HKScan promoting the future of responsible food production with the Science Based Targets initiative
HKScan continues its ambitious climate work and is committed to the international Science Based Targets initiative (SBT). Setting science-based climate targets contributes to HKScan’s Zero Carbon climate plan and supports the company’s journey towards carbon-neutral food production.
HKScan Oyj, media release 29 April 2021
HKScan will develop climate targets covering its food chain for Science Based Targets initiative’s official validation. The company has already set a goal of carbon neutrality of its own industrial production by the end of 2025 and carbon neutrality of the entire food chain from farms to consumers by the end of 2040.
– We are now creating the future of responsible food production in the Baltic Sea region. At the heart of the change are climate-friendly practices from farms to consumers. We have had encouraging results in promoting carbon sequestration in fields and we continue to develop food production towards carbon neutrality, says HKScan’s CEO Tero Hemmilä.
HKScan does climate work in all its home market areas in Finland, Sweden, the Baltics and Denmark. Achieving the targets requires both a significant reduction of emissions and an increase in carbon sinks together with contract farmers and other partners. This work is led in line with the company's own Zero Carbon climate plan.
– We have already reduced climate emissions by 80 per cent since 2014 In our own industrial production. In addition, we have started determined work to reduce the climate impacts of the entire food chain, says Hemmilä.
Already more than 1,300 companies in the Science Based Targets initiative
The Science Based Targets initiative is a collaborative project involving the UN Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and CDP. Companies’ targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are considered to be science-based if they are in line with climate science measures to limit global warming to below 2 °C, or preferably 1.5 °C, according to the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. Warming is compared to the pre-industrial period.
Sustainable food production practices from pilot farms to wider use
HKScan’s contract farms have long done good work to reduce climate impacts. For example on the Kariniemen® farms, already 90 per cent of the energy used in the rearing halls is renewable; solar or wind energy and other renewable bioenergy.
– We are looking into new ways to reduce climate impacts on nearly 60 pilot farms and will scale good practices across our home markets. To reduce the climate impact from primary production, we need diverse expertise, so we work together with our contract farmers as well as other companies and expert and research organisations. In Finland and in Sweden, we promote responsibility in contract farming through the Agrofood Ecosystem® network, says Ulf Jahnsson VP, Strategic development primary production at HKScan.
Further information:
Ulf Jahnsson, VP, Strategic development primary production, HKScan Corporation, tel. +358 400 784 193
HKScan Media Service Desk, p. 010 570 5700 tai sähköpostitse communications@hkscan.com
More information about the Science Based Targets initiative: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/
More information about HKScan’s climate work in the Annual Report and on the website.
At HKScan, we make life tastier – today and tomorrow. Our strategic target is to grow into a versatile food company. Our responsibly produced, delicious products are part of consumers’ varied food moments – both every day and on special occasions. We have some 7,000 HKScan professionals applying more than 100 years of experience to make locally produced food. For us at HKScan, responsibility means continuous improvements and concrete actions throughout the food chain. As part of our Zero Carbon programme, we are targeting a carbon-neutral food chain from farms to consumers by the end of 2040. Our home markets cover Finland, Sweden, the Baltics and Denmark. Our strong product brands include HK®, Kariniemen®, Via®, Scan®, Pärsons®, Rakvere®, Tallegg® and Rose™. Through our strategic partnerships, we are also known for Kivikylän®, Tamminen® and Boltsi brands. HKScan is a publicly listed company, and in 2020, our net sales totalled nearly EUR 1.8 billion.
