For us at Plantvision, it is important to take care of the environment, both internal and external, and that we take our responsibility in the form of, for example, climate compensation. Therefore, for the financial year 2022, we have chosen to climate compensate for the emissions calculated according to our climate report in the mangrove project "Mikoko Pamoja". This is a Plan Vivo-certified project run in the community of Gaza Bay in southern Kenya. This particular project was chosen because, in addition to the carbon sequestration effect, it also has a positive impact on biodiversity and the livelihood of the local community. This climate investment has been carried out in collaboration with Zeromission. But let's back up a bit. We had a chat with Emma Hansson, our CSR manager.
Hi Emma, can you tell us a bit about your background in environmental work?
- I have worked as an environmental manager at Plantvision since 2020, but have been employed as a validation consultant since 2015. The role has now transitioned to CSR manager and with me I have Harriet Mellenius as deputy CSR manager. I have no formal education in the field, but have a great interest that unfortunately came in connection with climate anxiety after the record summer of 2018. It was tough, but I chose to focus on the fact that there are solutions to the climate crisis and to spread knowledge about these. We are working to continuously reduce our emissions and in order to measure this, we have now begun annual calculations of emissions and carbon offsets in line with our emissions in certified projects. We calculate our emissions according to the three scopes of the GHG protocol, which is an internationally recognized method and best practice. This means that we calculate all direct and indirect emissions that Plantvision accounts for annually. We start from data in our internal support systems, employee surveys and actual number of work tools.
As a company, we have dedicated ourselves to the "Science based target" (SBTi) and thus committed to reducing our emissions annually in line with the 1.5 degree target. In addition, we support the business with customer questions about our environmental work, we keep our policies up to date and we spread knowledge about the environment and other CSR areas internally. Every year we present at large meetings, in smaller groups or hold workshops at company level, so that the information reaches everyone in a good way.
Emma, can you tell us more about why the Mikoko Pamoja project was chosen?
- We chose to invest in climate change via a Swedish company, Zeromission, because it gave us greater confidence that the processes were already in place Location and reduced the risk of corruption. The project we ended up in, Mikoko Pamoja, is a mangrove forest conservation project in southern Kenya. Mangrove forests grow in oceans and waterfronts and are rich ecosystems that not only bind carbon dioxide but also support biodiversity. This particular project also supports the local community with, for example, clean drinking water and school materials for children.
Offsetting is not a way for a company to buy itself out of its climate responsibility, but rather a way to contribute and compensate for the emissions it has not been able to avoid. It is even more important to continuously reduce emissions.
- Our biggest emissions are linked to transportation to and from assignments and customers and our electronic work tools. Because of this, the company has therefore implemented higher compensation for employees who travel by electric or green car compared to a traditional fossil-fueled car. All employees are offered leasing bicycles and in addition, a higher travel time allowance is given to those who choose to travel by public transport to their assignments and customers. We have a controlled process for purchasing electronic work tools and a process for reusing them internally in the first instance, but then donating them to charity or selling them on when they are no longer suitable for daily work. Ultimately, we have a contract with a recycling company that takes care of any waste," Emma concludes.
