. Our phone cases are 100% circular. We see circularity as one of the most important elements in sustainability. The opportunity to re-use other products to make our own, combined with the ability to design circularity into those products so that they themselves can be re-used is key to reducing the reliance on virgin materials. In 2023, 83% of the products we sold were circular and our loop system means there is a process in place to take them back and re-use them. In 2024 we will work on expanding the types of products which can be repurposed into new products and will add a fully circular wallet case for iPhones to our range. We will also explore circularity in our stationery range and will develop circular products for the aviation and hospitality sectors. Life cycle analysis In 2023 we conducted Life Cycle Analysis on our 3 main product categories - phone case, water bottle and notebook - which covers 88% of our sales. The analysis covers raw material procurement and processing, production, distribution and warehousing, and end-of-life and allows us to understand which parts of the process impact the environment the most, and where we should focus our efforts to improve. Our carbon impact. Our LCA studies have allowed us to better understand our carbon footprint even at a product level. Even though we do not yet have an LCA score for every product we can still track our carbon impact across our business. We have used the GHG (greenhouse gas) Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard which provides requirements and guidance for companies like ours to make a GHG emissions inventory. As a disclaimer, we should point out that, outside of the LCA data we use, our report has not been vetted by a 3rd party and our analysis has been conducted based on the data points provided to us by our suppliers. To account for any error in reporting, we have added 10% to our findings and have used this higher figure to calculate our carbon compensation requirements. 2023 carbon footprint report - a detailed review of our emissions The GHG Protocol looks at three different scopes where a company can review its emissions; Scope 1, 2 and 3. First scope The first scope reviews all direct emissions from the activities of the company or from an organization under their control, including: Stationary combustion: Anything in which we ourselves burn fuel = factories we own or control Mobile combustion: Fuel burnt in transportation, meaning company cars if any. This does not include shipping of raw materials or products. Process emissions: Physical or chemical processes that we do such as melting down, moulding in factories that we ourselves own Fugitive emissions: Any leaks we might have of greenhouse gasses such as cooling towers, air conditioning or similar. As we didn’t own or have control over any factories during 2023, nor did we have any company cars, the review of this first scope will leave our emission footprint at a solid zero! Second scope The second scope reviews indirect emissions from purchased energy, like electricity, steam, heat or cooling. To put into context, this is essentially anything we purchase from the grid, for offices and factories. In 2023 we occupied a small space within a larger office and have accounted for the energy consumption for this. Since this office is in Sweden and used electricity supplied by the Swedish grid, which is not fossil fuel derived, the carbon impact is relatively low and our share amounts to 3.7t CO2e. Third scope Scope 3 reviews all other indirect emissions from our activities, occurring from sources that we do not own or control, and this is by far the largest share. The footprint reviewed in this scope includes emissions associated with business travel, but is primarily made up from the impact of the products we buy and sell. In 2023, we made business trips to visit customers in London, Chicago and Germany. Our staff travelled from London, Canada and Serbia for a group session in Sweden and we made several trips to meet with suppliers in China. Overall our business travel contributed 5.5t of CO2e. The next factor was the production of the products we bought, covering raw material sourcing and processing, production and waste management. We analysed the data supplied by each manufacturing partner and calculated a total for production of 74.7t of CO2e. Total scope The final area to impact our carbon footprint is transportation - to bring products from our suppliers to our warehouse, and to deliver products to customers - both individuals buying through our website and business customers buying from us in bulk. Shipments to customers accounted for 157.6 tonnes of CO2e. Shipments of products from our factory partners were much lower, since we are always using the most environmentally conscious transportation methods such as train or sea freight, and added up to 29.4 tonnes. In total, this means that our carbon impact for 2023 was 271 tonnes of CO2e. Scope CO2 Emissions First scope 0t of CO2e Second scope 3.7t of CO2e Third scope - business travel 5.5t of CO2e Third scope - product manufacturing 74.7t of CO2e Shipments to customers 157.6t of CO2e Shipments from factory partners 29.4t of CO2e Total scope 271t of CO2e Our carbon sequestration. Firstly, we account for all the carbon we use. This means the electricity to turn the lights on in our office, the business travel we conducted, the products we manufactured, the transport to bring these to our warehouse, the shipments of those products to our customers, and a contribution to their end of life. Then we added 10% to make sure we covered everything and could safely say we are carbon neutral. Secondly, we prefer to use the term ‘Biological Carbon Sequestration’ rather than ‘Carbon Compensation’. That’s because we invest in a specific biological program to consume over time the carbon we created in 2023. We work with WeForest, specifically supporting a project in the Copperbelt province of Zambia. To cover our 2023 carbon impact + 10%, a total of 298.1t CO2e, we will plant a further 2,000 trees to help restore the incredible Zambian Miombo forests. We think this approach, which focuses on restoring natural, biodiverse habitat, is the most sustainable way to give back. Our goals for 2024/2025 - a mindset of continuous improvement We don’t want to stand still, and join many other companies in striving towards net zero. It’s important to note that carbon neutral and net zero are not the same, and we will place much more focus on reducing carbon emissions as much as possible first, and only offsetting unavoidable, residual CO2 as a last resort. To contribute to this, we will: Develop a phone case with an LCA lower than 100g / CO2e Reduce the carbon footprint caused by shipments to customers by 75t CO2e by 2025 by focusing on more customers closer to home, where we can implement more carbon efficient shipping options Complete Life Cycle Analysis on all of our product categories within 2024, helping identify future areas of improvement Introduce 2 new products made in Europe to reduce inbound shipping emissions Finally we will ensure that our impact reduction strategies are validated and monitored independently by climate partners Broader business improvements While we see action on our climate impact as fundamental to our company strategies, we will also challenge progress in other aspects of our business: Ensure that all our existing suppliers are SMETA (or equivalent) approved within 2024 Ensure any new suppliers are already SMETA approved, before we start working with them Implement the findings from our 2023 staff survey to ensure a happy, healthy and diverse workforce Continue to discuss climate impact at a board level, and look to build further diversity into our board structure through NED roles Strive to improve our B Corp Impact Score at the next assessment, with a target of achieving in excess of 100 points. Our full Impact Report 2023 - get it here