Bringing clarity to sustainability work through double materiality analysis

The year 2024 was significant for the progress of our sustainability work. We continued greenhouse gas emissions calculations according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG), committed to the Science Based Targets initiative, and appointed a sustainability director for Nitor. Additionally, we conducted a double materiality analysis and began compiling our first sustainability report in accordance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

The double materiality analysis is a tool that, as its name suggests, examines sustainability-related issues from two perspectives: how they affect the company’s business and financial performance, and how the company’s operations impact the environment and society. Combining these perspectives helps identify the essential aspects of sustainability work that the company can influence and that affect its business.

The European Sustainability Reporting Standard (ESRS) includes 12 standards, covering ten different areas of responsibility. These include, for example, climate change, water usage, biodiversity, own personnel, business practices, and value chain employees. The analysis helps guide the company's sustainability actions and strategy towards genuine impact.

We conducted our double materiality analysis by interviewing 13 Nitoreans and one member of our Board of Directors. The diverse roles among the interviewees brought out various perspectives within the company and among different stakeholders. The interviewees assessed each area of the reporting directive from the perspective of Nitor's impacts and how changes, developments, or implementations in each area affect our business.

We conducted our first double materiality analysis in a simplified manner, leaving out the examination of the value chain and interviews with its members. The value chain perspective is intended to be added when we conduct the analysis again.

As a result of our materiality analysis, the following sustainability areas emerged as important development areas for Nitor:

Climate change

Climate change is a crucial theme for all companies – including Nitor. We continue to calculate greenhouse gas emissions as before, in accordance with the GHG Protocol, comprehensively in all three Scope categories. We pay special attention to Scope 3 emissions, which constitute the majority of our total emissions. Our goal is to find effective ways to reduce them while also promoting climate change mitigation. In addition to traditional emission compensation, we will start collaborating with the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation and the John Nurminen Foundation to restore nature and protect biodiversity.

In addition to our own actions, we are developing opportunities to help our clients with mitigating climate change as well. These opportunities include, for example, more energy-efficient code and sustainability-related training for our employees.

Our employees

As a consulting company, our employees are our most valuable asset. Maintaining a positive and inclusive culture is essential for us. We create and develop a culture of sustainable work pace and promote diversity and equality in our industry. These factors significantly impact our employees' satisfaction. Additionally, we focus on maintaining and developing professional development to enhance job satisfaction and the competitiveness of our consultants.

Consumers and End-users

The digital services developed by Nitoreans impact not only our customers but also the end users. We collaborate with our clients to enhance the sustainability aspects of these services, focusing on areas such as data security and accessibility. We provide support to our clients in implementing accessible digital services and offer training to both Nitor's clients and employees on various aspects of accessibility.

Governance

Good governance and financial responsibility are essential elements in our business practices. Nitor's financial responsibility is built on the steady and profitable expansion of our business and a diligent network of partners. Nitor's communal culture is a high priority for us in decision-making, and we focus on promoting it.

We concentrate on maintaining long-term partnerships and ensuring excellent customer satisfaction. We measure customer satisfaction annually with an external partner, as it is one of our most important success indicators.

Now that we have identified the key development areas for Nitor, we will continue our responsibility work and actions with a clear focus. Additionally, we will examine other aspects of sustainability and update the scope of our work based on our findings. Our goal is, above all, to find ways towards genuine impacts and relevant metrics to verify them.