Liisa Jaakkola makes sustainability tangible at BMH

Liisa Jaakkola works as a Sustainability Specialist at BMH Technology. We asked Liisa herself and BMH’s HR Director Niina Jäpölä to tell us more about Liisa’s job and her career path at BMH.

 

What does a sustainability specialist do and how did Liisa become one?

 “I remember well when I first heard about Liisa.”, says Niina.

“Our Technology Director Ville Hakanperä approached me and told me that he had talked several times with a student in the final stages of her studies, who could have just the right skills for carbon footprint calculation. I remember that Liisa made a special impression on us by being actively in contact with Ville despite the fact that the thesis position did not open up right away.”

Liisa has a Master of Science degree in Environmental and Energy Engineering from Tampere University. Her major was Energy and Biorefinery Engineering and her minor was Industrial Engineering. Liisa did her thesis on carbon footprint calculation, which partly led to getting a job at BMH.

What is included in Liisa’s work as a Sustainability Specialist and what interests her in particular?

 

“I joined BMH at a very interesting time, as the sustainability work had started more widely only shortly before my career at BMH began in 2022.”, Liisa says.

“In the beginning, my task was to determine the carbon footprint for the company’s own operations, i.e. the so-called scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, we started to investigate ways to reduce these emissions. It was great to see that the calculations also supported investments that have already reduced emissions significantly in our own production at BMH Works.”, Liisa continues.

“Very soon I started to investigate the carbon footprint of products as well, which I also did for my thesis. It was rewarding that I was able to use the skills at BMH that I gained from my thesis. All the time, I learn also new things especially about sustainability and environmental issues, but also about work safety, for example.”

Why did Liisa originally get interested in applying for a job at BMH and was she persistent in her job search?

 

“Initially, BMH from Rauma was only familiar to me by name. When I got to know the company better, I noticed that its industry was close to the field I studied. I was interested in the company’s operations and the solutions it offers to the global waste problem and the replacement of fossil fuels. The company’s values also matched mine.“, Liisa explains.

“At that time, BMH didn’t have an open position that matched my skills and interests. However, one open job advertisement had the contact details of the technology director, so I decided to try my luck and call to ask about future summer internship and thesis positions. To my surprise, Ville told me about the sustainability and environmental work that they were planning to expand and I was immediately excited about the idea of working on a topic that interested me.

“Although the matter did not immediately progress to a work contract, I was left with a positive impression of the company and decided to try again a year later. This time the timing was better and I got to start working in a place that I liked right at the threshold of graduation.”, Liisa concludes with a smile.