Sofia Gellar

Sofia Gellar is Group Vice President of HR, Communications & Sustainability at Munters. As a leader and mother of three children, she is particularly keen for Munters to have a strong sustainability agenda and sow hope for the future.

What does sustainability mean to you?

The first thing that pops up when you Google "sustainability definition" is from 1987 and the UN Brundtland Commission. Then they defined sustainability as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Thirty years have passed since then and we must act faster to make a change. We are definitely facing challenging times and it is even more important how we live our lives today if we want to have a healthy future for our children and planet.

At Munters, sustainability is not a separate agenda. It’s an integral part of our business. It's part of how we design our products and services. It's part of how we run our business. Every day, we work to make our products and supply chain more sustainable and our workplace safer and more diverse. We want to make a difference for our employees, customers and the communities where we operate. I’m very proud to be part of this journey.

How do you contribute to a more sustainable Munters?

At Munters, we have a sustainability agenda that consists of eight goals. They cover the areas of resource efficiency, responsible business practices and people & society. Last year we began to define new and more aggressive short- and long term objectives and KPI's for each of these areas. Now it's time to take the next step.

This year, for example, we will establish a process for reporting our greenhouse gas emissions. As part of this, we will collect data on our various emission sources at our production facilities around the world.

Providing a safe work environment is another important part of our sustainability work and a top priority for us. We have therefore partnered with DuPont Sustainable Solutions to improve our safety record.

Finally, I'm proud to announce that we will introduce a compensation scheme that will be linked to our sustainability goals. Through the Long-Term Incentive Program (LTIP)*, we will evaluate how well we as a company increase the share of renewable energy in our factories, female leaders in our workforce and suppliers who sign our code of conduct.

How do you contribute to a more sustainable world?

Children are our future and I have three of my own. It’s very important for me to discuss and share thoughts about all aspects of sustainability with them. I also think it’s important to not lose hope and show that even small things counts. For example, take the bike instead of the car, recycle and choose certified organic/sustainable products whenever possible. 

Curious to find out how we work with sustainability? Read more here.

*The Long-Term Incentive Program is a compensation scheme for senior executives and key employees decided by the Board and approved at the Annual General Meeting.