Our First Sustainability Report

Titled ‘Our Mackerel Spirit: Navigating the Currents of Sustainable Development as a Family Business in South East Asia’, Jebsen & Jessen Group’s inaugural sustainability report consolidates the Group’s initiatives and milestones in our 30-year sustainability journey and highlights key priorities for the coming years. It includes data-driven insights into the measures we are taking in the areas of economic, environmental, social, governance and family business at both the Group-level and by Regional Business Unit.

The publication makes Jebsen & Jessen the first family business to utilise the Sustainability Indicators for Family Business (SIFB) as a framework for data gathering and reporting. SIFB is a component of the global initiative, ‘Family Business for Sustainable Development’ (FBSD), jointly crafted by the Family Business Network (FBN) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

“I’m immensely proud of how far we’ve come, especially as a family-owned business. I signed the Family Business Sustainability Pledge in 2019 to cement our unwavering focus on providing customers with the utmost sustainability in its wider sense – social, economic, environmental, and institutional – in our products and services,” said Heinrich Jessen, Chairman, Jebsen & Jessen Group.

“With a growing emphasis on corporate social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and ethical business practices over the years, we firmly believe that family businesses, with their enduring values and long-term perspective, are instrumental to sustainable development. Jebsen & Jessen Group is a great example, and with them being the first organisation to utilise the FBSD framework, we hope it will inspire others within the family business community to embark on their sustainability journeys,” said Andrew Bryson, Chief Impact and Innovation Officer, FBN.

Some facts and figures from the report:

• In 2011, Jebsen & Jessen Group became the first industrial company in South East Asia to achieve 100% carbon neutrality under our carbon reduction and offsetting programme.

• In 2021, the Group offset 46,052 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions through three climate protection projects proposed by the South Pole – an accredited carbon offset organisation.

• Jebsen & Jessen Packaging transitioned from using fossil fuels with the installation of a biomass boiler project in Vietnam, reducing our carbon footprint by an estimated 11,440 tonnes a year.