Innovation and strategy for sustainability

Antrop hjälpte Avanza med innovationsarbetet och med att utforska sina möjligheter inom hållbarhetsområdet. F

Avanza has focused extensively on the customer experience and being at the leading edge with smart savings solutions. The result has been satisfied customers and plenty of awards. But they also wanted to set their sights on sustainability even higher, and make their efforts visible both internally and to customers.

Innovation for new ideas in sustainability

It may seem easy to just choose more sustainable forms of savings. But in practice, it can be hard for savers to understand the impact of an investment and how to make a sustainable choice. Avanza has a group of ambassadors for sustainability matters, but most of the work is done by employees from different departments and teams. They had a focus and several ideas for the bank’s initiatives moving forward, but needed help to deepen and specify their sustainability strategy.

They turned to Antrop for help with innovation and to explore the possibilities of sustainability. To quickly and efficiently prepare the new strategy, they also needed support to facilitate the work.

The goal was to prepare decision documents for the management group, emphasizing their work with sustainability. That’s why the delivery was adapted for presentation to the management group, and also visually so that it could be communicated both internally and externally.

Dedicated group at Antrop – ultra-effective workshops; it felt luxurious to hang out at your office; detailed final materials!

Explore, generate ideas and specify

Antrop began the assignment by observing sustainability practices and trends in the finance sector to inspire creativity and innovation within the group. At two huge workshops, we then collaborated on a vision and content for the new sustainability strategy.

The workgroup turned their ideas into specific plans. We used the UN global sustainability goals as our starting point and prioritized the ones that Avanza has the best potential to impact. For each selected focus area, we developed activities, sub-goals, proposed measuring points and a schedule.

 

Engagerat gäng på Antrop – supereffektiva workshops, kändes lyxigt att hänga i era lokaler, välarbetat slutmaterial! Frida Norre, Product Manager, Customer Onboarding. Avanza

A concrete action plan with the next steps

We identified strategic and practical challenges and prioritized the activities. To achieve great results, we also needed to:

• formulate a vision that also contributes to Avanza’s overarching vision
• deepen understanding of the selected focus areas

We compiled the results of the work carried out at our workshops into clear focus areas, with a concrete direction for each one. The material provided support for Avanza to develop an action plan themselves, and to set measurable goals for their work. The action plan is important, because it illustrates the path to the vision and splits the work into different sub-steps. It creates structure and security, and shows who in the organization does what and what support systems should be in place. 

Sustainability strategy creates consensus

After Antrop’s assignment with Avanza, the new vision and strategy have taken root with management. In the run-up to 2020, the sustainability strategy is an important part of Avanza’s progress and the ambitious sustainability work evolved in a clearer, more specific direction with:

• Detailed descriptions of focus areas 
• Proposed measuring points, activities and schedules 
• Responsible individuals to continue the work 
• Simple, visual strategy for internal and external communication

One of the most important factors is the shared view of the sustainability initiatives, which are now anchored in the company. The sustainability group members have become ambassadors for the company’s sustainability vision and strategy, and have taken away knowledge and tools that they’re passing on to their colleagues.

Avanza Bank was founded in 1999 and has built a platform for saving and investments. For several years in a row, they have won the Swedish Quality Index’s (Svenskt Kvalitetsindex, SKI) Most Satisfied Savers and Bank of the Year.