Castrén & Snellman’s climate work has entered a new phase: this summer the firm completed its first carbon footprint calculation. As a member of the UN Global Compact, the firm is committed to the UN’s sustainable development goals and to taking action against climate change.
2.9.2020
Castrén & Snellman Maps Carbon Footprint – Commits to 25% Emissions Reduction by 2025
Anna Kuusniemi-Laine
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‘In order to take action, we have to know where we stand. This carbon footprint calculation will help us get a handle on our climate impact. We have a long history of developing the sustainability of our business. We were the first Finnish law firm to join the WWF’s Green Office programme, and the work we have now started to reduce our emissions is a natural next step for us’, says Managing Partner Sakari Lukinmaa.
Calculating our carbon footprint is part of our firm’s sustainability work. We were assisted in the calculation by Gaia Consulting.
EMISSIONS 750 METRIC TONS IN 2019, 25% REDUCTION TARGET BY 2025
Castrén & Snellman’s carbon footprint in 2019 was approximately 750 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e). The figure corresponds to the carbon footprint of 75 average Finns. The firm’s largest emissions sources are business travel and heating, which make up about 80% of its footprint: business travel accounts for approximately 50% and heating for approximately 30%.
‘The most important function of this calculation is to spur us on in reducing our climate impact. We have now set a comprehensive emissions reduction target. We are going to reduce our emissions by 25% from our 2019 level by 2025. We plan to start with the largest items in our footprint, which are business travel and heating’, says Castrén & Snellman’s Head of Sustainability, Anna Kuusniemi-Laine.
Curbing climate change will also take removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. In addition to reducing emissions, Castrén & Snellman is now committed to offsetting its annual emissions.
‘We will include all our personnel in deciding the form that this will take’, says Kuusniemi-Laine.
The firm has previously offset its air travel emissions.
Castrén & Snellman’s carbon footprint calculation is based on the GHG Protocol standards, the globally most widely used model for calculating the climate impact of organisations.
‘One of the goals of Finland’s current Government Programme is for Finland to be carbon neutral by 2035—and every little bit can make a difference. This emissions reduction target applies to every sector, and the pressure to make climate-smart decisions is set to continue growing. A increasingly wide range of Finnish legislation has also begun taking and encouraging a climate-oriented approach. Understanding their own carbon footprint will help Castrén & Snellman better understand their clients’ climate goals’, says Anna Heino of Gaia Consulting.
MORE WORK IN REFINING THE FOOTPRINT AND MONITORING TARGETS
Moving forward, Carbon footprint calculations will now form part of Castrén & Snellman’s annual sustainability work, and the firm intends to further refine its understanding of its climate impact and monitor its emissions goals.
‘Our emissions for 2020 already look very different from last year. We intend to continually monitor our goals and are prepared to raise the bar for our targets if necessary’, says Anna Kuusniemi-Laine.
For more information, please contact:
Anna Kuusniemi-Laine, Head of Sustainability, Partner, Castrén & Snellman, tel. +358 20 7765 423
Sakari Lukinmaa, Managing Partner, Castrén & Snellman, tel. +358 20 7765 391
More information on our sustainability work.
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