”It makes me really proud”
Culture drives progress. Ulrika Andersson, HR Manager, sees a shared set of values, embodied in "The Green Bag", as the foundation that keeps teams collaborative, engaged, and proud to grow together.
When Ulrika Andersson talks about Emballator, she starts with culture, not charts. As HR Manager for Emballator, she follows the company’s growth from close range: new sites, new colleagues and a steadily expanding European presence.
Ulrika joined four years ago, stepping into what she calls “a company with ambitious plans and a very strong customer focus.” Since then, Emballator has acquired new sites and grown at a fast pace, something that can strain any organisation. Yet Ulrika keeps hearing the same thing everywhere she travels: “When I meet partners and prospects across Europe, I always hear that my colleagues are collaborative andvery easy to work with. It really makes me proud.”
Power of the green bag
Asked what enables that consistency, Ulrika doesn’t hesitate: “We’re fortunate to have an owner with a very strong sense of values and a very clear idea of what good, sustainable business practice looks like.”
She is referring to the Green Bag, Herenco’s value model and the foundation for Emballator’s Code of Conduct. “The Green Bag is the glue that holds us together, and one of our greatest assets,” she says. “It’s non-negotiable. It’s what makes us Emballator.”
The Green Bag ties together four essential corner stones: customer focus, employees, profitability and society. “It’s a simple but powerful model,” Ulrika adds. "Customers come first, but we can only support them if we as an employer have the right conditions. When that clicks, we create profitability, which enables us to take responsibility for society and future generations. It all connects."
What truly differentiates Emballator, she argues, is that the Green Bag is not a set of empty words on a slide. “These values are real, tangible tools.You’ll find the physical Green Bag in meeting rooms, and a printed key-fob version on every table where decisions are made. It’s a constant reminder of who we are and how we work.”
A decentralised business with shared values
The Green Bag provides the shared foundation, but Emballator’s structure gives teams the freedom to act. “We believe in a decentralised model,” Ulrika explains. “Every site has its own managing director. They’re close to their people and their customers. That creates engagement and a sensitivity to the local market that’s crucial.”
This balance shapes the culture: strong, long-term values paired with curiosity, innovationand local ownership. “We have a very stable foundation,” Ulrika says, “and that’s exactly what lets us explore the future of packaging together with our customers.”
Warm heart, cool head and clean hands, the leadership compass within the Green Bag, appears often in her work. “It comes up in almost every leadership discussion,” she says. “It reminds us to act with empathy, to stay factual, and to always do things the right way.”
For Ulrika, this is also why Emballator consistently comes across as collaborative and easy to work with: “It doesn’t matter where we operate. Our business practices stay the same and that strengthens our ability to act as one company.”
Growing people as seriously as the business
Inside the organisation, this philosophy is practical rather than symbolic. “We invest in people,” Ulrika says. “That’s one of our big secrets, if there is one.”
Leadership programmes, development plans and internal mobility are part of everyday life. “If you have the drive, there are real opportunities to grow here. Many of our colleagues have built entire careers inside Emballator.”
Tools like Winningtemp, a regular pulse survey, help teams stay on track. “Every three weeks we get a temperature check,” she explains. “If engagement drops somewhere, we act early. It’s a way to listen, continuously.”
Local activities, from annual sports days to team-based ‘feel-good’ budgets, strengthen the sense of belonging. “People perform best when they feel safe,” Ulrika says. “When that’s in place, they dare to stretch and challenge old truths.That’s exactly what we want.”
The combination of a warm, people-centred culture paired with ambition and innovation is something she does not take for granted. “It’s a unique mix,” she says. “And it’s real. You feel it when you walk into our sites. People say hello. People help each other. It’s not rocket science, but it’s really powerful when it resonates.”
