European climate leaders.

Financial Times has listed European Climate Leaders 2022. The list includes European companies that achieved the greatest reduction in their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions between 2015 and 2020. Vaisala has been listed in the top 5 of the list, increasing its ranking from place 14 the previous year.

IPCC’s latest report on climate change highlights the urgency of climate actions and emissions reduction more than ever. Financial Times (FT) brings up the achievements that have been made thus far but also encourages companies to do more.

“Sustainability really is at the core of Vaisala, and it is a great honor to be included on the top of Financial Times’s Climate Leaders list once again. Our ranking last year was 14, which is excellent, but it is a true honor to take place 5 this year. As the latest IPCC report states, climate change is an even more urgent global challenge than we have originally thought. This calls also for actions from the private sector to step up and drive the change for our planet,” said Kai Öistämö, President and CEO, Vaisala.

FT focuses on the reduction of core emissions intensity over the 5-year period. The core emissions include direct greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1) and purchased-energy emissions (Scope 2). The intensity, on the other hand, calculates emissions in relation to revenue. Financial Times’ interactive list shows that Vaisala keeps its top 5 position, whether ranked by emission intensity reduction or total reduction of emissions. Vaisala’s figures on these scales are 41.3% (average reduction of intensity per year) and 91.7% (total reduction).

Vaisala’s Sustainability Manager Marjo Hietapuro commented “Our emission reduction is largely thanks to the fact that Vaisala uses 100% renewable electricity in its facilities globally – a target that we achieved in 2020. We take great measures to reduce our environmental footprint continuously. Now our emission reduction targets will focus especially on Scope 3, that is left out of the Financial Times’ list, and these upcoming targets will be highly ambitious.”

In March, Vaisala committed to setting a science-based target to reduce its Scope 3 emissions in the coming years, aligned with the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). The fact that Financial Times’ list covers Scope 1 and Scope 2 means that it includes those emissions that come from a company’s own operations and from generating the energy it uses. However, Scope 3 (other indirect emissions in the value chain) makes up a great deal of most companies’ footprint, which is why Vaisala now turns it focus on decreasing these indirect emissions.

“In addition to reducing our own emissions, sustainability is tightly integrated into Vaisala’s strategy and offering. It is truly extraordinary that we are able to do good for our planet in every part of our value chain: while we reduce our own environmental footprint, we also help our customers to do the same for their business and reach their sustainability targets. In this day and age, all companies wanting to succeed in the future need to look at how their business relates to the world’s challenges and to renew their business accordingly,” Öistämö summarized.

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