Area of expertise: sustainable business, ESG regulations and reporting, environmental and climate impact and risk assessment, carbon footprint assessment
Kaie Kriiska
ESG and environmental expert
Every business has an impact on the environment and the society around us, often to a larger extent than we realize. Sustainable production and service provision that entails environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in daily business operations creates additional value, reduces business risks, increases investor confidence, promotes innovation, and attracts talents, which in turn ensures the company's long-term success and profitability. At Sustinere, I help organizations to understand and interpret the concept of sustainable business and the requirements of EU’s sustainability regulations. I analyze environmental and climate impacts (e.g. carbon footprint), carry out climate risk assessments and help with ESG reporting.
I have been working in the field of EU's environmental policy and climate & environmental impact assessment for over 10 years. Among other things, I have been responsible for the Estonia’s national greenhouse gas inventory in the forestry and land use (LULUCF) sector, represented Estonia in European Commission working groups, participated in the development of Estonia's climate change adaptation strategy by leading the terrestrial ecosystems science team. At the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI Tallinn), I worked on local and international sustainable development projects, e.g. agricultural pollution of the Baltic Sea region, the Tallinn 2023 European Green Capital project, conducted environmental footprint analysis of the Estonian defense and security sector, and developed an EU-wide tool that allows to quantify the GHG impact of spatial planning policies. I have also conducted environmental impact assessments (EIA) of various development projects (e.g. the Rail Baltica railway), including analyzing the climate impact of planned projects, the impact of transport, noise, air pollution and waste generation on ecosystems, and project compliance with sustainable development principles. I have also worked in the financial sector, where I helped one of the largest commercial banks in Estonia to develop an ESG risk assessment tool for bank’s clients when assessing loan risks, conducted internal trainings and client seminars, and advised companies on ESG regulations, market changes, risks and impacts.
I have a doctoral degree in Environmental Science and a master's degree in environmental technology from the University of Tartu. In addition, I have pursued further higher education in Germany (Universität Freiburg, Lüneburg Universität), Denmark (Aalborg University) and Austria (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences BOKU).
Areas of expertise: sustainable entrepreneurship, ESG regulations and reporting, environmental and climate impact and risk assessment, carbon footprint assessment