With sustainability legislation rolling out around the world, movers must ensure their businesses comply with the new rules – and the expectations of clients, too. Seamus Conlan, ESG Lead at MW Relocation discusses the changes and highlights why the Swiss industry is setting the tone for socially conscious moving.
‘Swiss people place great importance on social sustainability,’ says Seamus Conlan, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Lead at Switzerland-based mover MW Relocation (pictured). ‘Our company mirrors this standard.’
Conlan adds that while most businesses want a sustainable mover, expectations can vary. ‘For example, sustainability is generally important for American and Swiss clients. The former want it to happen; the latter expect it as a matter of course.
‘Most Swiss movers naturally do their part for sustainability – it’s the Swiss way of doing business, and we are a Swiss company. Most clients appreciate our push to be plastic-free and our use of 100 per cent recycled and sustainable materials. To do otherwise would probably cost us business.’
When it comes to recruitment, Conlan says that rather than ‘playing the DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) game,’ the company recruits ‘on merit and works hard work to create a great workplace through mutual respect.’ He adds that 40 per cent of the company’s team is female, and 25 per cent are from minority backgrounds. ‘Our founder, Mark Muss, has a French mother and a German father and was raised in Glasgow. There’s no tolerance for intolerance after that!’
Conlan says that despite sustainability requirements needing additional resources and effort, there has been very little pushback against the extra demands.
‘Where the cost of being sustainable is an issue, we find this comes from the lower segment of the industry, where price is king and nothing else matters,’ he says. ‘For us, quality is king, and we – like many Swiss movers – do not engage in a race to the bottom.
‘We’re not in the business of making a financial loss on an engagement. Experience shows that if price is the only important factor to a customer, then that customer is often a problematic one.’
MW’s inclination towards sustainability stems from the fact that almost all employees have children, says Conlan. ‘It would be nice to leave a cleaner and better world for our kids. For this to happen, everyone has to play their part.’
For the company, this means several things: increasing efficiency and reducing waste – which also leads to higher professional standards and saving money – as well as maintaining a high level of social sustainability. ‘This runs through our company, from the way we treat our team members with good wages and working conditions, to the way we support Swiss companies with local sourcing wherever possible, and the way we deal with partner companies, competitors, and our customers,’ says Conlan.
‘If we are sustainable, then it means our business will still be there tomorrow,’ he says. ‘Sustainability isn’t anything new. Good companies have always done this, except now the terms are being standardised, and metrics are being created to allow companies to be measured and improve.’
MW Relocation’s specific sustainability goals and achievements include:
- To improve its EcoVadis score every year (the company missed ‘Silver’ by three points last year) to obtaining Platinum within six years.
- The elimination of all plastics by the end of 2025, except for anti-static bubble wrap for electronic equipment and pallet wrapping. The company is looking at alternatives for both, such as corn-starch wrapping.
- Moving to 100 per cent recycled packing materials and recycling all used boxes and packing materials – for example, turning them into netted or shredded packing materials.
- Replacing all its lights with low-energy versions, a goal achieved this year.
- Using 100 per cent ISPM 15-certified wood from sustainably grown Swiss plantations in all its crates. (‘It costs more, but we feel it’s the right thing to do,’ says Conlan.)
- Using video surveys where possible and, when a surveyor is required, traveling in electric vehicles – with 64 per cent of the electricity from renewable sources, the norm across Switzerland. ‘We’re working on getting that to more than 80 per cent within three years,’ says Conlan.
More than anything, the company aims to achieve a positive impact on society, says Conlan, by continuing to invest in its people and local companies. It is also formalising and developing its relationships with several charitable organisations it is already engaged with.
MW Relocation’s Geneva office became a FIDI Affiliate in November 2023, achieving Top Performer status in their 2024 audit – the highest level a company can achieve in its FAIM audit. The company’s Zurich office became a branch affiliate in November 2024.
