The Better Living Program
The Better Living Program is a 11-year action plan by Electrolux that aims to shape better and more sustainable living around the world. Its focus is an evolving list of 100 bold actions that we pledge to undertake by 2030. These actions represent our commitment to the four clear targets we have defined across the categories of Better Eating, Better Garment Care, Better Home Environment and Better Company.
100 Actions
The centrepiece of the Better Living Program is a list of actions that we are committed to implementing over 11 years. The list will develop over time: by 2030, it will contain 100 actions - each of them to helping to steer us towards our four main targets.
The actions include collaborations with partners, industry experts, respected change-makers - even other brands - around the globe. Because it´s impossible to spark sweeping change without looking beyond ourselves.
2030 Targets
Better Eating
We aim to inspire more people to eat in a way that benefits both people and planet. This means helping to improve the nutritional value of what people eat while showing how enjoyable it can be to incorporate more sustainable ingredients - particulary plant-based options. We also want to help reduce food waste in every way we can.
2030 Target: Make sustainable eating the preferred choice.
Better Garment Care
By modemising care technology and inspiring better care habits for all fabrics, we aim to prolong the average life of garments while reducing the environmental impact of aftercare by up to half. We also want to contribute to more sustainable fashion consumption models.
2030 Target: Make clothes last twice as long with half the environmental impact.
Better Home Environment
Working towards this target we will accelerate the development of solutions that enable more people to achieve healthier homes in a more sustainable way.
2030 Target: Make homes healthier and more sustainable through smart solutions for air, water and floors
Better Company
Through more responsible production, sourcing and solutions, we aim to make our manufacturing climate neutral while running zero-waste factories. We want to develop our products in line with UN climate action goal and we will seek to offer business models and designs that optimise use of resources.
2030 Target: Make our business climate neutral and circular.
Better living report
A global study that explores consumer attitudes and challenges when it comes to sustainable living.
Better Eating
Food is the single most critical factor when it comes to our health. It is also critical to our planet´s health, with the food industry accounting for a third of global energy consumption and over 20 percent of emissions*. All the more shocking, then, that 30% of the food we buy is thrown away**, even though one-ninth of the world is going to sleep hungry each night***. That is why we want to help people make better eating choices in ways that are effortless and enjoyable.
* Source: UN SDG, 2018
** Source: UN SDG, 2018
*** Source: Food Aid Foundation
2030 Target: Make sustainable eating the preferred choice
We aim to inspire people to eat, source and handle food in a way that benefits both people and planet - without sacrificing any enjoyment.
Focus Areas
To guide us towards our target, we will seek to drive product innovations, educate consumers, undertake further research, and form meaningful partnerships. These are the things we aim to focus on for Better Eating:
- Reduce food waste in every way we can
- Inspire more plant-based eating
- Minimize nutrition loss in foods
- Improve the experience of eating sustainably through enhanced tastes, textures and colours
- Make it easy to implement all of these in everyday life
"We always try to find better solutions for food preservation. But sustainable eating is also about changing behavior. It´s about taking small steps for a bigger cause."
Hanna Nykänen
Food Preservation Expert. Electrolux, Sweden
Better Garment Care
Over the past 20 years, we have quadrupled the number of garments we go through*. Compounding the issue is the fact that 90% of our clothes are thrown away before they need to be**. Part of the problem is fast fashion - another is aftercare. Due to poor, outdated laundry habits, the lifespan of garments is diminishing. With the fashion industry being the fourth largest polluter in the world***, it´s time we changed the way we consume and care for our clothes.
* Source: Fashion Revolution
** Source: AEG Care Label Project
*** Source: Measuring Fashion, Global Impact Study 2018
2030 Target: Make clothes last twice as long with half the environmental impact
By demonstrating better garment care, we aim to help people extend the wearability of their clothes while halving the environmental footprint of their aftercare.
