Orion aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030

ORION CORPORATION             PRESS RELEASE                 27 APRIL 2021         at 9.00 a.m. EEST

Orion aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030

Responsibility for the environment is one of Orion’s guiding principles. Orion has wanted to set a more ambitious target for reducing its GHG emissions, and its new goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. This challenging goal calls for many measures related to the selection of energy forms, for example.

Orion’s first sustainability agenda was published in 2019. The agenda covers four sustainability themes, one of which is the environment. Climate change is an essential part of the environmental theme. For years, Orion has worked to reduce its carbon footprint, and this work has proven effective. The achievement of its previous target – a reduction of 75% by 2025 from 2016 – is progressing well. The company is therefore making a commitment to an even stricter goal, which is to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2030.

“We have raised the bar because our work has progressed well,” says Timo Lappalainen, President and CEO of Orion. “Based on our work in recent years, we are thoroughly familiar with the impacts of our operations on our carbon footprint. Energy consumption plays a major role in this respect. Of the energy we use, 45% is electricity, meaning that its production method has a considerable impact on the whole.”

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are mainly reduced through energy efficiency measures, in addition to using renewable energy sources. The reduction of the carbon footprint is a concrete and measurable goal. By the end of 2020, Orion had already reduced its GHG emissions by 58% compared with 2016.

Most of the emissions generated by Orion’s own operations arise from the heat used by its properties and operations, as well as from the steam needed for maintaining process conditions – that is, for drying and heating the air.

How will carbon neutrality be achieved?

Orion continues to systematically implement energy efficiency projects to reduce its use of purchased energy and carbon dioxide emissions. The next key measure towards carbon neutrality is increasing the proportion of heat and steam produced using renewable energy. This calls for future investments in changes to steam production, such as the transition from natural gas and heavy fuel oil to renewable energy forms. These concrete measures enable Orion to reduce the carbon footprint of its own operations. In addition to implementing ambitious concrete emission reduction measures, Orion will compensate for the remaining carbon footprint necessary for the continuation of its business operations by 2030.