Corporate responsibility is not just about fulfilling obligations – it is about the desire for continuous improvement. Finnish exhibition builder and exhibition services expert Messeforum has taken on this task and led the way as a pioneer in its field. OpenCO2net has been supporting Messeforum in its climate work for several years now.
A pioneer in its field with regard to climate issues
Cooperation between OpenCO2net and Messeforum began in 2019, with assistance from OpenCO2net experts in developing a climate strategy for Messeforum. Since then, many steps have been taken along this joint path. The collectively developed climate strategy served as a basis for the Carbon Neutral Exhibition Stand concept, launched in 2020.
To support the concept, carbon footprint calculations were first carried out individually for each exhibition stand, and a customized carbon footprint calculator was developed. With the calculator, Messeforum was able to calculate the carbon footprints of the exhibition stands it supplied, identify areas for emission reductions, and, through the CO2esto service, offset emissions that could not be reduced through its own actions.
Messeforum calculated Company-level scope 1-3 for the first time in 2022 with assistance from OpenCO2net experts. Since then, Messeforum has switched to calculating its own emissions using OpenCO2net’s Organization Calculator for SMEs, while also utilizing the comprehensive OpenCO2 emission factor database.
Due to carefully done groundwork, the idea of setting a science-based climate target (SBTi) emerged. Messeforum then set a short-term target that was approved at the beginning of 2025. Despite appearing challenging for an SME, setting an SBTi and climate target proved to be a much easier process than Messeforum had initially anticipated. Long-term and careful climate work paid off in this case as well, facilitating the setting of emission reduction targets.
“The active cooperation with OpenCO2net has encouraged us with moving forward and secured us a solid position as a pioneer in the exhibition construction industry’s climate work. It is clear that the EU’s climate targets and emissions regulations for construction will eventually have a more concrete impact on exhibition construction, and when that happens, our customers and us will be several steps ahead because we already have practices in place,” says Messeforum’s CEO, Arto Varanki
Messeforum automated the calculation for exhibition stands
We kicked off 2025 by publishing a customer story about Messeforum and their SBTi goals in January. Significant progress has been made again over the past year, as we automated the emission calculations for exhibition stands during the summer and fall using the OpenCO2 API interface solution. Messeforum is an excellent example of a company that is constantly developing its climate work and overall operations.
With its carbon-neutral exhibition stand concept, Messeforum has been calculating each of its exhibition stands’ emissions for years using the OpenCO2net tools. Messeforum and the carbon-neutral exhibition stands offered to each of its customers comply with the ISO 14068 carbon neutrality standard.
Although the emissions calculation for the stands ran smoothly with a customized calculator and the process was clear, the company still wanted to consider how the work could be made even easier and more accurate. The launch of the OpenCO2 API interface brought a new option for calculating emissions of exhibition stands. Now, emissions calculations are done directly by combining the correct emission factors with the material quantities obtained from the design program through the interface.
The emission factors have been selected with OpenCO2net’s expertise, and thanks to the interface, the calculation process has been streamlined. The materials and factors are now brought together directly in Excel-based calculations. The accuracy of emissions calculations has improved further as more precise data on the materials in departmental calculations is available. Also the human errors caused by manual calculation have been virtually eliminated.
“We have always strived to do things in new ways and stay ahead of our time. Automating emissions calculations was a natural next step in our climate work. Implementing automation was a considerable effort, but now the end result reduces and facilitates our own work. However, for us, improving the accuracy of the calculations was an even more important factor. Now we can be sure that all emissions related to our exhibition stands are accurately and reliably taken into account. Thanks to even more accurate data, we can streamline our emission reduction measures and proudly say that our operations are genuinely in line with sustainable development.” Varanki describes the project.
OpenCO2net supports companies in the various stages of climate work. In the initial phase, our experts assist in the preparation of a climate strategy and transition plan. Our carbon footprint platform provides you with customizable emission calculation tools suitable for all industries, as well as an extensive and up-to-date OpenCO2 emission database. We also carry out a wide range of projects related to automating emission calculations according to the needs of companies. Contact us and make your company’s climate work easier!
