Deeper into the rabbit hole

Just a quick word about a moment of revelation 'cause I just bumped into a blog on the web page of Lapland University of Applied Sciences. It was a short text about resource-wiseness with some good insight on the subject. You can go and read the full text here: 

https://www.lapinamk.fi/blogs/Resurssiviisas-paasee-vahemmalla/0q5cunco/81218ce8-8503-40a3-9ad6-eff930dbc4aa?fbclid=IwAR0p41J5VSzBRo-XP_XdzcgXcp1elUUuCEtk3c4Zjvg2jsnC7OGjLZjn6C8

They use a definition that states that a resource-wise way is not only trying to use resources more efficiently but using them in a very planned and sustainable way and in a manner that saves resources. Resources, according to Sitra, among other things are energy, products, natural resources, time, knowledge and raw materials. When the range is this wide, it's starting to become more clear that the ways of being resource-wise are many.

Kuva: Pexels, Quang Nguyen Vinh 26.01.2022

Through this blog I ended up visiting Sitras webpage and learned about their project with three cities, Forssa, Lappeenranta and Turku, that took upon themselves to be pioneers in resource-wise planning back in 2015. As a product of this project each city gained a roadmap showing a way to become resource-wise in the fields of energy, infrastructure, consumption, food production and water resources. All these cities are working towards becoming carbon neutral by the end of 2050. You can learn more about this project through this link: https://www.sitra.fi/artikkelit/yhteinen-nakemys-kestavasta-tulevaisuudesta-nain-tiekartta-tukee-edellakavijakaupunkien/

And when diving even deeper, I learned that circular economy can be used as a tool for resource-wise actions. So these two concepts are not the same thing at all but the latter is rather a means to an end in this relationship. Other tools, or means to an end, are for example life cycle planning, (raw) material efficiency and making positive changes such as using renewable energy. All these tools can be divided into smaller pieces when wanting to go down to the concrete actions. 

This address https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L64YODF_gAU takes you to see a short video from Turku sharing their feelings on their journey towards carbon-neutrality and finding resource-wise solutions.

Kuva: Pexels Matheus Bertelli, 26.01.2022

https://www.lapinamk.fi/blogs/Resurssiviisas-paasee-vahemmalla/0q5cunco/81218ce8-8503-40a3-9ad6-eff930dbc4aa?fbclid=IwAR0p41J5VSzBRo-XP_XdzcgXcp1elUUuCEtk3c4Zjvg2jsnC7OGjLZjn6C8

https://www.sitra.fi/artikkelit/yhteinen-nakemys-kestavasta-tulevaisuudesta-nain-tiekartta-tukee-edellakavijakaupunkien/

Carbon neutral Finland by Kati Berninger

Hiilineutraali Suomi (Carbon neutral Finland), a book by Kati Berninger (Gaudeamus, 2012) describes the means and problems of building a carbon-neutral society and presents positive solutions to them.

She writes about the concept of carbon neutral society and country but getting there involves us all: consumers and businesses. On my mind map I´ve listed some of the possible challenges there might be. Investments and the fact that the change takes time are, in my opinion, the obvious challenges. Contributing to the idea of a carbon neutral society requires changes for example in the production and usage of electricity, heating, and water. Energy effectiveness can be achieved for example through switching to use renewable energy, making sure logistics is operating as green as possible and paying attention to the right kind of packaging of the goods.

Berninger writes that cities and towns may have energy effectiveness agreements and businesses should join these agreements by first ordering an energy review. The review will find out about the current situation of the company’s energy usage and present ways to go ahead with becoming more responsible and cut the costs. These changes equal investments and this may be a stumbling block to many companies. However, the investments will pay off eventually in lower costs and decrease in emissions. Berninger also says that in 2009 the greenhouse gasses were mostly produced by the industrial energy use and emissions from traffic.

There are different ways to force businesses to become greener: higher taxes for using non-renewable energy, benefit packages for green investments etc. These different ways of pressuring and persuading the businesses to “do the right thing”might very much the motive for some companies.

Berninger suggests that renewable energy sources are solar energy, wind power, bioenergy,

hydropower and eco-energy. Other ways to cut emissions are using public transport instead of driving, cycling, packing the goods effectively, joining forces with other businesses by building a joint logistics network for more efficient operations. Not more than 10 years ago we were talking about changing regular bulbs to LEDs but nowadays that is more a norm than exception. It’s comforting to look back and see that we are moving in the right direction one step at a time, slowly but surely.

But all this comes down to the costs. According to consumer surveys, consumers do want greener products and are willing to pay more for them but at the same time this is not possible for all. There are a lot of consumers that are forced to buy the cheapest thing available even if they would like to buy according to their values. If a company is considering the costs and calculating that the return time is something between 5-10 years, this might make them drop the whole plan. Costs are, in my opinion, the biggest threat for the company deciding to make or not to make the investments.

Berninger, K. 2012. Hiilineutraali Suomi - Miten luodaan ilmastoystävällinen yhteiskunta. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.