Nanso Group
interim sustainability manager
Nanso Group is a Finnish brand house founded in 1921, and its iconic brands Nanso and Vogue are among the most recognized and respected in Finland. Nanso Group's strategy will increasingly intertwine with sustainability and integrate sustainability as one of its strategic priorities. Nanso Group selected Hovi Creative as its partner in developing its sustainability framework. Karoliina operated as an outsourced interim sustainability manager from autumn 2022 to summer 2023.
WHAT DOES AN OUTSOURCED SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER DO?
Karoliina led the Nanso team in developing its holistic sustainability framework. For over six months, we worked together with key personnel (including the executive team, marketing, purchasing, and design departments) to:
Create a sustainability strategy
Set sustainability goals and develop a roadmap
Update purchase documents, the Code of Conduct, and supplier agreements
Define more sustainable materials and design models aligned with circular economy principles
Design and execute a sustainability report
Develop sustainability communications for Nanso & Vogue
Conduct an employee survey on sustainability
Involve the staff in defining Nanso Group's values
Create an onboarding guide for Nanso Group's sustainability practices
Conduct training sessions and workshops
"We want to place sustainability at the core of Nanso Group even more strongly, as we believe that the demand for durable and sustainable fashion will continue to grow in the future.
We wouldn’t have been able to put together such a comprehensive initiative on our own, and Karoliina’s project management has been clear and consistent.
As a result, we now have a clear sustainability strategy that we can consistently advance."
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGy
We initiated the development process by assessing Nanso Group's current state of sustainability, gathering stakeholder expectations, and conducting a materiality analysis. Building upon analysis, Karoliina facilitated various workshops that led to the formulation of Nanso Group's sustainability strategy and a comprehensive roadmap. Additionally, we defined three key sustainability themes and established specific goals and metrics to guide their progress.
With these steps taken, Nanso Group now has a clear direction for its sustainability endeavors. With a well-defined sustainability strategy, the path towards further advancing their sustainability efforts becomes clear and accessible.
"As a result of the project, Nanso Group’s sustainability efforts gained a clearer and more solid foundation. The refined foundation enables us to better highlight the topic in Nanso’s communication and marketing.
While Nanso was already perceived as a sustainable brand, its sustainability communication lacked concreteness and self-assurance."
SUSTAINABILITY report
Once the opportunities, risks, goals, and metrics of sustainability were clarified, it is essential to communicate them. The work continued with the conceptualization and development of the sustainability report.
The revamped sustainability report meets the needs of stakeholders, consolidates the sustainability work done in one place, and showcases the advancement of sustainability goals. The visual design of the sustainability report was created by Nanso Group's Art Director, Heidi Wenger.
The result is clear and impactful, and the renewed sustainability report has received positive feedback.
SUSTAINABILITY COMMUNICATION
During the project, we clarified Nanso's core messages on sustainability and identified three main themes for sustainability communication that align with the sustainability strategy. Additionally, we brainstormed and created new sustainability content for Nanso and Vogue's websites. The sustainability pages, launched in April 2023, clearly depict Nanso's sustainability actions and future goals.
Pictures: Nanso 2023