Halton Group Chief Sustainability Officer Riikka Paarma: 3 Things to Know

Halton Group, a global technology company specializing in indoor air solutions, has hired Riikka Paarma to succeed Hannu Hallila as chief sustainability officer. Hallila has retired.

Here are three things to know about Rikka Paarma's experience and expertise, and Halton Group's sustainability strategy.

1. Business Focus and Scale: Halton Group, founded in 1969, is based in Helsinki, Finland. The company, backed by 1,900 employees, generated annual turnover of roughly €270 million (US$294.7 million) in 2022. The company's 2022 sustainability report is here. Moreover, the company was striving to become carbon neutral by 2023. We don't know if the business achieved that goal.

2. Riikka Paarma's Experience: Paarma previously was partner at EY-Parthenon -- Ernst & Young's global strategy consulting arm. Earlier, she was senior VP of sustainability at Stora Enso, a renewable materials company. Paarma also was director and leader for sustainability services at Deloitte Finland.

3. Executive Perspectives: In a prepared statement about hiring Paarma, Halton Group CEO Kai Konola said: “Climate crisis and pandemics have made Halton’s long-standing mission, enabling sustainable wellbeing in demanding indoor environments, to be more relevant today than ever. This nomination further strengthens the strategic integration of sustainability into our customer promise and our business operations. We are excited to get Riikka to lead and accelerate our sustainability development journey forwards."

Halton Group CSO: Why Technology Partners Should Care

By 2027, 25% of Global 2000 companies will have assigned a chief sustainability officer (CSO) responsible for meeting their organization’s ESG goals and making ESG-related IT purchasing decisions, according to IDC.

The bottom line: Technology partners need to extend their sales, marketing, engagement and support strategies to successfully fulfill those CSO customer needs, Sustainable Tech Partner believes.