Eco-efficiency in Finland
According to the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), a comparative assessment carried out by the World Economic Forum, Finland led the world in environmental sustainability in 2001, 2002 and 2005. Finland's strengths have been air and water quality, science and technology, effective environmental administration and initiatives from the private sector. Finland fared less well when it came to levels of consumption per capita.
In comparisons of the ecological footprints of different countries – measured in terms of the levels of consumption of natural resources and the ability of nature to renew these resources – Finland has the dubious honour of having the largest footprint of the industrialised countries.
The WWF's Living Planet index in 2006 rated Finland's ecological footprint as the third largest among 148 countries (behind only the United Arab Emirates and the USA). Finland's footprint is about four times larger than the average global capacity for the renewal of natural resources.
Finland has made good progress on curbing emissions, thanks to initiatives from industry as well as a flexible environmental permits system. The eco-efficiency of the Finnish economy has improved considerably ever since 1980, except during the recession of the early 1990s.
Eco-efficiency in Finland 1975-2007
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Finnish Environment Institute and Oulu University Thule-Institute have a project to define the life cycle environmental impacts of the material flows used for production and consumption in the Finnish economy allocated to different activity sectors and product groups. In the project, the focus is not restricted to domestic environmental loads. Impacts on the environment caused by imported raw materials and goods are also taken into account. The final objective of the project is to create a so called hybrid model by which the relationships between environmental impacts and economic effects caused by the use of natural resources in Finland can be assessed. In the environmental assessment, life cycle methodology and databases are connected to the national material flow accounts and input-output analysis.
Fact sheets on eco-efficiecy and best practises in Finland
* Concealed resource flows are environmental impacts which occur elsewhere and may not be directly linked to the use of products. These flows include the impacts of transportation, and the waste produced during the extraction of minerals, for instance.
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