Sustainability at the heart of operations

Targets cut across the value chain

We offer IT solutions for digitalization and the green transition. In our daily work, we follow the principles of sustainable development. Climate action, social responsibility and ethics in our business and throughout our value chain are important to us. Our social responsibility includes not only our own personnel, but also our ability to make a positive contribution to society through our customers and end users.

Our contribution to sustainability focuses on our handprint and the positive impact we create on society and the environment through our customers and end users. At the core of our sustainability are the essential elements that enable us to deliver on our mission: supporting the well-being and productivity of our personnel and minimizing the environmental impacts that our operations may have. Our sustainability is based on the principles, standards and practices we follow at every stage of our value chain.

Main themes of sustainability

Our sustainability work is centered around four main themes: CSC for research and education, CSC for our planet, CSC for our people, CSC for ethical business.

CSC for research and education

We help the research and education communities and our partners in the public and private sectors to succeed in their work. Our data management and computing service ecosystem can be used for research to promote the green transition and other socially relevant research and innovation activities.

We participate in major international collaborations to develop data management and computing services for climate and environmental research. We promote the use and cross-use of different data resources and improve the data analytics and knowledge management capabilities of our owners. We promote the processing and re-use of data in line with the FAIR principles. We take care of the long-term digital preservation of research and cultural heritage material.

• Read more about how we are strengthening the operating conditions for Finnish research and education.

The UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development aims for sustainable development in which the environment, the economy and people are taken into account equally. The 2030 Agenda has 17 goals, four of which we can directly influence:

• 4 Quality education
• 9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure
• 10 Reduced inequalities
• 13 Climate action

CSC for our planet

We reduce emissions in all our server rooms by improving energy efficiency and using only renewable energy. Our data center has been constructed in existing buildings on the site of a former paper mill. This has helped to avoid carbon dioxide emissions from construction. The waste heat from supercomputer LUMI’s data center is recirculated into Kajaani’s district heating network, reducing the city’s carbon footprint. Reducing our ecological footprint in all our activities throughout the value chain is important to us. We take sustainability principles into account in all our tenders, for example for electricity contracts and supercomputers.

CSC for our personnel

The well-being of our employees is very important to us. Our aim is to ensure that well-being, diversity and inclusion are embedded in our culture and practices. We can achieve this by fostering well-being and encouraging an inclusive culture that values diversity. We constantly strive to develop the leadership skills of our supervisors.

We want to enable a smooth and collaborative multi-location working environment for our employees. We value inclusive, timely, representative and accountable decision-making at all levels of our organization. We want to ensure that the working environment we provide is safe for all our employees, both physically and mentally. Every employee has the right to be themselves and be treated equally. We take all cases of harassment very seriously, and carefully handle all suspicions of harassment that come to our attention.

• Read our Non-discrimination and Equality Plan (pdf)

CSC for ethical business

We uphold high morals as a corporate citizen and expect our suppliers to embrace the same values. Our employees know our code of conduct and are required to follow them. Together with our partners and suppliers, we are developing sustainability throughout the supply chain.

We ensure that our operations and services are compliant, and that our customers are treated securely in terms of data protection and data security. We use external audits to ensure the quality and security of our services. We invest in developing the skills of our personnel in terms of carrying out data management and data protection. All personnel must undergo data protection and security training.

• Read more about our security, privacy, data policy and open source policy

Our operations, processes and financial management are transparent. We use the CSC Whistleblower system in accordance with the European Union Directive (EU 2019/1937) and the subsequent national Whistleblower Act (1171/2022).

In public procurements, CSC operates as an in-house entity of its shareholders as referred to in Article 12 (1 and 3) of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council. We also serve organizations other than our owners, provided that this does not exceed the permitted limit for external sales laid down in section 15 of the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts (FINLEX 1397/2016).

CSC’s Board of Directors monitors the management, implementation and risk management of sustainability in accordance with its rules of procedure. Sustainability management and the coordination of practical procedures are carried out through our routine management system.