Transforming sustainability visions into concrete actions

Written by: Tiina Lemmetyinen

Choosing impact from the start

From her earliest years, Sonja-Maria Ignatius (Sonja) has held a deep-seated interest in a broad range of topics related to sustainability. This led her to pursue a comprehensive educational path, resulting in a dual degree that marries the precision of an M.Sc. in Environmental Engineering with the nuanced perspective of environmental sciences from a humanities standpoint. This unique cross-disciplinary background highlights her commitment to affecting meaningful change in the field of sustainability. 

"Ever since I was young, I've cared about the environment, animals, conservation, and tackling climate change. I remember experiencing an environmental awakening when reading about environmental issues and conservation as an elementary school student. Choosing to study in a field where I could make an impact has guided my career from the very beginning," she notes. 

Her career path naturally led her to the public sector, aiming to influence policy-making. Her key roles included shaping regulations at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry by contributing to the national climate change adaptation plan, and later, developing the City of Helsinki’s climate change mitigation and adaptation action plan. 

Launching Kausal: turning grand plans into reality 

During her tenure at the ministry, Sonja joined a working group where she met Jouni Tuomisto from Kuopio. They connected over video meetings, sharing insights that laid the foundation for a strong professional bond. When they met in person a year later, it was as if they were old friends catching up. With Jouni's expertise in environmental health and promoting data-based decision making, he quickly became a key collaborator and ultimately one of Sonja’s co-founders. 

The idea for Kausal emerged from the realization that Helsinki was on the brink of adopting a comprehensive strategy needing public involvement. Sonja worried these plans would remain theoretical, trapped within spreadsheets without tangible tracking or public accountability. 

"There was this impressive strategy for Helsinki, with some fantastic actions that needed involvement from various parties, including the city’s residents. However, I feared it would all just stay on paper, these wonderful initiatives from various sectors just becoming a series of Excel spreadsheets without any real way to track progress," Sonja recounts. 

This concern prompted her to create a platform that could transparently monitor progress, necessitating collaboration with external developers. This is how she met her other co-founders, Juha Yrjölä and Tero Tikkanen, who were consultants with relevant municipal experience. 

Originally launched in 2019 as "Helsinki's Climate Watch," Kausal soon attracted attention from other cities.  Turning Helsinki’s pilot into a commercial product was reinforced when Sonja’s co-founders, inspired by Greta Thunberg's climate march, called her from New York and convinced her to formally establish the company and become its CEO. Just as the pandemic began in early 2020, Kausal was officially founded. 

From securing funding to global expansion and strategic partnerships 

Attracting investors naturally started by first leveraging relevant public instruments. Kausal landed its first venture capital from Vaens Oy in 2021, marking a pivot to a SaaS business model. By 2023, the company had gathered further investment from Innovestor and Spanish Zubi Capital, also attracting angel investors. 

"Investors were drawn by our solid team, diverse founders, and especially the timely relevance of our mission. We're tapping into broad sustainability areas beyond just climate change, like biodiversity, sustainable mobility, the circular economy, and air quality, to name a few. Our platform caters to a wide range of organizations, supported by the legislative push in various countries. Additionally, our ability to sell internationally and remotely, backed by solid financials, has proven attractive," Sonja notes. 

Kausal's journey into international markets in 2022 marked a pivotal point in the company's history. Securing first clients in Germany and the USA validated Kausal's global appeal and underscored the effectiveness of their remote sales strategy. Since then, Kausal's footprint has stretched across three continents—Europe, North America, and Australia—spanning nine countries. 

Sonja reflects on this achievement, "Securing our first international clients in 2022 was a moment we had eagerly awaited. Being recognized outside Finland, especially closing deals in Germany and the USA remotely, was a significant milestone. It was also personally gratifying for me to be able to do business in German." 

In addition to broadening its market reach, Kausal entered into a key partnership with the city of Zurich. This collaboration not only provided a strong reference but also significantly enhanced Kausal's tools for impact assessment and modeling.  

Remote team success: united by impact 

Sonja is grateful for Kausal's effective recruitment efforts, which have allowed her to build a team instrumental to the company’s progress. From the start, Kausal has been "born remote," embracing this model to ensure every member not only adapts to but also enjoys working remotely. This foundation has attracted a dedicated group passionate about making a sustainable impact, uniting a diverse, global team of 24 from 11 nationalities. 

While team members in Helsinki might meet more frequently, Kausal brings the entire team to Helsinki twice a year, which is beneficial for keeping the sense of unity and shared purpose strong among its geographically spread team. 

Sonja's personal passion for dance, especially Brazilian zouk, has influenced how she leads. Dancing and teaching dance have introduced her to new ways of understanding how people learn and the importance of guiding rather than directing. This has made her keen on group dynamics, benefiting also her professional role. 

Kausal’s culture is built on open dialogue, embracing lessons from setbacks, and a flat hierarchy that values every team member's contribution. Through regular and varied forms of communication—weekly meetings, small group discussions, casual conversations, coffee breaks, and one-on-one sessions—the team remains closely connected. This approach not only keeps the team aligned but also amplifies their collective commitment to driving global sustainability efforts. 

There's never an ideal time – just dive in now

On a personal level, Sonja is a mother to one, with another on the way. As a founder and a mother, Sonja carefully manages her time, fully dedicating herself to whatever she's doing, be it work or family time. She's integrated daily yoga into her routine for the past year, highlighting the need for personal boundaries. This discipline is vital for her wellbeing, and she hopes it also serves as a positive example for her team, helping to mitigate burnout in remote work settings. 

Sonja shares one crucial piece of advice with aspiring entrepreneurs: "If you're hesitating or wondering if you can juggle all life's aspects, from family to work, remember there's never a perfect moment. My key advice is to take the leap now; there is never a better time." 

Her ambitions for Kausal’s future are clear: to be the leading standard for managing climate and sustainability actions across governments worldwide. We believe in Sonja and her dedicated team and are honoured to support their mission in this critical field.