Destination Östersund Measures Climate Impact in Collaboration with Grant Thornton

In a significant move towards sustainability, Destination Östersund has begun measuring its carbon dioxide emissions this spring. Through a new service introduced by audit and consulting firm Grant Thornton, it is now possible to continuously measure and monitor the climate impact of Destination Östersund’s purchases in its operations.

“We started the dialogue with Grant Thornton in April and began measurement in May, and it feels great as this becomes a natural part of our existing system. This gives us better control over our climate footprint, which in turn allows us to set clearer goals. If you don’t measure something, it’s difficult to know how much you emit or contribute. This provides a good basis for us to drive various change processes,”

says Joanna Gustafsson, process leader at Destination Östersund.

How the Climate Impact Measurement Works

The method is a climate calculation according to the GHG protocol based on customer purchases. The system digitally reads invoices and receipts monthly and converts them into carbon dioxide equivalents, providing a measure of the climate footprint. Purchases are then categorized into areas such as food and drink, premises, and business travel.

Through figures and diagrams delivered to the customer in a web service, it’s easy to see the climate impact of the business, for example in categories or in Scope 1, 2, and 3. Based on the current situation, companies can then consider how to work to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions.

Benefits of Climate Impact Measurement

Pär Dahlström, advisor at Grant Thornton, explains the benefits of this service:

“Through this service, we make the climate footprint visible and give companies easy access to information that was previously both difficult and expensive to obtain. Take business travel as an example, which is a category where you will get different impacts depending on whether you’ve taken the plane or train. This service allows you to see which categories have the most impact and where to start to make the biggest difference, or find low-hanging fruit.”

Destination Östersund’s Commitment to Sustainability

Destination Östersund has been working on sustainability issues for an extended period, but the work gained real momentum in the fall of 2023. Policies and strategies have been reviewed, resulting in various activities and initiatives to strengthen sustainability efforts. At the beginning of the year, Destination Östersund joined the global sustainability ranking GDSI, which means that Östersund will be evaluated as a sustainable destination and compared internationally with about a hundred other destinations.

Joanna Gustafsson concludes:

“We constantly work to make people like Östersund and feel that it is a good place to live in, work in, and visit. We want to continue to be an attractive place that cares about people and nature, and then sustainability work becomes an important part of our own organization, but also to create inspiration and drive improvement together with the destination’s stakeholders. The important thing is not to find the perfect solution for your sustainability work, but to get started with something and thereby start making a difference.”

For more information about Destination Östersund’s sustainability efforts, visit the original article.