Carbon-smart TEK is on the horizon

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TEK’s goal of being among the first carbon-neutral trade organisations is now one step closer.

As per its goal, TEK will become carbon-smart, or carbon-neutral, by the end of the year if it compensates for those emissions it cannot eliminate through emission reduction measures with money.

We have made delightful reductions to TEK’s emissions, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

"We have made delightful reductions to TEK’s emissions, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Those reductions that are the fastest and easiest to achieve are always done first, so the more we are able to reduce emissions, the harder and more expensive the reduction measures become. We can therefore expect the pace of our emission reductions to slow down significantly in the coming years, but the work continues on a long-term basis", says TEK’s Expert on Engineering Sustainability Jussi-Pekka Teini.

Last year (2021) TEK’s emissions were 266 tCO2e and the estimate for this year is 300–350 tCO2e. CO2e, or carbon dioxide equivalent, describes the climate impact of the emissions in a way where the impacts of all greenhouse gases are summed up and converted into the climate impact of carbon dioxide. The t in the abbreviation tCO2e denotes tonnage. How much will compensating for these emissions cost TEK at the end of the year, Jussi-Pekka Teini?

"We have not made any decisions regarding compensation yet, but if our carbon footprint is some 300 tCO2e, then the offsetting will cost around 3,000 euros at its cheapest and 30,000 euros at its most expensive, depending on the chosen compensation instruments."

Is carbon-smartness reachable by just reducing carbon emissions? Should the ecological footprint also be reduced?

"Ecological compensation is a rising trend, but for the moment there are no similar tools for evaluating one’s own impacts in that regard, let alone compensation services for offsetting one's ecological footprint. Indeed, the Finnish Nature Panel is developing a tool for calculating the ecological footprint, and it will be shared openly, but we will probably have to wait another 2–3 years for it. But within a decade or so I believe calculations of ecological footprints will be an everyday occurrence like carbon footprint calculations are today."