HELSINKI, Finland – Meira, the Finnish company of Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group, is committed to setting science-based greenhouse gas emission reduction targets (Science Based Targets, SBTi) as the third food company in Finland. The company aims for carbon neutrality by 2030 and has set other ambitious sustainability targets regarding its energy efficiency, packaging materials and the sustainability verification of raw materials.
Meira wants to be at the forefront of Finnish companies in fighting climate change and manufacture its products in the best possible way for the planet and people. The intermediate goal is to reduce in half the greenhouse gas emissions from the 2018 level by the end of 2022.
This means that the company’s emission reductions will be line with the 1.5 degree warming limit of the Paris Agreement. The adequacy of the company’s goal is assessed by an external body, the Science Based Targets organization. Founded in 2015, the SBTi is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Greenhouse gas emissions are generated both directly from Meira´s own operations (Scope 1) and through the energy purchased by the company (Scope 2). The carbon footprint of the company´s operations (Scope 1 and 2) in 2019 was 2.585 tonnes, which corresponds to the annual carbon footprint of approximately 260 Finns.
Meira plans to convert all energy used in the operations to 100% renewable energy by 2030. In addition, the company intends to significantly improve the energy efficiency of its operations and, in accordance with the SBT principles, also engage its partners in the value chain in the fight against climate change.
Sustainability at Meira starts with the company mission “Fairly, for far better moments”, and the sustainability program based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals permeates Meira´s operations in all areas.
Among other things, Meira has committed to raise the recycling rate of the Vallila plant to 80 percent by 2022 and is already recycling the biowaste into biogas for its production’s needs. By 2030, all Meira’s packages will be made from recyclable, recycled or renewable materials. 100 percent of the green coffee used will be certified as sustainable by the end of 2022, and by the end of 2023, 80 percent of spice raw materials will come from certified or low-risk sources.
