PRESS RELEASE 11. November 2022 ‒ Brabrand, Denmark
Black Friday is history in Silvan. For the third year in a row, Black Friday is replaced with Green Weekend, where five percent of the company’s revenue is donated to Plant et Træ. To this date, Silvan has donated 23.500 trees to afforestation and established 54 orchards in kindergartens.
In 2020, Silvan first phased out all printed flyers, saving 134,000 kilometres of paper annually. In the same year, Black Friday was replaced by Green Weekend as an alternative for consumers who wants to protect the environment. This means that customers will not experience heavily reduced prices in Silvan during this period, which is otherwise customary. Instead, the customer will support the organisation Plant et Træ with 5% of the purchase, when shopping for projects in the home that was planned anyway.
As a result of the initiative, Plant et Træ has received more than DKK 1.4 million from Silvan in previous years. In 2020, the donation went to create orchards in 54 kindergartens, and last year it went to afforestation, where approximately 23,500 new trees were planted.
– We are proud of the collaboration with Plant et Træ. It is fantastic to support the mission of helping children find joy in nature by planting trees. Green Weekend has been a success for the past two years, and we look forward to continuing the collaboration and contributing to nature once again, says Rasmus Kjærgaard, CSO in Silvan.
A sustainable organisation
The collaboration with Plant et Træ stems primarily from a desire to contribute to a greener future for the coming generations. This matches Plant et Træ’s mission that all children should experience planting trees and watching them grow. Furthermore, there is also an increased focus on making Silvan a more sustainable business.
– At Silvan, we are aware of taking a sustainability responsibility. We constantly review our operation and product range as well as pushing boundaries of what is possible within our industry. That is why we out phased printed flyers and have replaced Black Friday with Green Weekend, says Klaus Dolmer, CEO in Silvan.
In the work to minimize the consumption of resources, Silvan has implemented environmentally friendly shopping bags and uses environmentally friendly packaging for shipments from the web shop. A greener product line called “Skabt med omtanke” has also been introduced. To support biodiversity, the retail chain has also chosen to let the grass grow wild around their stores, wherever possible.
– All initiatives, large and small, contribute to the goal of achieving a business as green as possible. There is still some way to go, but all changes matter, says Klaus Dolmer.
Green Weekend takes place in all Silvan stores and on Silvan.dk from 25-27. November 2022
Silvan is a leading Danish do-it-yourself (DIY) retail chain, which was established in 1874. Silvan mainly serves private customers through 42 DIY stores and an online shop in Denmark. Silvan's stores are located both in the cities and in the suburbs. The product offering includes not only all classic DIY products such as building materials and gardening equipment, but also home improvement and smart home items. Many of them with a special attention on sustainability (“Skabt med omtanke”). In recent years, the focus has been gradually expanded towards more customer comfort and customer service. Convenience services such as sawmill, color toning, free rental of cargo bicycles as well as trailers, tool rental, key replacement, and parcel pick-up, etc. have been expanded and are an integral part of the value proposition. www.silvan.dk
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