• Knowing our environmental impacts and working systematically to reduce them
• Carbon neutral operations and solutions

During 2022, we investigated opportunities and measures to reduce emissions, based on which we prepared our carbon neutrality roadmap. Our emissions reduction goals cover Scope 1 and 2 emissions (our operations and purchased energy).

The majority of our carbon footprint is produced by vehicle use (58% in 2021), followed by purchased heating (15% in 2021) and the fuel consumption of our work equipment and forest machine test drives (13% in 2021). Geographically speaking, the highest emissions in 2021 were generated by our operations in Finland (33%), Russia (20%), and the USA (18%). Epec Oy, the group’s technology company, only produced 1.23 t CO2-eq in emissions.

We will also define which Scope 3 emissions are relevant for our operations (product end use, component procurement, etc.). We aim to include Scope 3 emissions in our calculations at the beginning of 2024. During 2022, we identified the company’s most significant Scope 3 emission categories and will define a data collection and reporting policy for the calculation in 2023.

The greatest environmental impacts of Ponsse’s procurement and logistics are related steel manufacturing for PONSSE forest machines and component transportation. Steel and castings make up 82 per cent of the weight of forest machines. We calculate and dimension our machines’ structures to have the optimal ratio of steel and castings to workloads. Forest machines have a recycling rate of 97 per cent. 

We manage the environmental impacts of procurement by focusing our sourcing on Europe and Finland in particular. The majority of Ponsse’s direct suppliers and subcontractors are located in Finland, 75 per cent, and 22 per cent are located in other EU countries. More than 20 per cent of our subcontractors are located within 25 kilometres of our Vieremä factory, significantly reducing our transport emissions. 
 

Production accounts for one third of Ponsse’s carbon footprint. Our production’s environmental impacts are related to energy and raw material consumption, the use of chemicals, and solvent emissions from surface treatments. We use certified hydropower for our production.

Water is used in our production processes only for washing pieces before surface treatment and washing machines after test drives, which also prevents the spread of invasive species. In surface treatment, we minimise water consumption by reusing water several times.

In 2022, water consumption in our production increased by 6% from the previous year to 15,906 m³ (2021: 14,946 m³).During the year 2022, our total water consumption was 29,680 m³, down by 7% from the previous year. 

A carbon neutral factory by 2025

In 2022, the carbon footprint of Ponsse Group’s factories was 259 t CO2-eq, representing a decrease of 4% compared to the previous year. We have reduced the carbon footprint of our factories by 90% compared to 2019 by purchasing electricity produced with guarantee-of-origin renewable energy, using district heating mainly produced with renewable energy sources and by transitioning to the use of renewable diesel (HVO).

At the factory, we fill finished forest machines with light fuel oil or diesel fuel, according to the requirements of the customer and the country of destination. We have exclusively used renewable diesel in our production since 2020. Post-production machine testing produces emissions during transport and test drives due to fuel and oil consumption.

Carbon neutrality in the Nordic countries by 2035

In addition to production operations, this goal covers maintenance services in the Nordiccountries. Besides Finland, Ponsse operates in the Nordic countries through its subsidiaries in Sweden and Norway. In 2022, our carbon footprint in the Nordic countries decreased by 7% to 1,931 t CO2-eq. Compared to 2019, we have reduced our carbon footprint in the Nordic countries by 62% by shifting to the use of enery generated using renewable and carbon neutral (Scope 2) energy sources.

The group's carbon footprint down by 55% by 2035

The carbon footprint will be compared to emission levels in 2022. In practise, this translates to emissions reductions of roughly 5% per year. In 2022, Ponsse’s carbon footprint in the Nordic countries decreased by 1% to 4,310 t CO2-eq. Compared to our initial carbon footprint calculated in 2019, our carbon footprint is now 38% smaller.