Sustainability at Virta
TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
One of Virta’s core values is striving for a sustainable future. Our mission is to help solve the climate crisis by bringing electric mobility to people’s daily lives and the energy system.
Virta operates in the e-mobility industry, and we believe that electric vehicles are a powerful tool in fighting climate change.
Environmental sustainability is naturally at the forefront, but our efforts don’t stop there. Economic and social sustainability are equally important in achieving a truly sustainable future for the planet and our life on it.
Despite the grandiosity of the challenge, we are committed to making our best effort to change the world for the better.
Sustainability Policy
Virta's Sustainability Policy outlines the company’s view on sustainability, which material topics to focus on, internal goals related to each topic as well as how these goals will be monitored and reached.
The Sustainability Policy will be used to improve the company’s sustainability efforts throughout the organisation.
Sustainability Report
Virta's Sustainability Report includes environmental, social and governance aspects of sustainability and gives you a transparent insight into our work at Virta surrounding sustainability. If you have any questions regarding the report, please contact sustainability@virta.global.
EcoVadis sustainability rating
In the Spring of 2021, Virta underwent its first assessment by EcoVadis and acquired the first EcoVadis scorecard. A second assessment was done in the Summer of 2022 with an 11-point improvement from the year before. In Summer 2023, we renewed our assessment once again and increased our score to 68 points, a 2-point increase. It put the company in the 92nd percentile, and we were yet again awarded a Silver Medal. Please contact us if you want us to share our scorecard.
A yearly assessment will take place in order to track the development of Virta’s sustainability work.
Electric vehicles to the rescue
The so-called electric vehicle (EV) revolution is well underway and presents a valuable step on the way towards an emission-free future.The transportation sector alone is responsible for about a quarter of Europe’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Switching up your petrol or diesel car for an electric one can be part of the solution.The fact is that electric vehicles produce almost 3x less CO2 emissions than fossil fuel vehicles. Essential to keep in mind is that electric cars need to be charged with electricity, and the source of that electricity determines if your EV is or isn’t emission-free.
Smart EV charging & a sustainable energy grid
At Virta, we offer solely smart charging solutions. With smart chargers, the charging time and power can be dynamically balanced remotely, and electric vehicles turn into an effective tool for flexibility – basically, a big battery on wheels if you will. Smart charging allows the charging point owner easy access via the cloud and significantly simplifies the managing of the charging stations. Charging can be started and stopped remotely, and the charger can be rebooted with the click of a button. Smart charging essentially contributes to a healthy and sustainable energy grid. Keeping the grid balanced is crucial when the adoption of EVs rises. And as we know, that is already happening on a large scale.
Energy management solutions
To take things one step further, Virta offers various smart energy management solutions, which help stabilise the energy grid and optimise energy production. Ultimately, such solutions provide a helping hand in the fight against climate change and save our customers energy and extra costs. With energy management, the charging power can be automatically adjusted to the current situation on the energy grid. For example, when the power demand is high overall, charging power can be lowered. Then, when the demand goes down, the charging power increases again. This means that EVs can be charged when energy usage in the grid overall is low, allowing more renewable energy sources to be used to charge the vehicle. It also allows lower energy costs.
ISO 27001 certification
Since June of 2019, Virta has been an ISO 27001-certified company. ISO 27001 is an information security certification. The certification demonstrates that Virta has implemented an information security management system (ISMS) that meets the internationally recognised standard. Virta's ISMS will ensure that strict security controls are in place to protect customer data and ensure secure operation of Virta's products and services. Achieving and maintaining the ISO 27001 certification demonstrates the company's commitment to providing secure products and services.
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people can enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. The 17 SDGs are integrated – action in one area will affect outcomes in others. All development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.
Both governments and companies adapt the SDGs to their own context, in order to reach the goals together. For more information about how we at Virta tie our sustainability work to the SDGs, please see our Sustainability Policy.
Whistleblowing
If you suspect illegal, unlawful or otherwise unethical behaviour by the company, employees, management or stakeholders, you can file a whistleblow report. The external tool Virta uses for whistleblowing ensures anonymity and confidentiality, and the whistleblower is protected from counteractions.
- Illegal actions, in any areas
- Information data security breaches and misconducts
- Discrimination, harassment, inappropriate behaviour
- Unfair and unethical actions
- Actions against the company’s code of conduct, GDPR & Security instructions
- Other actions perceived as misconducts needing to be addressed
PLEASE NOTE that Virta’s whistleblowing tool should only be used to report suspected misconduct by the company, employees, management or stakeholders. If you have a concern about anything else (e.g. invoicing, charging, products or services, jobs, etc.) please visit our Contact page.
Questions about sustainability at Virta?
If you have any questions or comments regarding sustainability at Virta, please contact our Sustainability Manager, Antonia Åkerberg.