The energy sector accounts for a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions. This makes the energy sector central to combating climate change. Mitigating climate change is one of Oulun Energia’s key priorities in our business operations and sustainability efforts. Our sustainability programme is based on a materiality assessment, through which we have identified our impacts on people, the environment, and society. Our climate transition plan outlines the measures and objectives for mitigating climate change that will enable us to achieve our net zero target.

In our new strategy, we have refined our emissions reduction target. Our strategic objective is to achieve the net zero target by 2040, in line with the Science Based Targets (SBT) framework. The net zero target replaces our previous goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. Net zero is part of the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, which aims to halt global warming. It applies not only to fossil CO₂ but also to other greenhouse gases with a significant impact on climate change.

In accordance with the net zero target, we will reduce our total emissions by at least 90% from the 2022 baseline by 2040. We will offset the residual emissions that cannot be reduced. This means that we are removing the same amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere as we have emitted, resulting in a net-zero impact on the climate. We regularly measure and monitor progress on our net zero target. Our interim target is to achieve a 75% reduction in total emissions by 2030, compared to the 2022 baseline.

In addition to the net zero target, we also want to increase our carbon handprint, the positive climate impacts of our products, which will reduce our customers’ carbon footprint.

How we are reducing our carbon footprint

For several years, we have been working systematically to reduce our climate impact. Our carbon footprint has decreased by 41% over the past three years, and in 2024, our operational emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) totalled 225,871 tonnes. Scope 3 emissions have not yet been calculated for 2024. The share of renewable energy in our energy production has steadily increased, reaching 77% in 2024. We have gradually phased out the use of peat, and this has been the most significant step in reducing our carbon footprint. In our energy production, we are replacing peat primarily with energy wood and SRF (Solid Recovered Fuel).

Our district heating production makes use of forestry side streams, non-recyclable waste, and surplus heat, among other sources. In 2024, 77.7% of the district heat sold to our customers was produced with renewable energy sources or waste heat. The share of waste heat will increase with the energy centre we built in Linnanmaa, Oulu, completed at the end of 2024. The centre will produce cooling for Nokia’s smart campus, and the waste heat produced in the process (approx. 70 GWh) will in turn be recovered and utilised in Oulun Energia’s district heating network. The heat produced corresponds to approximately 4% of Oulun Energia's annual district heating needs. Oulun Energia is also electrifying its district heating production. In 2024, our electric boiler produced almost 5% of the district heat, without the use of combustion. In practice, the electric boiler replaced approximately 1,000 truckloads of solid fuels, such as wood and peat, over the year. With these and other measures, the specific carbon dioxide emissions of district heating fell by 43% in 2024 and by a total of 52% over the past three years.

How we are increasing our carbon handprint

Increasing our carbon handprint is a newer goal. In the coming years, the development of recovered material production for our subsidiary’s new products, recycled plastic pellets and biocomposites, will play the most significant role in increasing our carbon handprint. The industrial production of both products will begin in 2026 at the plastics recycling and biocomposite plants being built in Hyvinkää. The products recycled at the plants will replace the use of virgin plastic, reducing the carbon footprint of plastic durable products and packaging for our customers. The plastic recycling plant, with a capacity of 50,000 tonnes, will increase Finland’s plastics recycling capacity by up to 50%. The plant will enable the recycling of hard-to-recycle plastic grades that would otherwise end up being incinerated.

We are reducing carbon dioxide emissions from heating by offering our customers Onni district heating, produced with 100% renewable energy sources. New kinds of energy solutions implemented in collaboration with our customers, such as the energy centre built in connection with Nokia’s smart campus in Linnanmaa, reduce both our own carbon dioxide emissions and our customers’ carbon footprint.

We are also planning to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from industry and transport. In the future, the end products of the hydrogen production plant planned for Laanila can be used to replace fossil fuels on a large scale in maritime, air, and road transport. Captured carbon dioxide from the power plants can be utilised in the hydrogen production plant.

We will replace fossil fuels with renewable energy wood and, in particular, increase the production of wind and solar power. In 2024, the share of renewable energy sources in our electricity and heat production increased to 77%.