Better hygiene for better health
Improved hygiene is a central focus area in most of what SCA does. Every day, some 500 million people use our hygiene products. The more SCA grows, the more people have an opportunity for improved hygiene. SCA has the knowledge, solutions and ambitions to make a difference.
Simpler everyday life
SCA’s products and services cover all phases of life and benefit both individuals and society as a whole. We are happy to share our knowledge of hygiene, for example, by educating girls about menstruation, or nurses about incontinence.
SCA’s products are available in about 100 countries and we adapt our practices to meet specific market needs. Sometimes social entrepreneurship and new strategies are required in order to operate in certain markets. It is also possible to create a market in regions with more limited purchasing power. For example, SCA sells smaller packages with only one or two products in each package. These packages cost less, which means that more people can afford them. Over time, this results in improved hygiene among new groups.
TARGET
We will make our knowledge about hygiene available to customers and consumers and ensure access to affordable, sustainable hygiene solutions to help them lead a healthy and dignified life. In markets in which we operate we will:
OUTCOME 2015
SCA held the number one or two position in at least one hygiene product segment in about 90 countries.
Around 500 million people used SCA’s products every day.
The hygiene educational programs SCA conducts worldwide reached 2,000,000 people.
We offered a broad portfolio of products ranging from the premium segment to the economy segment.
Dignified elderly care with new technology
Susanne Börjesson with a TENA Identifi product.
The “Tre Stiftelser” residential care facility in Gothenburg in Sweden is developing a new method of customizing continence care that results in a more dignified existence for the elderly, while allowing staff more time for other nursing duties.
The technology was developed by TENA, SCA’s incontinence care brand, and is used at several residential care facilities and institutions. Although TENA Identify appears to be an ordinary incontinence product, it has built-in sensors that record leakage among individuals who are unable to use the toilet by themselves. The volume and time of all leakages are logged for a 72-hour period. The results are then compiled into a report that enables staff to plan the resident’s visits to the toilet, to determine the size of the incontinence product needed and to establish a changing schedule.
“The new technology lets us try out individually customized incontinence products, or to remove the product entirely and provide assisted visits to the toilet instead. In addition to the improved sense of dignity it provides our residents, the technology also allows us more time for rewarding care,” explains Susanne Börjesson, manager of Tre Stiftelser.
Most of the elderly are able to switch to thinner products that are less noticeable and feel smaller. Another advantage is that the elderly can sleep without needing to wake up in the middle of the night to check whether the product requires changing.
Libresse educating girls in Malaysia
The process of developing from a girl into a woman can be challenging. Libresse’s “Discover What Fits Your Body” educational program was designed for primary schools in Malaysia with a focus on girls in the age range when menstruation often begins.
Libresse is visiting schools in major cities across the country to promote the program. Young girls learn about menstruation and the changes that happen in the body during puberty. Each girl receives a starter kit from Libresse, which includes a brochure to help parents speak with their daughters about their bodies and menstruation. During the year, Libresse visited some 160 schools and came into contact with around 40,000 young girls. Libresse and SCA’s feminine care brands Saba and Nosotras conduct similar courses in a number of countries across the globe.
Through its Libresse brand, SCA educated 40,000 young girls in Malaysia about menstruation and what happens to their bodies during puberty.
Better hygiene at work
”We will of course provide the highest hygiene standards at our workplaces,” says Lulu Li.
SCA participates in a global initiative to ensure that the hygiene standard at the company’s workplaces is first rate, regardless of where in the world the plants are located. This involves addressing workplace sanitation and health issues, with a long list of criteria such as increasing the frequency of water-quality tests, better toilet sanitation and improving employees’ awareness of hygiene and sanitation.
“Many of our units are already of a high standard. Naturally, as a hygiene company, we care for our employees and provide the highest standards of hygiene at our workplaces. This is of particular importance in markets that lack clear legislation,” explains Lulu Li, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at SCA.
Good hygiene reduces the risk of waterborne diseases, makes workplaces more attractive for employees, and is also expected to improve productivity. The initiative is linked to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which manages the Wash Pledge project together with some 20 other global companies.
SCA has undertaken to fulfill the requirements of Wash Pledge within three years in all wholly owned facilities throughout the world. Read more at www.wbcsd.org/washatworkplace.aspx.
@SCAeveryday In February, SCA and WSSCC organized a menstrual hygiene program in Haikou, China, in conjunction with Team SCA’s stopover in Sanya. WSSCC trained 30 young girls and several women who, in turn, will continue the programs. Spreading the message is vital for achieving long-term change. #VOR #Sanya #China #hygiene
