UseLess as a company
UseLess is a consultancy specializing in carbon footprint calculation and life cycle assessment. In our work, we always utilize the latest industry standards and research to help our clients understand and reduce the climate and environmental impacts of their organizations, products, and services.
Story of UseLess
The story of UseLess began in early 2018 when a research idea based on reducing consumption evolved into a product idea with business potential. This was fueled by growing frustration due to research being conducted not being put into practice. Eventually, UseLess Company was founded by six researchers, with our CEO Maija deciding to leave her academic career and becoming an entrepreneur.
Along the way, the business idea has shifted from supporting individual lifestyle changes to supporting organizations in their climate efforts. What has remained constant is the desire to work based on research and facts, with strong integrity. We’ve also embraced the agility and speed typical to startups, along with a strong desire to understand our clients and deliver services that solve real-world business problems. Our team has grown to include a fantastic group of professionals who drive our work forward. We believe we are a company that combines the best of the research world with the realities of business.
Responsibility & sustainability
At UseLess, we strive to keep responsibility and sustainability at the core of everything we do. For us, sustainability means the well-being and flourishing of both nature and people. Responsibility, to us, means maximizing the impact of our operations to achieve these goals. This is why the doughnut economics framework resonates strongly with us: our business must be both socially just and environmentally sustainable, as well as economically viable.
In the doughnut economics framework, the boundaries for environmental well-being can be defined scientifically through planetary boundaries. The foundation for human well-being can be based on the social goals of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Our business objectives are guided by the values of well-being; we do not seek growth for growth’s sake, nor is the sole purpose of our company to generate profits for shareholders. Instead, our business objectives are scaled so that our operations are profitable, we can offer stable employment where our team members can genuinely be themselves, and where work-life balance can always be achieved according to individual needs.
Our climate impact
In 2023, our carbon footprint was 4.5 tCO2e, and our emissions intensity was 20 gCO2e/€. The majority of our carbon footprint comes from purchased goods and services, with expert services and telecommunications playing a particularly significant role. Our carbon footprint increased from 2022 (+43%), mainly due to the growth of our operational team (+40%).
“Practice what you preach”
We actively strive to reduce our own climate impact through conscious choices. All of the furniture in our office are second-hand finds, and whenever possible, we also aim to purchase our IT equipment used. At our events, we strongly favor vegetarian food and public transportation. We also make annual donations to support nature conservation efforts.
In the future, we want to create genuinely impactful solutions to reduce the emissions from heating our rented office space. Since we are a small player in our office building at Maria 01 campus, it is no longer possible for us to procure renewable district heating just for ourselves. Our goal is to involve more organizations from Maria 01 ecosystem that are interested in reducing their climate impact to help resolve the situation.
UseLess is proud to be a partner of the Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center (ACCC). ACCC is a hub for cutting-edge research, aiming to enhance the understanding of climate change and air quality degradation. ACCC supports shared goals by generating scientific knowledge and making it accessible to various societal actors.
