Foamit Group: creating compliant and functional social sustainability infrastructure in an international SME

Abstract

Tiina Partanen, Head of Sustainability, is developing the sustainability infrastructure at Foamit Group by building governance structures and management tools that embed sustainability into daily operations. Under her leadership, Foamit Group, an international circular‑economy‑driven SME, has gained notable international recognition for its sustainability work. One of its units has received the EcoVadis Gold Medal, the second-highest global sustainability rating. Despite these achievements, establishing structures to manage social sustainability, particularly diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), remained challenging. Creating an inclusive environment for a diverse workforce spread across three countries and multiple work shifts required careful planning. Additional challenges emerged when Tiina monitored the implementation of a whistleblowing reporting tool, an important element of the DEI infrastructure mandated by the EU Whistleblowing Directive. The case invites reflection on why formal structures, compliance activities, and digital DEI tools may not yield expected outcomes without complementary practices and human interactions that foster psychological safety.