Finnish companies are waking up to biodiversity risks and possibilities

Couple of weeks ago, Kauppalehti published an article related to the awakening of the finance sector to the risks imposed by biodiversity loss. The topic has made its way on the agendas of Finnish companies as well. That’s why Good Ventures organized a Slush side event for corporations, start-ups and investors: Building good businesses - and how to take biodiversity into consideration. In the event, the risks were recognized, but the emphasis of the discussion was on the opportunities.?

Climate change and biodiversity loss go hand in hand?

“Biodiversity is important for us because our lives and all business activities are totally dependent on nature and its ecosystem services. Climate change and biodiversity loss go hand in hand and must be addressed together. They are two sides of the same coin and will accelerate each other. If we try to solve only one, we will fail”, stated Mari Pantsar in her keynote speech.?

The event was organized in order to understand how Finnish companies can be a part of the solution instead of being a part of the problem. Kimmo Luoma , SVP of Food business unit at Valio, described their journey of building the new Food 2.0 system: “Food industry is often seen as a source of the problem, but we work hard on becoming a solution. We do everything to decline our carbon footprint and we have already started carbon farming. We are working on closing all the loops and making our business and Finnish farms circular while conserving biodiversity. We are continuously innovating and introducing plant-based products to complement animal-based and cell-based food.”

Circular economy is the best solution at hand

One thing that everyone agreed on was that circular economy is one of the most important tools to reduce the pressure of business on nature. “Circular economy is an opportunity for business. Without circular economy we will not mitigate biodiversity loss or climate change”, Mari Pantsar explained. Heikki F?rkkil? , VP of Chemical Recycling at Neste, described their circular solution: “We are building a chemical recycling value chain to turn plastic waste into a valuable resource. This way less of it will end up in landfills, ocean or elsewhere in nature.”

One of the questions luring in the audience’s mind was why; Why are these well established companies investing so much time and money into new circular solutions that may or may not become good businesses? “Surely it’s the right thing to do, but also we see that if we just stay still, we will die someday. We want to be proactive”, Kimmo Luoma explained. Also Mari Pantsar sees that the regulation is coming fast and hard similarly as in the mitigation of climate change: “Regulation on biodiversity is tightening. It is better to take action to offer solutions than just to adapt.” Heikki F?rkkil? reinforced the point, saying: “Take action first, don’t wait for regulation to come. Regulation is a two way street, it can work for you or against you. Demonstrating that this is a viable solution will affect regulation, and regulation will help early movers to scale-up.”

Systemic change happens only through collaboration

A crucial element in circular economy is that no one can succeed alone. Neste has worked on their innovation for five years with numerous companies from the value chain. Valio is inviting players from different industries to build the new, sustainable food system together. The event also featured three start-ups, all building businesses on combating climate change and biodiversity loss, for whom tight collaboration with large companies is a must.?

Collective Crunch is a green technology company that is committed to building a sustainable future for forestry. Chief Product Officer Mika Korvenranta tells about the importance of co-operating with large companies: “We started cooperation with Mets? Group a year ago to work on the big question, how to mitigate the impact of climate change on forests. By joining forces, we managed to develop the solution for the problem in half a year.”? The two companies won the Finnish Quality Innovation Award.

Infinited Fiber’s awarded technology transforms textile waste into premium-quality circular fibers for the textile industry (that by the way produces ca. 10% of global CO2 emissions). They are on a mission to make textile circularity an everyday reality. This is a huge transformation that requires collaboration in the whole ecosystem. Paula Sarsama describes the shift: “The circular value chain works in a completely different way to a linear one. You have to change your whole mindset and business model. In a circular value chain you have to be open to all stakeholders and collaboration, be proactive and find the right partners. Europe is an awesome playground for this and we do everything to make use of it. We need to act as pioneers on a global level,

and set targets for further development also outside Europe.”?

Carbo Culture, who just received a 16M€ funding, is doing biochar carbon removal at scale. Their northstar mission is to remove 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide. Carbo Culture is working with large companies who see the value in being first movers. “Not all companies recognize this, but some do, and we want to collaborate with them. Working with start-ups can be a leap forward for a large company. That way they don’t have to start from zero and time to market can be much quicker”, explains Ilkka Taponen , Business Development lead at Carbo Culture.?

The forerunners see opportunities - and seize them

A common denominator for all the discussions was the belief that Finland and the Nordics have the potential to lead the way in sustainable solutions. Nature and responsibility are in our DNA, we have the know-how to build the technological solutions, and our culture is based on trust and collaboration. However, “the only way to succeed is to stop the over consumption. Companies have a big responsibility in this. Some see it as a burden, but the forerunners see it as an opportunity”, concludes Mari Pantsar.

For more information and further discussions on how to tap into the opportunities of green transition, please contact Katriina Anttila from Good Ventures: [email protected], +358 41 438 0469.

Useful resources:?

Sustainable growth with circular economy business models - Playbook for business

Finland’s Moonshots for Green Growth