Climate Change affects us all. Similarly, we all contribute to climate change in one way or another. This means that even small changes in what we do can collectively make a big difference and have a positive impact on preventing global warming and preserving nature.

Strategy for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C – What Gasmet can do?

Today, global warming is one of the biggest research areas and, also, one of the biggest concerns for humankind. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide pose an enormous environmental threat, and, it is a fact that climate change is happening now, not in the far future. As a high-tech company, we know the power of technology and believe that our solutions can help change the direction of global warming.

Our significant contribution to climate change research

We support climate change research by manufacturing portable gas analyzers for GHG measurements. Gasmet is known for its state-of-the-art gas monitoring products which are widely used among the research community all over the world. You can find our products in measurements of GHG emissions everywhere in the world, all the way from the Arctic and to the Amazon. Every unit sold contributes to an enhanced understanding of the global GHG balance and can support achieving lower emissions in the future.

Agriculture and land use are estimated to have several Gigatons of CO2 -equivalent GHG reduction potential per year. Accurate measurements of soil fluxes are essential in optimizing agricultural and land-use greenhouse gas emissions. Gasmet can make significant contributions by providing optimized high-quality measurements.

Our steps towards a greener company

We are fully committed as a company to taking part in global efforts to mitigate climate change and preserve nature. Therefore, we have decided to launch our own strategy for limiting global warming to 1.5 °C – the 1.5 °C Strategy.

One product sold, one tree planted

At the beginning of 2021, we started a collaboration with One Tree Planted, a nonprofit dedicated to global reforestation. We decided to plant a tree for every product sold in 2020. Additionally, every answer we got in our satisfaction survey turned into one planted tree. Together this has already resulted in hundreds of trees across projects in Brazil, Australia, Canada and Ghana. This partnership continues with this year’s products also. In 2022, we contribute to projects in Vietnam, California, Iceland, Kenya and Amazon.

We have a theme for every month, and employees are encouraged to share their ideas. In fact, all ideas and themes listed below came from Gasmet employees.

 

 

Ongoing actions

  • We ship our products in wooden, recyclable boxes to our customers worldwide.
  • We have stopped using 3-gallon water jugs made from plastic to reduce the amount of plastic in our office.
  • We have started our monthly Safety and Environmental walks – the purpose is to ensure the correctness and functionality of waste sorting at our facilities
  • Gasmet UK office has installed solar panels for the use of green energy.
  • We have started to reduce our energy consumption by replacing lighting in production with LED.
  • We provide employees with water bottles
  • We provide recyclable cutlery (wooden forks, knives and spoons) and stopped using plastic cutler
  • We have reviewed wasted handling and recycling of waste has been extended to cover nine different categories:
    • Cardboard, Paper, Clear plastic, Metal, Batteries, Electronic scrap, Energy waste, Organic waste & Mixed waste.

Steps for 2023

  • In January, our theme is to share new ideas for the 1.5 °C strategy monthly themes.
  • In February, our theme is UN’s World Wildlife Day, celebrated on March 3rd. Purpose of the day is to remind us of the biodiversity and vulnerability of wild nature.
  • We will make monthly updates throughout the year!

Steps we took in 2022

  • In January, we purchased hundreds of trees through One Tree Planted for reforestation projects across the globe.
  • In February the theme was flight compensation. We will start to compensate emissions from business flights this year, and the flights will be compensated through the Finnish Taimiteko project.
  • In March we once again encouraged everyone to take part in Earth Hour as a symbolic gesture to raise awareness of climate change.
  • In April our theme was to Calculate your own carbon footprint.
  • In May we encouraged people to participate in the national Bike-To-Work day.
  • In June we celebrated World Environment Day. The aim of the day was to encourage people to take action to protect the environment and to look at their own attitudes towards nature.
  • In September our theme was to enjoy clean air, as a celebration to UN’s The International Day of Clean Air and the 2022 theme “The Air We Share”. We encouraged people to take a photo of clean air and send it to our quality manager. For every photo, we planted one tree in collaboration with One Tree Planted organization.
  • In October our theme is World Food Day, which is​​ yearly event to draw attention to global food security and nutrition. The day encourages people to examine their own eating habits. To support this, we gave lunch boxes to everyone at Gasmet, so they can take their own lunches with them and try to reduce food waste that way.
  • In November our theme was updating the Sustainability Strategy. The update project includes people from several departments e.g. sales, purchasing, R&D and production. During the project, among other things, Gasmet’s sustainability themes, goals and vision for the future will be determined.
  • In December our theme was to choose next year’s One Tree Planted Projects. So far, we have already planted over 1400 trees around the world and we will continue this cooperation in the future.

Steps we took in 2021

  • Our theme for February was To go to the Woods! We encourage employees to celebrate our forests by visiting them and sharing photos on social media.
  • We took part in Earth Hour and take one iconic action: switch off the lights in 27.3.2021
  • In April we counted our carbon footprints
  • Bike-to-work day in May
  • In June we talked more about our collaboration with One Tree Planted
  • In September we took part in UN’s International Day of Clean Air for blue skies
  • October was special awareness month for energy saving
  • Our theme for November was sustainable consumption
  • In December Gasmet employees voted which One Tree Planted projects we support in 2022

Steps we took in 2020

  • At the turn of the year, we encouraged employees to collect cooking fat from Christmas ham or turkey and deliver it to our collection point. The fat is then used as a raw material for NesteMy renewable diesel.
  • Checking the power settings on our computers. The right settings help extend the PC’s battery life and slightly reduce energy consumption.
  • Avoiding unnecessary printing.
  • The 21st of September is Zero Emissions Day, which we took part in by encouraging our employees to prepare a climate-friendly meal.
  • Special care in October to remember to recycle.
  • Buy nothing day in November, we encourage our employees to avoid unnecessary shopping.

Steps we took in 2019

  • We stopped using plastic cups and replaced them with environmentally friendly cups
  • We participated the International Bike-to-work day on 17th May 2019
  • We adopted the following policies
    • Turn-off-lights-when-leaving-a-room policy
    • Green purchasing policy of office supplies
      • Avoid plastic and Styrofoam packaging & prefer products packed in natural materials
      • Look to purchase other items that have been made from recycled materials
      • Look to purchase natural or bio-based products whenever possible

You can follow our progress towards a greener Gasmet by subscribing to our newsletter!

 

The 1.5 °C Strategy is part of Gasmet’s Sustainability strategy. Corporate sustainability creates long-term consumer and employee value by creating a strategy of how a business operates in the social, cultural and economic environment. We have created a sustainability strategy that has seven areas with guiding principles, commitments and goals. As part of our sustainability strategy, we recognize the need to engage in positive value creation together with our stakeholders, as the basis for a strengthened brand, relations, and business. Our impact strategy has three focus areas with wider consequences to society, and where we have core competencies that can be used more effectively. Read more about our Sustainability and Impact strategy here.