As responsible for sustainability at Paulig, an international food company with well-known brands such as Santa Maria, Salla Sulasuo has more than 15 years of experience from both the business sector and the NGO field. She describes her career as a mission with a clear goal: to drive systemic change by influencing where it makes the greatest difference. Over time, she has realised that collaboration is one of the most powerful ways to achieve real change. This is reflected in the partnership with Lantmännen, where both companies purposefully integrate sustainability into their core operations to future-proof their businesses, resulting in measurable progress. 

Making sustainability part of the core business 

As Paulig celebrates its 150th anniversary next year, the company knows that sustainability is largely about long-term commitment. Driving real change requires a roadmap that lasts over time but can also accelerate and scale up solutions at the pace required. This demands both clear governance and genuine engagement – from owners and the board to leaders and employees who take ownership of the roadmaps and make them a natural part of daily business. 

“We want to be a successful company also for the next 150 years, and our product portfolio depends on natural resources. That is why these issues are an integrated part of our core strategy. It is simply fundamental to address climate and environmental challenges as part of the business model if we want to remain relevant”, says Salla Sulasuo, Sustainability Director at Paulig. 

Approximately 98 percent of Paulig’s emissions occur within Scope 3, meaning in areas beyond the company’s own operational boundaries, with majority linked to raw material sourcing. Against this background, the partnership with Lantmännen and the cultivation program Climate & Nature became a natural next step in 2022, an important initiative to address emissions linked to raw materials and turn targets into concrete action. 

The importance of partnership 

Lantmännen and Paulig have partnered for three decades. Over that time, the relationship has grown, driven by shared ambitions. In 2022, the partnership was further strengthened when Paulig joined Climate & Nature and began contracting wheat, primarily for its tortilla production, one of the company’s largest product categories. Salla describes how the scale, volume and strategic alignment with Lantmännen made the partnership possible. The delivery capacity was in place, and the cultivation program was structured in a way that created long-term stability. Since the start, the program has enabled savings of more than 7,500 tonnes of CO₂e. 

She also highlights that, at its core, the partnership was about people – the right individuals at both Paulig and Lantmännen who drove and enabled the collaboration. There were shared ambitions and goals, which made the potential to develop the work together clear. 

“Climate & Nature is a proven and reliable concept, which is crucial when aiming to reach science-based climate targets while remaining competitive. The partnership came about because both parties were mature enough to act, and it works today because we are working towards the same goals with great commitment and determination”, says Salla. 

The partnership has developed into a long-term collaboration that has not only delivered results here and now but has also helped Paulig shape parts of its roadmaps by showing what is possible in terms of emission reductions in primary production. Salla describes how Paulig holds a key position in the middle of the value chain, close to both suppliers and consumers, giving the company the opportunity to drive development in both directions. Through Climate & Nature, Paulig has gained a concrete tool to make the best use of this position: by paying a premium to farmers, the company contributes to a more resilient and sustainable agriculture while offering consumers a wider range of sustainable options on store shelves. 

“It is important for any company to ask itself what role it actually plays in driving progress. Our position in the value chain allows us to influence upstream while directly engaging with consumers. Our philosophy is to develop where we can and to use our influence to drive change, both through our own decisions and in partnership with others. Our collaboration with Lantmännen and Climate & Nature is an important example of this”, says Salla. 

Continuing to Pave the Way for New Practices 

When asked to look ahead at the food value chain of the future, Salla sees a clear need for continued collaboration – above all to further develop the matrix, data and shared definitions so that all parties speak the same language when it comes to sustainability. But equally important is the need to scale up and accelerate. 

“We have our roadmap and ambitious, science-based targets for 2030 and aim for net zero emissions by 2045.We have already succeeded in reducing our value chain emissions by 13 percent since 2018 while growing quite significantly, partly through collaborations such as Climate & Nature. To accelerate the transition, we must continue identifying what drives progress while remaining cost-efficient. It is about ensuring that less sustainable methods do not remain the norm or appear to be the easiest option. The question we must keep asking ourselves is how to slow down old ways of working while paving the way for the new”, concludes Salla 
 
Paulig’s Climate Targets 

Validated by Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) in line with 1.5°C and updated FLAG (Forest, Land and Agriculture) guidance. 

43% reduction in total emissions (Scopes 1–3) by 2030 vs 2018 baseline.
- 65% reduction in own operations (Scopes 1–2)
- 37% reduction in FLAG emissions (agriculture, land use, farming practices)
- 51% reduction in non-FLAG value chain emissions (e.g. logistics, processing, energy use) 

Net-zero ambition by 2045:
- 90% reduction in operational + non-FLAG emissions
- 72% reduction in FLAG emissions
- Total reduction of 79% across the value chain vs 2018