Finnish environmental expertise gaining results in Russia

17 October 2007

Finnish environmental expertise gaining results in Russia

In 2005, Lassila & Tikanoja (L&T) established a joint venture with the Russian City of Dubna to concentrate on environmental management. Based on good experiences from Dubna, L&T’s operations are gradually spreading in Russia. One of keys of the success is a functional dialogue and close cooperation with local residents, authorities and businesses.

Lassila & Tikanoja (L&T), a Finnish company specialising in environmental management and property support services, is in practise the first western environmental management company to offer their services in Russia.

Respectively Dubna, located well over a hundred kilometres from Moscow, was the first Russian city to start improving their environmental management using Finnish know-how back in May 2005.

“Dubna has quickly become our flagship in Russia. We have received excellent feedback from local residents and authorities with regard to our comprehensive environmental management concept,” says L&T’s Jari Sarjo, President and CEO.

In May 2007, L&T’s business operations extended to include Sergiev Posad, another city in the Moscow area. The company is actively seeking new cities to be served and due to this negotiations with other cities are ongoing.

After sharing its expertise in sorting and collection waste materials L&T is now taking its next step in environmental management in the Moscow area in cooperation with the Russian authorities. By building a new production plant for recycled materials L&T is significantly able to enhance the rate for recycling in the area.

“Russia will have to take several extensive environmental management investments in the years to come. Being an international high quality market player, we are well prepared to implement these,” Sarjo stresses

Sorting and collection – first step for reuse

Starting to cooperate with the Finns was a big step for Dubna located 120 kilometres from Moscow. The city’s environmental management was taken to a wholly new level.

Earlier, in certain parts of Dubna, some houses did not have joint waste containers and the residents had to take their waste bags and stand by the road waiting for the waste truck to arrive. Anyone who came late had to wait until next week. As a consequence, one could see plenty of waste bags piling up along the roads.

In Dubna, all waste is collected from covered plastic waste containers using modern waste trucks.

Now all waste is collected from covered plastic waste containers using modern waste trucks. The amount of property waste containers has been increased in order to improve the service.

Another target has been to offer increased waste sorting options to the residents.

“Waste sorting and collection is the first step to take in a well maintained environmental management chain.”

“Once sorting and collection are functional, the next step is to plan how to process and reuse waste materials as efficiently as possible. Here the aim must be to minimize the share of the waste which eventually would end up on landfills,” Sarjo explains.

Recycling chain to a entire new level

In Dubna, a new production plant for recycled materials is under construction and will be completed in spring 2008. This plant will significantly reduce the amount of waste ending up on landfills.

One of the L&T's modern production plants for recycled materials is in operation in Turku, Finland. The L&T's first production plant for recycled materials in Russia will start up in Dubna during the spring 2008.

The plant will cause significant changes in the City of Dubna's environmental management with receiving different waste materials generated by the business community. It will also receive separately collected reusable waste, such as paper, cardboard, plastic and metals.

“This production plant will make it possible to significantly increase recycling in the area. It is our target to extend similar activities in other parts of Russia as well,” Sarjo says.

Increasing need for environmental management

Russia’s economic growth has been boosting all through this decade. This had lead to a brisk increase in the consumption of different products and services. And where there is consumption, waste will also be generated.

“Growth in consumption demand will always increase waste amounts. This is why the demand for environmental management services is growing quickly. This growth will continue and accelerate in Russia in the years to come,” describes Sarjo the current market situation.

“In line with increasing environmental awareness, efficient environmental management is becoming increasingly important. This also serves to support sustainable development,” Sarjo reminds.

Efficient environmental management can not be built up without extensive investments and introduction of new technologies. But even this is not enough, according to Sarjo.

“For example, no recycling plant can operate efficiently if residents, authorities and businesses in the area do not cooperate. L&T is always focusing on maintaining a functional dialogue with customers and authorities,” Sarjo concludes.

Russia - L&T’s natural growth direction

Founded more than 100 years ago, L&T has always based its operations on steady and profitable business growth. This year, net sales will increase by more than 20 percent and exceed EUR 500 million. Clearly more than half of the company’s net sales comes from environmental management business.

L&T is currently operating 22 production plants for recycled materials and these play a central role in the company’s business operations. On an annual level, the amount of waste processed by these plants amounts to 2.3 million cubic metres.

Most raw materials are delivered using company-internal rolling stock. L&T is operating over 800 heavy vehicles and a good 1200 other vehicles.

In recent years, Finland-based L&T has consistently been expanding its operations outside its home market. In addition to Finland and Russia, the company is operating in Latvia, Sweden and Norway. L&T is currently serving about 500 communities in these countries. About one fourth of L&T’s 9,000 employees are working outside Finland.

“Russia is a natural growth direction for us, since we believe that we have plenty of expertise which is well appreciated in Russia. Long-term collaboration is always based on mutual trust. At L&T, we re trying to live up to the confidence shown in our operations,” concludes Jari Sarjo.