Halton combines strategy and sustainability mandates under CSO

Halton has promoted its CSO Riikka Paarma to Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer, expanding her mandate to better align sustainability and business priorities.

Strategy was previously the responsibility of Mika Nieminen as Senior Vice President of Strategy, IT and Digitalisation. He will now focus exclusively on Halton’s digital capabilities, IT operations and cybersecurity.

“Integrating sustainability into strategy is of fundamental importance as it aligns both sustainability and business goals, ensuring long-term success and resilience. The combined role of Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer uniquely positions one to drive this integration effectively,” Paarma tells CSO Futures. 

“Personally, it’s incredibly rewarding to witness professionals with a sustainability background evolving into dual roles that encompass both strategy and sustainability. This progression is key to driving transformational change, as it brings a deep understanding of sustainability challenges and solutions to the strategic decision-making process.”

Paarma has been CSO and a member of the executive team at the Finnish manufacturer of indoor environment solutions since March 2024. Before Halton, she held sustainability leadership roles at EY, paper company Stora Enso and Deloitte.

Halton Group sustainability and circularity goals

Halton Group completed its Scope 3 emissions inventory in 2024, and this year committed to setting science-based climate targets – giving the firm two years to develop its emissions reduction pathway.

As of 2024, the company’s carbon footprint totals 27,676 tonnes of CO2 equivalent – with nearly three quarters (74%) coming from purchased materials such as steel, copper and aluminium. 

To reduce this, Halton is developing sustainable design principles leveraging circularity and recyclability. “As steel production has significant environmental impacts, contributing to global CO2 emissions and other pollutants, effective resource management and increased utilisation of recycled materials are crucial to minimising these effects. Steel is easy to separate and recycle, allowing it to be used in the production of any new steel product. Therefore, scrap metal is a valuable raw material in all steelmaking processes,” the firm said in its 2024 sustainability report.

That year, 64% of the stainless steel, 95% of the copper and 54% of the aluminium used in Halton products came from recycled sources.