Climate change — tackling the global challenge

 

Climate change is one of the major themes and challenges of our times. As we start to understand the fundamental changes societies need to make in order to tackle this challenge, corporations are also gradually becoming more responsive to environmental concerns.

Vaisala has demonstrated its expertise in accurately measuring weather and environmental phenomena for more than 70 years. Vaisala equipment produce, display and store reliable environmental data, which is the cornerstone of any and all short and long-term study on the climate.

Well-established and respected companies are able to demonstrate to their stakeholders that they stand for sustainable development and practices that steer the future into a positive direction. Vaisala is no exception. We want to demonstrate our industry leadership through setting an example not only when it comes to our products and services, but also when it comes to the way we operate and conduct our business.

Vaisala's vision is a world where environmental measurements improve daily life. Our strategy is to cater for the environmental measurement needs of our chosen customer segments. For example, we contribute to airport and road safety, provide flood warning systems and create weather forecasting capabilities in countries all around the world.

Vaisala seeks to develop its business and operations continuously. In the same spirit, our Corporate Responsibility (CR) activities and efforts can and will be further developed. We have many good practices and processes in place, but there is always room for further improvement. For example, we should continue our work on streamlining the environmental reporting practices of different Vaisala offices around the world, and further improve all offices' environmental performance. We should also develop stronger international coordination networks for all CR issues, and further enhance related communications to our staff in order to highlight the importance of the topic for us. Vaisala's vision and strategy provide us with a solid foundation and motivation to carry out this work, which will continue also in the future.

 

Staying focused in economic turmoil

The current economic crisis may tempt companies to freeze their Corporate Responsibility activities, as they focus their efforts on the survival game. Investments in climate change mitigation may be cut and responsible corporate policies forgotten. This would be a very short-sighted strategy, and the wrong target for cost-cuttings. Instead, growing environmental challenges call for new kinds of solutions, which might also imply fresh business opportunities based on the environment.

There is a lesson to be learned from the present economic turmoil. It has highlighted the dangers of not addressing global risks early enough - be they economic, environmental, or other. The current situation should work as a catalyst and a warning example, and encourage more vigorous international cooperation also in the context of environmental protection.

Instead of freezing green initiatives, companies need to push this agenda even more vigorously. When we come out of the economic crisis, the environmental challenges will still be there. It will be the businesses that held their nerve and continued to invest in a better future that will emerge stronger and better equipped to face the challenges of the future.

 

Proactive approach required

Companies should be proactive and seek to innovate new ways of addressing challenges caused by climate change. In addition to reducing our own emissions and improving energy efficiency, we need to develop products, technologies and services that help to mitigate climate change.

Vaisala wants to do exactly this. We recently announced that we are investing in the development of an operational reference radiosonde. When complete, this instrument will provide superior-quality climatological data on the lower and upper parts of the atmosphere, and shed light on the dynamics of climate change.

The international scientific community has clearly expressed a need for a high precision instrument to enable long-term research on climate change. As the global leader in environmental measurement, we feel it is our duty to respond to this need. We do not expect commercial gains from this development project - it is our investment towards a better future.

 

Committed to the UN Global Compact

This report is another effort in transparency and open communications towards our stakeholders. It also signals our commitment to Corporate Responsibility reporting and initiatives, which feature strongly on our long-term agenda.

Vaisala joined the UN Global Compact in 2008 and is fully committed to the initiative’s ten guiding principles. Our Corporate Responsibility program echoes these values and strives to incorporate them fully into our organization. This report provides a summary of our efforts in making sure Vaisala lives up to its good reputation.

 

Kjell Forsén
President and CEO
Vaisala Oyj