Focus Areas
To guide us towards our target, we will seek to drive product innovations, educate consumers, undertake further research, and form meaningful partnerships. Our focus areas for Better Garment Care are:
- Prolong the lifetime of garments by modernising care technology and care habits
- Reduce the environmental impact of garment care
- Enable care for all fabrics
- Contribute to more sustainable fashion consumption models
"We need to see what´s already here as our primary resources - rather than continuing to feed the beast."
Orsola de Castro
Fashion Industry Innovator. Fashion Revolution, United Kingdom
Better Home Environment
Poor air quality has become a widespread risk to human health. According to the UN, 92% of people live in places where pollution exceeds recommended limits. While we spend much of our time indoors - on average, about 16 hours a day* - this only makes matters worse. Due to inadequate ventilation, the concentration of harmful pollutants indoors can often be up to five times higher than outdoors*. This doesn´t have to be the case. And we can undertake efforts to improve people´s wellbeing at home.
* Source: BEAMA - My health
2030 Target: Make homes healthier and more sustainable through smart solutions for air, water and floors
Working towards this target we will accelerate the development of solutions that enable more people to achieve healthier homes in a more sustainable way.
Focus Areas
Working towards this target, Electrolux will accelerate the development of solutions that enable more people to achieve healthier homes in a more sustainable way. This may include:
- Developing sophisticated air and floor care solutions, powered by digital technology.
- To optimize the indoor environment, as well as being a driving force for more resource-efficient appliances with a reduced climate impact.
"The indoor quality has worsened from 2 to 5 times, compared to the past."
Monica Celotto and Fiorella Trivillin
Air Quality & Sustainability Innovators. Electrolux Italy
Better Company
When our future depends on the choices we make today, we must all do our part. That doesn´t just apply to individuals. At Electrolux, to shape living for the better, we are determined to shape our company for the better. We need to look at what we are doing when it comes to production, such as how our factories operate and what materials we´re choosing, as well as how we can optimise product lifetimes and ensure appliances are being used correctly for maximum resource efficiency.
2030 Target: Make our business climate neutral and circular
We aim to make our factories waste-free and fully climate neutral while developing products that maximise efficiency when it comes to energy and other resources.
Focus Areas
To guide us towards our target, we will seek to drive product innovations, educate consumers, undertake further research, and form meaningful partnerships. Our focus areas for Better Company are:
- Make manufacturing climate neutral
- Run zero-waste factories
- Develop our products in line with UN climate action goal
- Offer business models and designs that optimise use of resources
"In the future, I think that we will look back at this time as a pivotal moment. And when I look back, I want to see it as a moment that made us change for the better."
Jonas Samuelson
Electrolux CEO & President
Introduction
What is believed as a sustainable approach to food?
Minimising food waste is believed to be the most sustainable approach to food where 36% of the respondents rank it as one of three actions to sustainable food. Eating seasonal and homegrown food comes second and third as the most sustainable approaches to food. Only 18% of the respondents say that eating plant-based food is the most sustainable approach.
A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of foods derived from plants, including vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and fruits, and with few or no animal products (Wikipedia)
How do people act?
Minimizing food waste is the most common sustainable behavior, 53% of the respondents say they practice it in their everyday life. Only one in four eat a plant-based diet.
What are the gaps within taste?
Consumers ‘ambition to limit their food waste is high but somehow they fail to take action. 32% of respondents want to lower their food waste compared to today. However, 60% throw out food once a week or more often. The most common reason for discarding food is passed before date and that fresh food goes bad too quickly. The green gap for plant based eating is small, and only 18% of respondents say they wish to eat more plant-based food. Main barriers for doing so are a fear of not getting enough nutrition from a plant-based diet, missing the flavour and consistency of animal products and not staying full after a meal.
The green gap for plant based eating is small, and only 18% of respondents say they wish to eat more plant-based food. Main barriers are a fear of not getting enough nutrition from a plant-based diet, and not staying full after a meal.
Only 1 in 5 believe plant-based eating as the most effective way to sustainable food practices. In contrast, approx. 30% of global climate emissions coming from production of food (source: Climate Change and Land IPCC Special Report, 2019).
