initiatives and commitments
Since 2018, Aspo has been a member of the UN’s Global Compact initiative, and the Group’s operations are steered by the ten Global Compact principles related to human rights, working life principles, the environment, and the prevention of corruption. Aspo reports annually on its progress in implementing the Global Compact principles as part of the non-financial reporting required by the Finnish Accounting Regulation and EU Directive 2014/95/EU. Aspo's Board of Directors approves and signs this information annually in connection with the approval of the financial statements.
Aspo's Code of Conduct establishes common guidelines for responsible business practices across all of the group's operations. The business units are committed to key agreements and regulations within their respective industries. For example, Telko adheres to the EU's REACH regulations, which maximize chemical safety, and follows the ethical and business conduct principles of the FECC, the European Association of Chemical Distributors. Aspo publishes an annual sustainability report that meets the requirements of the Finnish Accounting Regulation and the EU Directive on corporate social responsibility reporting.
In 2019, Aspo also became a member of the corporate responsibility network FIBS. FIBS is the largest corporate responsibility network in the Nordic countries, a leading accelerator of sustainable business, and a developer of companies' expertise. FIBS has increased companies' understanding of the opportunities in sustainable and responsible business and brought many new responsibility themes to their agendas, from diversity management to natural capital, and from human rights to the SDG goals. FIBS actively collaborates with CSR Europe, WBCSD, and other international organizations in the field, providing its members with the latest tools for corporate responsibility management.
Aspo's businesses strive to be forerunners in sustainability in their sectors and to support their sustainability commitments, Aspo has defined new ESG targets for relevant areas of the Group and its businesses. The key target is to reduce emissions intensity (CO2e (tn)/revenue) by 30% by 2025. The starting point (2020) was 0.44, while the target level (2025) is 0.30. In 2023, the emissions intensity was 0.37.
In November 2021, Nasdaq designated Aspo as a Nasdaq ESG Transparency Partner. This recognition is given to companies that transparently disclose ESG-related topics to both their customers and investors. The abbreviation ESG refers to topics related to environmental (E), social responsibility (S), and good governance (G).
