TIEDOTE: Tekoäly vastuullisuus­johtamisen avuksi

A one-of-a-kind enterprise software tool has been developed to help companies in the consumer retail sector to manage their sustainability. The software was created by Infine, a Finnish sustainability technology company. The first to use the software is R-kioski – a convenience store chain operating as a part of Reitan Convenience that is a leading convenience store chain in Scandinavia and the Baltics – which is advancing the sustainability of its product range.

At last, consumer retailers will have a view of the sustainable development of their entire product range and how to manage their sustainability objectives. The sustainability assessment will be carried out on a science-based basis and source material will also be available by request. The software is a result of five years of development, during which Infine created a sustainability assessment model for textiles, food and simple household products.

The development of the sustainability assessment model has been made in cooperation with the Sustainability Panel, an established group of Finland's top experts in the field of sustainability by assessing products for the "Finland's most sustainable product" competition organized by Infine. The software will also include best practices in corporate governance and sustainability reporting and planning features.

"Until today, the generation of sustainability information has been mainly an expert's job. New ways of using automation and smart technologies are essential to enable companies to drive sustainability across their business at a reasonable cost," says Professor Minna Halme, Chair of the Sustainability Panel.

The AI-powered software considers nine dimensions of sustainability: climate change, biodiversity, water use, circular economy, environment, human rights, labour rights, business ethics and promotion of sustainable consumption. The software combines existing product information with numerous sustainability databases and research data.

R-kioski partnered with Infine in the development of the software. "I believe that before today, such an accurate view of sustainability has never been available. Not only does the software enable us to manage the sustainability of our portfolio and all our sustainability work, but it also provides us with the data we need for sustainability reporting," says Ann-Charlotte Schalin, Sustainability Manager at R-kioski.