Sustainability

Sustainability is not an unambiguous goal to be aimed at. It gives us the direction in which we have to guide the social and economic development to secure good life for the current and future generations.  

Sustainable Production of Biodiesel

Raw Material

The environmental impacts of wood energy harvesting have been taken into consideration in raw material procurement. Raw material procurement is based on the principles of sustainable forestry and is carried out in accordance with the harvesting instructions recommended by Forestry Centre Tapio. Energy wood is only harvested in suitable locations, which are selected with utmost care.  If necessary, the stands marked for cutting are divided into smaller blocks, and the crown mass and stumps are only collected in the blocks that meet the principles of sustainable forestry. Near waterways, there are buffer zones, and only suitable amounts of logging residues are collected in these areas. Harvesting is carried out by professionals with appropriate training in energy wood harvesting.

Energy wood harvesting as part of the management of young forests benefits forest owners. It improves the condition of the forests and increases their value later when commercial timber is harvested. At the same time, the forests yield raw material for energy production. Here, too, the primary aim of the activities is to comply with the principles of sustainable forestry.

The cultivation of new biomass must not deplete CO2 stores. The raw materials used in biomass production include forest energy fractions, by-products from the wood-processing industry, and peat from existing ditched bogs.

Impacts of production on the environment

Food supplies and existing local biomass usage must not be jeopardised by biomass production. The raw material will be sourced from certified forest areas and ditched bogs that are not suited for food production. Reed canary grass can be cultivated in cut-away areas released from peat production and in buffer zones near waterways.

Biomass production must not impair biodiversity. The raw material will be sourced from sustainably managed commercial forests and ditched bogs.

Biomass production must not weaken water or air quality. The recovery of biomass from commercial forests does not affect the quality of water or air. Peat extraction employs the latest peat production methods, where the environmental impacts have been minimised. At the local level, the plant’s emissions will be discussed within the EIA process.

Social impacts

Biomass production must promote local well-being. The employment impact of the plant is estimated to be 100 persons and raw material procurement will employ around 400 persons.

Response to the emission reduction goals

In its Renewable Energy Directive (RES), the European Union has set a goal, according to which a minimum of 10% of transport fuels will be renewable by 2020. In the beginning, the reduction in greenhouse gases must be at least 35% compared to fossil fuels (based on Life Cycle Analysis). Later the goals will be even stricter. Compared with fossil fuels, the second-generation RES Directive compliant biodiesel based on forest energy fractions reduces greenhouse gases by 96% when calculated over the whole life cycle.