Medical technology manufacturer receives validation for science-based targets
Össur, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of innovative mobility solutions for people with mobility impairments, is pursuing an ambitious climate strategy. With support from First Climate, the company set itself science-based targets in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target. These climate targets were recently validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), marking another important milestone for Össur’s path to net zero emissions.
"Responsible for Tomorrow” is Össur’s ambitious corporate sustainability goals and program, which aims to firmly anchor and prioritize climate action at all levels within the company. As part of its climate strategy development, the company seeks to decouple economic success and growth from the resulting carbon emissions.
"Our goal is to reach net zero emissions by 2050. To do this, we plan to reduce absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 79 percent by 2030 compared to our base year 2019. Over the same period, we also plan to reduce absolute Scope 3 emissions by 25 percent,” explains Bergthora Hlidkvist Skuladottir, Global Sustainability Director at Össur, who is responsible for the development and implementation of the company’s climate strategy with her team. "We believe that sustainable growth is the only way to build a successful and responsible business for the benefit of future generations,” says Skuladottir, explaining her company's commitment.
Partnership for efficient climate management
As a CDP accredited solutions provider for Science Based Targets in the DACH region, First Climate has supported Össur throughout the entire process of developing climate targets in line with SBTi requirements and Össur’s strategy. This included Scope 3 emission assessments, carbon footprint alignments, and the definition of targets for successful validation by the Science Based Targets initiative.
©Össur
"The validation underlines and demonstrates Össur’s high level of ambition for climate action and proves that the company's emissions target pathway across all scopes is in line with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5° C target," explains Jonathan Schwieger, Head of GHG Accounting and Climate Reporting at First Climate Consulting. "With this, Össur is taking on a pioneering role in climate action and we are delighted to be able to support them on their climate journey."
"It was very important for us to have an experienced partner like First Climate at our side to support us with Science-Based Targets," explains Bergthora Hlidkvist Skuladottir. "As a manufacturing company, Scope 3 plays a crucial role in our carbon footprint and the First Climate team has helped us to analyze our emissions sources in this area, better understand our footprint and set appropriate reduction targets."
Össur and First Climate recently reported on the collaboration within the project and the key findings from the SBT process in a joint online seminar in cooperation with CDP. If you would like to learn more, we would be happy to provide you with the presentation templates from the event and a video recording on request.
Request the webinar by contacting us at impact@firstclimate.com
Interview with Bergthora Hlidkvist Skuladottir, Global Sustainability Director at Össur
This gave us the opportunity to analyze exactly where we stand at Össur in terms of our climate impact and action, and where we should focus our efforts to meet our targets.
Bergthora, congratulations on the successful validation of the Össur climate targets. What does validation mean for the company?
Thank you very much. The validation of our science-based targets is a very important step for us. We have been working toward this since May 2022, when we first made our original commitment to set science-based targets. This gave us the opportunity to analyze exactly where we stand at Össur in terms of our climate impact and action, and where we should focus our efforts to meet our targets. I think we learned a lot about our climate impact working with First Climate during this planning phase and we gained experience at all levels of the company regarding sustainability and climate action. Overall, the science-based target setting process under the SBTi has had a lasting impact on our company and on the way we think and act.
What are Össur’s next steps to achieving net-zero by 2050?
Now that we have defined our targets, we are exploring and implementing different ways to achieve them. We capture our commitment under the theme of Responsible for Tomorrow® recognizing that the decisions and actions we take today will affect future generations.
Throughout this process, our focus is on ensuring that our operations are highly carbon efficient, whether it is through eco-design in product design, efficiency improvements in manufacturing and supply chain, or exploring circular business approaches. For all of these areas, we have developed a corporate program with clear departmental responsibilities of metrics and targets.
And what are the challenges for Össur in terms of implementation?
We have already made significant progress in reducing our Scope 1 and 2 emissions and have already planned actions for achieving our targets. We are sourcing the majority of our purchased electricity from renewable energy sources and have increased the proportion of electrically powered leased cars to over 20%. More will follow.
As is probably the case for most manufacturing companies, the real challenge is in dealing with emissions in our supply chain. After completing our Scope 3 emissions calculations with the support from First Climate, it was clear that the major contributors to emissions in our supply chain are the purchased raw materials, goods and services, as well as emissions from transportation and distribution. We are now developing an action plan within our program to meet our Scope 3 targets.
We have already implemented improvements to reduce emissions from product packaging and are constantly working to optimize and improve on this. We are also continuously improving efficiency in our distribution channels with the aim of saving fuel and resources. With these and other measures, we have so far been able to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint in relation to the weight of the products we deliver by around 8% compared to the base year 2021.
About Össur:
Össur (Nasdaq Copenhagen: OSSR) is a leading global provider of innovative mobility solutions that help people live a Life Without Limitations®. For over 50 years, Össur has had a strong purpose rooted in positively impacting people’s health and well-being. A recognized “Technology Pioneer”, Össur focuses on improving people’s mobility through the delivery of solutions that advance patient care. Significant investment in research and development has led to over 2,000 patents, award-winning designs, successful clinical outcomes, and steady growth. Össur is committed to sustainable business practices and is signatory to the UN Global Compact, UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, and contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Össur operates globally and has around 4,000 employees. www.ossur.com
About the Science Based Targets initiative
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a global body that enables companies to set ambitious emission reduction targets based on the latest climate research. It supports companies around the world to halve their emissions by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The SBTi is a joint initiative of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wildlife Fun (WWF), as well as one of the commitments of the We Mean Business Coalition. The initiative also deals with the independent assessment and validation of corporate climate targets.
