Putting sustainability at the heart of Scania Top Team
10 APRIL 2025
This year’s Scania Top Team competition is once again embedding sustainability learning into its practical training activities for service technicians. The aim is to engage them all as sustainability change agents through their everyday work, says Maria Jobenius.
Scania Top Team has once again placed sustainability at the heart of its focus activities. Each of the five focus stations at the regional finals will address key aspects of sustainable practices.
And with good reason. Scania’s global family of service technicians are on the front line, advising and helping customers with their vehicles. If we can engage our service technicians, it’s a sure way to get the message out there to help make the sorts of everyday, small but fundamental changes that can drive sustainability forward.
The five focus Top Team stations are as follows:
- Sustainability in Workshop Operations – Reducing waste, managing energy use, and adopting circular economy principles within daily service tasks.
- Customer-Focused Decarbonisation – Practical solutions such as wheel alignment and air deflector adjustments that improve fuel efficiency and cut emissions.
- Risk awareness in the workplace – Enhancing safety in workshops through real-time hazard identification and preventive measures.
- Employee well-being – Addressing topics like stress and sleep quality, ensuring a holistic approach to social sustainability.
- Sustainability Dialogue – Engaging technicians in discussions about their role in sustainability, gathering insights into their perspectives, and shaping future initiatives.
“These stations ensure that technicians engage with sustainability in a hands-on way, rather than through theoretical discussions or corporate messaging,” says Maria Jobenius, sustainability expert at Scania, who is coordinating the sustainability aspects of Top Team.
“They’re not simply exercises, either; they’re immersive learning experiences. For example, previous editions of Top Team have included live emergency response drills, where participants had to react to simulated workplace accidents. Taking this approach ensures that sustainability is not just understood, but felt and practised.”
Tailored competitions for global relevance
However, sustainability challenges vary across Scania’s global markets and that is reflected in how the various national competitions are set up. After all, what matters in Europe—such as transitioning to electric vehicles (EVs)—may not yet be on the daily agenda in parts of the world where EV sales are still limited. Likewise, workshops in the southern hemisphere may prioritise cooling systems and even certain personal health aspects, whereas in the north, the likes of managing vehicle heating systems may be more pressing.
Therefore, the national-level Top Team competitions are being adapted to their specific local circumstances. It’s only when the technicians reach the regional finals later in 2025 that the focus will shift to broader, globally relevant sustainability themes.
“In this way we can ensure that all the participants engage with meaningful and applicable sustainability content,” explains Maria.
Service technicians, but also change agents
As well as the longstanding core goals of testing and celebrating the great abilities of our service technicians, this edition’s Top Team has deepened emphasis, by seeking to equip them with the knowledge and confidence to influence sustainability beyond their workshops.
“Technicians interact directly with customers and that makes them powerful ambassadors for sustainability,” says Maria. They can get the message across that by improving operational efficiency, reducing waste, and lowering emissions, businesses benefit financially while contributing to a more sustainable future.
Scania’s deeper commitment to learning and engagement
Scania has long been an industry leader in corporate sustainability initiatives, but Maria says what sets us apart is our commitment to employee-driven change.
“Events like Scania Top Team and Climate Day serve as platforms for real action, not just awareness,” she explains. “Climate Day 2023 engaged 38,000 employees worldwide, asking them: What can we do in our team to reduce emissions?
“This participatory approach mirrors Top Team’s mission: we’re embedding sustainability into real-world tasks to make it a practical, day-to-day responsibility for service technicians rather than treating it as a box-ticking exercise. Then the technicians can become the change agents we need to drive the shift to a more sustainable transport industry.”