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From commitments to actions: our progress in mitigating climate emissions

Orion has set a target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. As a science-driven organization, Orion aligns with the scientific community’s urgent call to limit the rise in global average temperature at 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Orion Pharma has established near-term climate targets for 2030 that have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative as being in line with the 1.5-degree target. These targets cover all three emission scopes of our value chain.

Read on to learn about the progress we have made over the years.

Scopes 1 & 2

Emission scopes 1 and 2 refer to direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Orion Pharma’s own operations and indirect emissions associated with purchased energy, respectively.

The below graph shows the development of our Scope 1 & 2 emissions since 2016.

Graph showing Orion Pharma's scope 1 & 2 emissions from 2016 to 2025

Most of the emissions generated by Orion Pharma’s own operations arise from

  • the heat used in properties and functions
  • the steam needed for maintaining process conditions (i.e., drying and heating the air)
  • electricity, which represents 45% of our total energy consumption.

Orion has committed to reducing absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 70% by 2030 from a 2023 base year. These emissions are addressed in line with our ambitious emissions reduction roadmap through energy efficiency, process electrification, and the use of carbon-free energy as the main decarbonization levers. 

Concrete climate actions – scopes 1 & 2

We have invested in reducing our production-related emissions.

  • Flash.png

    Carbon-free electricity powers our operations

    • Since 2019, our purchased electricity has been 100% carbon-free. We purchase mainly from producers whose electricity is based on wind power, hydropower, or bioenergy. We do not consider peat to be renewable energy.
    • Our API production site in Hanko, Finland is home to a solar power plant, built in 2023 and owned and operated by our partner Oomi, which generates ~1,000 MWh of energy annually. We purchase all the electricity generated by the solar farm through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to power the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients.
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    Heat-pump plants produce carbon-free heating and cooling

    Our manufacturing facilities in Espoo and Turku, Finland are cooled and heated using the sites' AmbiHeat local heating plants and waste heat.

    Espoo:

    • Heat-pump plant introduced in 2023
    • Total heating capacity: 3 MW
    • 2,200 tCO2 emissions avoided annually
    • Need for purchased energy reduced by 55%

    Turku:

    • Heat-pump plant introduced in 2021
    • Total heating capacity: 1 MW
    • 1,000 tCO2 emissions avoided annually
    • Need for purchased energy reduced by up to 66%

Scope 3

Orion’s climate impact extends beyond our own operations, as approximately 95% of emissions come from our value chain.

Orion addresses its value chain emissions with its supplier engagement SBTi target. Each of our business divisions has also drafted its own, division-specific plan which focuses primarily on Scope 3 emissions.