Jere examined the usability of the carbon handprint at Posti in his thesis

Jere contacted Noomi Jägerholm, Posti's Director of Sustainability, to see if they would be interested in the thesis. The topic of measuring the carbon handprint in parcel delivery came up when Posti's needs and Jere's expertise met. The final thesis is entitled Carbon Handprint as an Indicator of positive climate impacts in business.

The more familiar term carbon footprint focuses on negative climate impacts, while the carbon handprint describes positive climate impacts. Negative climate impacts have been measured, calculated and reported for some time. In addition to reducing emissions, many companies provide products or services that produce positive climate impacts. However, an issue has been how to measure and report these positive impacts. Carbon handprint has been introduced as a solution to this problem.

As a company, Posti was particularly interested in whether the carbon handprint was an appropriate metric to monitor their positive climate impacts. In his thesis, Jere investigated the size of the carbon handprint for Posti's new parcel delivery concept and compared it to the company's current delivery system in the metropolitan area. The aim of the thesis was to find out how Posti could use the carbon handprint calculation in its sustainability work. The calculations were made with six different scenarios to explore alternative perspectives on the size of the carbon handprint. The results of this calculation support the hypothesis that the new parcel delivery concept would create a carbon handprint for the metropolitan area and its people.

After six months of working on the thesis, Jere will graduate in July 2022 with a Master of Science in Technology degree from the Sustainability Science and Solutions program of LUT University, majoring in Environmental Technology and minoring in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. Jere has positive feelings about the whole process and has found the whole process educational. "All the members of the Posti´s Sustainability team have been helpful, and I have been supported throughout the process. My own knowledge has grown, and it has been instructive to follow the important sustainability work of a large company."

Jere encourages other students to contact Posti for their final projects. "Posti is a diverse company with a wide range of expertise in many areas. I would encourage you to contact Posti, it is also worthwhile to suggest your own interests as a topic for your final project. In the best case, the company's interests meet with your own, as happened to me."

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