The Finnish stand builder and exhibition expert Messeforum joined the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) in 2024 as part of its climate efforts. What has Messeforum’s journey to becoming the industry pioneer been like?
Climate strategy as the foundation of climate efforts
The partnership between Messeforum and OpenCO2net began in 2019 when Messeforum developed its climate strategy. This strategy served as the foundation for the carbon neutral stand-concept, which was launched in 2020. Since then, Messeforum has calculated the emissions of each stand using a customized calculator developed on the OpenCO2net platform. Messeforum remains the only provider that automatically offers carbon neutral stands to all customers. Messeforum follows the ISO 14068 carbon neutrality standard, continuously improving its own practices and exploring new ways to reduce emissions for carbon neutral stands.
The first company-level emissions calculation was conducted using data from 2022 in accordance with the GHG Protocol standard. The calculation was then repeated in the following two years. All calculations have been carried out in collaboration with the OpenCO2net team, and the cooperation has gone smoothly.
“We want to be a responsible stand builder, which is why actions to combat climate change are at the forefront of our strategy. From the beginning, we decided to do things properly and in compliance with regulations, and that investment has paid off. With OpenCO2net’s expertise, it has been easy to move in the right direction,” says the managing director Arto Varanki.
SBTi for SMEs
When the groundwork is done carefully and reliably based on standards, it is easy to continue the work and improve one’s operations. Messeforum’s desire to improve its climate efforts sparked the idea of setting a science-based climate target. The GHG Protocol based emissions calculation, carried out over several years, provides a strong foundation for setting the target. Previously, science-based climate targets were seen as an initiative only for large companies. There has been a common belief that joining and setting such goals would not be feasible for SMEs. However, together with the OpenCO2net team, Messeforum decided to join the initiative and set its own short-term SBTi target.
“The SBTi process was easier than we expected because the groundwork with OpenCO2net has been done well from the start, and the targets we have set are based on real data. Now, we aim to further reduce our carbon footprint in all our operations, and the SBTi initiative provides a strong incentive for this,” states Varanki.
OpenCO2net Oy provides tools and services for carbon footprint calculations. Our calculators and calculations are based on the world’s most recognized standards, as well as a comprehensive emissions database, with emission factors validated by our experts. Our experts are also available to assist you in setting climate and emissions reduction targets, such as the SBTi.
