Sustainability is at the core of all VTT operations

Sustainability priorities Environmental goals Standards and certificates Code of Conduct VTT Whistleblower Information security

The development of sustainable solutions is our most significant act of corporate responsibility and sustainability, since our operation is based on resolving the grand challenges of our time. We strive to understand the needs and opportunities of businesses and society. We help to meet these needs by co-developing impactful scientific and technological solutions in collaboration with our partners. At the same time, we help our customers to succeed and to promote sustainable growth and well-being in society.

We are a member of the FIBS corporate responsibility network, and we have also joined the UN Global Compact initiative on corporate sustainability.

We value people as they are. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are an integral part of our sustainability, and we are strongly committed, for example, towards gender equality within our working community and in the wider research ecosystem. Find out more in our Gender Equality Plan.

Find out more about our sustainability in the annual report and its GRI table. You can find our previous annual reports also from the same location. 

At VTT, we want to mitigate climate change and reduce the environmental burden. We encourage VTT employees to make environmentally friendly choices. In our environmental policy, we emphasise the following matters:

• We create sustainable solutions for major societal challenges in our research projects.
• We support our customers in innovations that enhance environmental performance.
• We encourage our personnel towards sustainable choices.
• We comply with the statutory requirements and other binding obligations of our operations.
• We continuously improve our management system to enhance environmental performance.  

We implement these goals with the help of our operational system, which is applied by all our facilities in Finland.

We also deal with the immediate impacts of our own activities. VTT aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

We are a member of the Climate Leadership Coalition and we participate in the operations of the Climate Partners network of the City of Helsinki and businesses.

GRI

We report on social responsibility issues in accordance with GRI Standards 2016, as applicable. The key part of our corporate social responsibility is the annual report with a GRI table presenting the table of contents, some indicator values, and references to further information on the matter. 

ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 9001 certificated operational system

Our operational system has been granted the following certificates:

• ISO9001:2015 certificate
• ISO14001:2015 certificate
• ISO 45001:2018 certificate
• ISO 27001:2022 certificate

Please find a more detailed description of our operational system here.

One essential part of our Compliance programme is the Code of Conduct, which is based on VTT’s good reputation as a reliable partner. It entails such issues as the reliability and high-quality of research findings, our operating practices in relation to our partners, and our commitment to occupational health and safety as well as environmental issues.

Further reading:

• VTT's code of conduct
• VTT’s Supplier Code of Conduct

We are using the Whistleblower notification channel for reporting suspected abuses. It allows us to become aware of any abuses and non-compliance with our guidelines and ensures that such issues are appropriately addressed. Read more about our Whistleblower channel here.

The anti-corruption duty applies to the entire personnel and management of VTT and its subsidiaries, as well as all of VTT's operations. VTT is committed to complying with the United Nations Convention against Corruption (2006/58) and national and European Union legislation.

Read more:

• Anti-corruption activities and reporting

We always respect the laws and regulations concerning the protection of privacy when processing personal data.

Further reading:

• VTT and data privacy

• VTT Group Corporate Governance (CG)
• VTT's value chain
• VTT's Materiality assessment
• VTT's Double materiality analysis