What is believed as a sustainable approach to care?
5 out of 10 say they lack knowledge on sustainable practices within garment care. Yet 69% are aware that increasing the lifespan of garments is an effective sustainable practice. When asked to define sustainable garment care, respondents mention washing full loads and use water efficient machines.
How do people act?
How we take care of our clothes is largely based on habit, and only 40% of respondents actively try to extend the lifetime of their clothes. Only 48% make sure to always wash full loads, which indicates room for improvement within this area. Clothes are washed because of bad smell or stains, or simply due to a love for freshly washed clothes. Choosing to wash at lower temperatures is not as common as only 1 in 3 actively practice this behavior, despite the fact that washing detergents often are as effective at lower temperatures.
What are the gaps within care?
The largest gap within care is that respondents say that they want to use more energy efficient machines, at the same time, the gap for washing at lower temperatures is one of the smallest gaps where only 14% want to lower the temperature more often. The main barriers to lower the temperature is the habit to follow label instructions, and believing that you cannot get rid of stains at lower temperatures. And only 1 in 4 believe lowering the temperature to be more sustainable.
What is perceived as the cause to indoor air pollution?
Maintaining indoor air quality is a priority for respondents, where 4 out of 5 mention air quality and cleanliness as two of the most important factors for well-being at home. Still only 39% feel they are empowered to improve their indoor air quality.
Half of respondents claim to be aware of the causes of indoor air pollution, and 41% believes that vacuuming has a negative effect on indoor air quality. The worst pollutants are believed to be indoor smoking, pesticides and hair or body spray.
How do people act to improve indoor air quality?
The most common actions to improve air quality at home is airing out and vacuuming, despite 41% of respondents claiming that vacuuming contributes to indoor air pollution. Few people think that they are empowered to improve their indoor air quality at all.
What are the gaps within wellbeing?
The largest gap within wellbeing lies in respondents wishing to use air purifiers to reduce allergens and pollutants indoors.
To access the full report, please contact kamilla.dala@electrolux.com.
A century of reinventing wellbeing in the home
Electrolux was founded on the idea of making vacuum cleaners lighter and easier to use, promoting them around the world as a tool to improve health and hygiene. From founder Axel Wenner-Gren’s innovation to put runners on the Model V vacuum cleaner, to the launch of the world’s first robotic vacuum, this journey continues.
A century of reinventing fabric care
The washing machine has been dubbed the greatest invention of the industrial revolution, because of the impact it had on women’s role in society. With contributions including the revolutionizing “floating wing” washing machine in the 1940s, Electrolux has enabled consumers to spend time on the things that really matter, whether it’s education or spending more time with their family.
A century of reinventing taste experiences
To create enjoyable eating experiences has always been the driving force behind our innovations in the kitchen. Throughout our history, we’ve drawn from our unique professional heritage to make it happen. The groundbreaking Assistent food processor and CombiSteam ovens are just a couple of examples.
The Electrolux Assistent: a distinctive, Nordic design classic
In 1939, Electrolux gave Swedish designer and engineer, Alvar Lenning, the task of converting a professional restaurant kitchen device into a smaller, more compact gadget that would be convenient for domestic use. Few would have suspected that the Electrolux Assistent food processor would become one of the company’s most durable products, praised both for its sturdy reliability and design.
The revolutionary model V
Model V had runners which allowed it to skid across the floor of the home to effectively suck up dust and dirt, even though it was smaller and significantly lighter than its upright predecessors. It was Wenner-Gren himself who had come up with the idea of the runners. The fact that the appliance was a worthy representative of the new industrial design of the era, in the spirit of German architect Peter Behrens, did not hurt.
A world first: ”The round tin”
The D10 dishwasher, nicknamed “The round tin”, is launched in 1959. It is the world’s first countertop dishwasher. At a time when most kitchens were not adapted to housing dishwashers, the could be installed in most kitchens without the need for major kitchen renovation.
