YES TO SCIENCE!
- 2 min reading
Moving towards a climate-balanced future, we need all hands on deck. Even if we have a truly future-fit business model – circling our product over, and over again, and even if many of our modules are wood-based – we still have a significant negative impact on the climate. Turning our CO2 numbers to zero will be challenging but necessary. Therefore, per December 2023, Adapteo Group submitted our Commitment Letter to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). We are committed to honouring the Paris Agreement and the 1.5 degree target. Setting an example in our sector, we set our net zero target to 2040, and a short-term emissions reduction target for 2030.
To meet the global climate goals, two major shifts must happen: shifting from the take-make-waste linear to reduce-reuse-recycle circular principles to materials and products and shifting from fossil to renewable energy and fuels. Both are crucial, and at Adapteo, we can contribute to both.
Lina K Wiles, Chief Sustainability Officer
Since 2021, we have been mapping and calculating Adapteo’s carbon footprint across the value chain, all in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol in scopes 1, 2 and 3. Now, we are requalifying our previous emission estimates to ensure alignment with SBT requirements, and we’re now in the process of developing a detailed emissions reduction plan, following relevant sector-specific guidelines from SBTi.
For scope 1 and 2 emissions, the action plan is already in place and being actioned. As of 2024, all electricity used across Adapteo Group will be renewable. Moreover, Adapteo’s target is to be fossil-free in its own operations and transports by 2030. To this end, detailed phase-out plans for the fossil fuels and energy sources used in company cars and on-site boilers are underway.
Going fossil free will cut our emissions in scope 1 and 2 by about three-quarters by 2030, which is great, and well beyond what is required by SBT. However, our big challenge lies in our indirect climate impact. In 2022, over 98 percent of our carbon footprint was estimated to come from upstream and downstream activities, also known as scope 3. Our total carbon footprint 2022 was around 94 000 tonnes CO2e, which is equivalent to of the annual emissions of about 9,100 Finns. We need to find ways to cutting these emissions toward net-zero, while we keep growing our business. And the best starting point to progress toward a net zero target is our circular business model, says Lina K Wiles, Chief Sustainability Officer at Adapteo Group.
Our circular business model is all about creating maximum value out of minimum resources. We design and commission modules, rent them out, refurbish them again to current requirements and as-new-quality, and rent them out again for new societal or company needs. By making reused and refurbished modules our standard solution, we contribute both to a significantly lower climate impact and increased circularity in the built environment. Especially if we also help our customers to use renewable energy solutions in the user phase.
A long lifecycle will significantly decrease the carbon impact per year in use, yet we still need to get our arms around the materials and production of our modules. We need to steer towards low-carbon materials – including renewable materials like wood.
To meet the global climate goals, two major shifts must happen: shifting from the take-make-waste linear to reduce-reuse-recycle circular principles to materials and products and shifting from fossil to renewable energy and fuels. Both are crucial, and at Adapteo, we can contribute to both, says CSO Lina K Wiles
Adapteo in brief
Adapteo is northern Europe’s leading provider of flexible, modular social infrastructure buildings, including schools, health care facilities, offices, and temporary accommodation. The buildings are offered in a full-service circular rental model, and can be scaled up, down, and moved as needs shift.