As responsible for sustainability work at Paulig, an international food company with well-known brands such as Santa Maria, Salla Sulasuo has more than 15 years of experience in both the business and NGO sectors. She describes her career as a mission with a clear goal: to drive systemic change by influencing where it makes the biggest difference. Over time, she has come to realize that collaboration is one of the most powerful paths to real change. Something that is reflected in the partnership with Lantmännen, where both players purposefully integrate sustainability into the core business to future-proof the business, which creates results. 

Making sustainability part of the core business 

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

"We want to be a successful company for the next 150 years, and our product portfolio is dependent on natural resources. Therefore, these issues are an integral part of our core strategy. It is simply crucial to address climate and environmental issues as part of the business model if you want to remain," says Salla Sulasuo, Sustainability Director at Paulig. 

Approximately 98 per cent of Paulig's emissions occur in Scope-3, i.e. in parts that are beyond the company's own operational limits, the majority of which are the purchase of raw materials. Against this background, the partnership with Lantmännen and the Climate & Nature cultivation programme became a natural step in 2022, an important investment in tackling the emission levels around the raw material and moving from goals to action. 

The importance of partnership
Lantmännen and Paulig have been working together for over three decades. Over such a long period of time, not only partnerships are built, but also strong and trusting relationships. In 2022, the collaboration deepened further when Paulig joined the Climate & Nature cultivation programme and started contracting wheat, especially for its production of tortilla bread, one of the company's largest product categories.  The delivery capacity was in place and the cultivation program was structured in a way that created long-term security. Since its inception, the cultivation program has saved   over 7,500 tonnes of CO₂e. 

But she also highlights that it was fundamentally about people, the right people at both Paulig and Lantmännen pushed and made the collaboration possible. There were common 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 you are to achieve scientific climate goals and at the same time be competitive. The collaboration came about because both parties were mature enough to act and it works today because we work towards the same goal with great commitment and determination," says Salla. 

The partnership has developed into a long-term collaboration that has not only had an impact here and now, but also helped Paulig shape parts of its roadmaps by clarifying what is possible when it comes to climate reductions in primary production. Salla describes how Paulig is in a key position in the middle of the value chain, close to both suppliers and consumers, which gives the company the opportunity to drive development in both directions at the same time. Climate & Nature provides Paulig with a concrete tool to make the best use of this position: paying a premium to the farmer contributes to a more viable farm, while offering consumers more sustainable options on the shelf. 

"As a company, it is important to ask yourself what role you actually play in development. Our position in the value chain allows us to influence upstream while meeting consumers directly. Our philosophy is to develop where we can and 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 just that," says Salla. 

Continue to pave the way for new ways of working

When Salla is asked to look ahead to the food value chain of the future, she sees a clear need for continued collaboration. In particular, to further develop methods, data and common definitions, so that all parties speak the same language when it comes to sustainability. But just as important is to scale up and accelerate. 

" We have a roadmap and ambitious, science-based targets for 2030, and aim for net-zero emissions by 2045. We have already managed to reduce our emissions in the value chain by 13 percent since 2018, while at the same time we have grown strongly, partly through collaborations such as Climate & Nature.. In order to accelerate the transition, we must continue to identify what both drives development forward and keeps us cost-effective. It is about ensuring that less sustainable methods do not continue to be the norm or perceived as the easiest option. The question we constantly need to ask ourselves is: how do we slow down the old way of working while paving the way for the new? Salla concludes. 

Paulig's climate targets

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

• 43% reduction in total emissions (Scope 1-3) by 2030 compared to 2018. 

• 65% reduction in own operations (Scope 1-2) 

• 37% reduction in FLAG emissions (agriculture, land use, cultivation practices) 

• 51% reduction in non-FLAG emissions in the value chain (e.g. logistics, processing, energy use) 

Net zero emissions by 2045: 

• 90% reduction in own emissions + non-FLAG emissions 

• 72% reduction in FLAG emissions 

• Overall reduction of 79% across the value chain compared to 2018