Corporate GHG Emission Comparison: How Are Finnish Businesses Performing in 2023?

Corporate GHG emissions are becoming as important as financial data for measuring company performance. In the coming years, businesses will be evaluated not just on profits, but also on their emissions. This shift is largely due to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will require many companies to report their sustainability efforts. Companies across the EU must prepare for this.

At Biocode, we conducted a corporate GHG emission comparison to see how Finland’s largest stock-listed companies reported their 2023 emissions. We analyzed Scope 1-2 and Scope 1-3 emissions, comparing them to each company’s turnover. Using public reports, we calculated emissions intensities per million euros of turnover to gauge their environmental impact.

In the image above, you’ll find a snapshot of our findings from last year’s Corporate GHG Emission Comparison. Scope 1-2 emissions intensities ranged from 0.1 to 1016.1 tonnes of CO2e per million euros of turnover. Scope 1-3 intensities varied even more, ranging from 8.0 to 11703.5 tonnes of CO2e per million euros.

We found large differences between sectors and even within the same industries. These gaps are partly due to different accounting methods. Although companies follow the GHG Protocol standards, reporting choices can vary. As carbon accounting matures, we expect more consistency, much like financial accounting has developed over time.

Finland’s largest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, also covered our study (in Finnish), highlighting the importance of this topic.

I firmly believe climate solutions present great business opportunities for companies in Finland and elsewhere! It’s amazing to see the initiative companies are having in relation to their climate reporting. Leading businesses are able to reduce both own absolute emissions and emissions intensities as well as those of their value chains.