The debate on sustainability has accelerated in recent years. One reason for this is global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as research data on the Earth’s alarming state. On the other hand, the tight economic situation, the turbulence in the security environment and changes in global politics have also pushed sustainability perspectives aside – as if companies and governments could not afford sustainability. Sustainability requires investment, will and effort; we can also ask in what kind of world will we live in ten years’ time if we do not take action now. What is the state of the environment, is everybody’s potential utilised or is the economy on a more sustainable basis, do people still trust one another?

Our sustainability in 2024

At Erillisverkot, sustainability was day-to-day activities in areas such as energy efficiency work, learning about the practices of the Finnish Transparency Register, continuing to familiarise ourselves with the themes of human diversity and building more monitoring to ensure the responsibility of our partners. We spent considerable time preparing for the reporting of sustainability information in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which was to apply to Erillisverkot from 2025 onwards. However, the European Commission’s Omnibus Simplification proposal published in February 2025 is likely to change the situation.

Customers rate our sustainability highly

We have asked our customers about our sustainability as part of an annual customer experience survey. The survey was renewed in 2024 and it is now conducted by a new party.

In the survey, customers were asked to rate the statement “Erillisverkot is a sustainable operator” on a scale of 1–10. The average rating was 8.7 (among 264 respondents), which is something to be satisfied with – while remembering that sustainability work is never finished.

Our sustainability actions and results in 2024

• The energy efficiency system ETJ+ outlined our energy efficiency work, and the experiences were positive.
• Energy consumption remained at the previous year’s level.
• We achieved the energy efficiency target set in the energy efficiency agreement.
• Our subsidiary Leijonaverkot implemented the energy management operating model in cooperation with its partner.
• We updated our emission reduction plan.
• The carbon footprint increased by 22% year-on-year.
• The waste recycling rate was 35% and the recovery rate 83%. (Targets: 70% and 100%.)
• We conducted an internal survey on the impacts of our operations on biodiversity.
• The services function without significant disruption to customers.
• The Net Promoter Score (NPS) fell by 13 points, and the company has room for improvement in terms of operational efficiency and ability to change.
• Employee satisfaction increased by one unit to 79/100.
• We were awarded the Hyvän mielen työpaikka label by MIELI Mental Health Finland.
• We invested in the wellbeing of our personnel by, for example, allowing them to spend one hour of work on exercise every week.
• The executive team and supervisors received training on the importance of diversity.
• There were no harassment cases.
• The annual safety training for all employees focused on fire safety.
• We piloted a sustainability survey for our ten largest suppliers.

Here were some highlights. For more information, please contact: vastuullisuus@erillisverkot.fi.