“We Can Do This In the Right Operating Environment” – Industry Climate Roadmaps Presented in Brussels
At an event organized by the Confederation of Finnish Industries in Brussels, Finnish industry sectors’ low-carbon and biodiversity roadmaps were showcased, presenting fresh perspectives from both industry associations and companies on climate work across various sectors. Last week, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment released a summary of updated roadmap work across 14 sectors commissioned by the government.
The keynote speaker, Humberto Delgado Rosa, Director at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment, praised Finland’s innovation and leadership in climate and biodiversity roadmaps. The work is crucial as challenges abound: climate change impacts, such as the floods in Spain, are already being felt. According to Delgado Rosa, all sectors must consider their impacts on the biosphere, and it’s time to transition to a nature-positive economy because “our biosphere is on fire.”
“The human footprint is everywhere,” Delgado Rosa stated. “Climate change has climbed the ladder of relevance, and now the top four risks identified by businesses are all environmental.”
The chemical industry has been a pioneer in roadmap development, beginning its work in 2018, which has since expanded to cover 14 sectors.
“We have been doing sustainability work in the chemical industry through the Responsible Care program since 1992, so we already had a history and practices in place,” explained our Head of Sustainability, Sami Nikander. “Being a frontrunner is both a challenge and an advantage: you don’t always know how to do something yet, but at the same time, you can decide how to start doing it.”
The industry roadmaps have formed through active contributions and commitment from companies. At the Brussels event, corporate representatives included Heidi Peltonen, Head of Sustainability at Outokumpu from the technology industry, and Juha Nousiainen, Head of the Climate Team at Valio from the food and beverage industry, both of whom discussed the industry’s commitment to climate action. Additionally, Marja Rankila, an advisor from the energy industry was among the panelists.
The panel discussion at the event highlighted that companies themselves have been proactive in initiating the sector roadmaps. The shared message from the panelists was that climate action is both a competitive advantage and a prerequisite for successful operations in the future. However, challenges include financing the green transition and uncertainty in the investment environment. The investments needed for the transition are overshadowed by regulatory uncertainty and the difficulty of predicting which technologies will ultimately be effective in achieving goals.
“Green transition is driven by regulation. We need clear and stable regulations over a 5, 10, or even 15-year timeframe,” said Valio’s Nousiainen.
“We need all sector-specific regulationin one basket,” Nikander. “It takes 5-10 years just to get new feedstock approved due to the testing required by regulations.”
Highlights from the panel discussion:
- Climate efforts across sectors support other industries in their climate work.
- More data is needed to better understand environmental and biodiversity impacts of operations.
- More experts are needed in companies to evaluate and analyze data.
- Common terminology and methodology are necessary to ensure work is done correctly and steered in the right direction.
- Without solutions to combat climate change, businesses cannot thrive.
- Despite the challenges, there is strong belief in finding solutions.
“We can do this in the right operating environment,” Nikander concluded.
