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According to the newly released Sustainable Brand Index, consumers perceive Elovena® as the most sustainable brand in Finland. The study examines Finns' perceptions of the sustainability of brands. 

Elovena's sustainability efforts are part of the Raisio Group's systematic work to promote sustainability. Sustainability is part of every Raisio employee's work, and it is gratifying to see that our efforts are also visible to consumers. Our sustainability programme - Raisio's Good Food Plan - takes into account the well-being of the planet and its people and looks at the sustainability of our products from primary production to the dinner table. 

Sustainable Brand Index does not comment directly on the actual sustainability of brands, and it is not an actual indicator of sustainability - instead, the index studies Finns' perceptions of the sustainability of brands. For those of us who work with the brand, our success in this study tells us that people have enormous expectations of the sustainability of the Elovena brand. This inspires us to continue and further increase our efforts to promote sustainability. 

"For the Elovena brand, sustainability means being able to trust that Elovena products are a good choice for yourself and your loved ones. We offer tasty products that are healthy alternatives in their respective product groups, and our main ingredient is Finnish oats, a familiar staple," says Elovena Brand Manager Meri Mattila. 

Below are some of our past and future actions to become an even more sustainable brand: 

Healthy and tasty 

Healthiness without compromising on taste is the basis of Elovena® products. While developing products, we pay special attention to good taste, the quality of fat and the amounts of fibre, sugar and salt - and strive for the best possible combination of taste and healthiness. To support product development, the company has defined healthiness criteria for its product categories. The criteria take into account the nutrients essential for health in each category. Our view on healthy food is based on the generally approved concepts confirmed by the science of nutrition. 

Carbon neutrality 

One of the key objectives of our sustainability programme has been to make our own production carbon-neutral by the end of 2023. This important objective was achieved at the end of last year, resulting in all of our factories running on carbon-neutral energy from the beginning of December 2023 onwards. The solutions were found by developing operations and processes, together with our partners. 

Calculation of the carbon footprint 

In 2022, we started to calculate Raisio's indirect carbon dioxide emissions, i.e. to carry out Scope 3 calculations and work to reduce emissions in the value chain. At the product level, we have calculated the carbon footprint of Elovena Oat Drink Barista 1l. It represents the climate impact of the product throughout its life cycle, from grain cultivation to retail storage. The carbon footprint calculation of Oat Drink Barista is one way to test and monitor in practice how the Scope 3 emission reduction measures are working. 

Environmentally friendly packaging 

All packaging for Elovena products is recyclable, and the majority of packaging is made of cardboard or paper. We wish to encourage people to recycle. In addition to recycling labels, our products also include clear, written instructions on how to recycle the packaging. 

We also develop the existing packaging, increasing the use of renewable and recycled material and reducing the amount of plastic packaging and plastic materials. For example, the wrapping of Elovena® Snack Biscuits was replaced by a material suitable for cardboard recycling in 2023. By making this change, we are able to reduce the annual use of plastics by almost 30 tonnes. 

In 2023, we also introduced caps that will remain attached to the drink containers. This change is based on the SUP Directive (Single Use Plastics), which aims to reduce the amount of single-use plastics and plastic debris entering the environment. The caps for our drink cartons are made from plant-based plastic, which behaves in the same way as fossil-based materials but is significantly more environmentally friendly and reduces the carbon footprint of packaging. 

Towards a plant-based diet 

Plant-based and sustainable food choices are becoming more and more popular among households. We have responded to this growing demand by introducing new domestic oat products produced in our factory in Raisio, which focuses on plant-based products. Plant-based products, such as Elovena Oat Drinks, Oatgurts, Puddings and Snack Oat Drinks, encourage plant-based eating that is good for our health and the environment.  

Enquiries:
Meri Mattila, Brand Manager, Raisio Group, tel. +358 40 705 0581, meri.mattila@raisio.com
Katri Järvinen-Wilén, ESG Manager, Raisio Group, tel. +358 40 776 4314, katri.jarvinen-wilen@raisio.com

Read a comprehensive overview of our responsibility work in our annual review, entitled `Raisio's Annual Review and Corporate Responsibility Report 2023', which is to be published on 14 March 2024. The report will be available at raisio.com (https://www.raisio.com/) as of 14 March 2024.

At Raisio, we make food from the heart, with the aim of bringing health to ourselves and the Earth. We keep creating better plant-based and heart-healthy products so that eating healthily and within the Earth's ecological capacity can be a pleasure. Our strong brands, such as Benecol®, Härkis® and Elovena®, turn our ambitions into reality. Through our responsibility work, we make the hard choices for consumers, so that they can choose Raisio products with confidence. We have around 350 healthy food colleagues in seven countries and export to more than 40 markets around the world. Raisio's shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. In 2023, the Group's comparable net sales for continuing operations were EUR 219.5 million and the comparable EBIT was EUR 22.7 million. www.raisio.com