Our sustainability program and steps towards CSRD reporting
Blog
At Parmaco, sustainability is at the core of our operations and our entire business model is based on circular economy principles: the same building is moved from one place to another in modules and reused as a school, a day care center or a health and social services building, for example, instead of being demolished.
But responsibility means much more than that. From 2025 onwards, the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will bring more transparency to reporting and companies will report on their sustainability performance as part of their annual report. We have been systematically collecting data on emissions for a couple of years now and have set up a sustainability working group to produce the necessary calculations and gather the material for the report.
These projects have been actively promoted by Tommi Mehtonen, Development Manager, in the sustainability working group. Let’s ask Tommi what kind of projects are underway.
What has been done so far and what are the key findings?
“We have conducted sustainability calculations and carried out important analyses:
- In 2022, we performed the first GHG (Green House Gas) Protocol Scope 1 and 2 carbon calculations (company’s own emissions) and in 2023 we added Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions in the value chain).
- It should be noted that our own operations, Scope 1 and 2, account for only 3% of our total calculated emissions. The emissions from our value chain and rented premises, or Scope 3, account for 97% of our total emissions.
- In addition, early this year we completed an independent, third-party verified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of our buildings, which we have used to calculate the company’s carbon handprint. The key finding of the LCA was that up to 72% of baseline emissions can be avoided by moving Parmaco’s building 3 times, to serve at a different location – instead of building a new building each time.
- We have also recently completed the Double Materiality Analysis. The analysis helps us to identify which sustainability topics are most relevant to our business and to our customers. It tells us where it makes the most sense to focus our reporting and sustainability efforts and takes into account the social and governance (ESG) aspects of the environment. As a result of this analysis, we will focus our reporting and sustainability efforts on the following six topics:
- Climate change
- Circular Economy
- Own workforce
- Workers in the value chain
- Consumers and end users
- Business Conduct
What happens next?
” Next, we examine the compliance of our business operations with the EU taxonomy. The purpose of the taxonomy is to classify the key economic indicators related to the circular economy and sustainable development in our business so that their development can be monitored in the future. This is essential to provide comparable figures between companies from the point of view of sustainability, for example to ensure financing. We will also update our current sustainability strategy and the roadmap for its implementation.”
What particular moments of success do you think you have achieved so far?
Many great achievements come to mind, but I would highlight these two:
- In April, we were invited to the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) organized by Sitra (the Finnish Innovation fund) to present our business model based on the circular economy. At the event in Brussels, we were selected as one of the 30 most interesting circular economy companies in Europe.
- In May, we were the first in the world to achieve BREEAM In-Use-Outstanding certification for a school building we had built in Sweden.
I believe that both achievements reflect the level of ambition and commitment we have in terms of promoting sustainable development and bringing circular construction as a real alternative to traditional construction.”
A lot has been done and a lot of work remains to be done. How would you describe the current state of Parmaco’s sustainability journey?
“I think we have done a thorough groundwork for the future. We are now many steps closer, not only to producing the right type of sustainability report, but above all to building a truly more sustainable tomorrow, through concrete actions.”