You are holding the Ministry of the Environment’s new strategy, in which we define the objectives of our operations up to the year 2022. Some of you might ask, “Why up to 2022 specifically”? Our thinking behind this is that 2022 is close enough to the present while still covering several government terms. Eight years gives us the opportunity to plan ahead in the long-term, while at the same allowing us to prepare for even immediate actions during the upcoming government terms.

We believe that ensuring the coexistence of environmental protection and the sustainable use of natural resources will become increasingly important in the future. After all, the effects of climate change are undeniable, and there will be many consequences.

The population of the world’s cities is growing by 200,000 people per day: in 25 years’ time, there will be over six billion people living in cities. Here in Finland, the population is also becoming concentrated around a small number of growth centres. Ensuring the availability of reasonably priced housing for the residents of urban centres will require a great deal more work in Finland.

Migration to the cities has had a negative impact on our rural areas, but, at the same time, the countryside presents numerous opportunities. New jobs related to the bioeconomy are being created in rural areas, and the intangible utilisation of nature through tourism, for example, is also increasing in the countryside.

The Ministry of the Environment cannot solve many issues on its own, but together with our good partners and interest groups, we can achieve a great deal more. As such, our strategy could safely be called a partnership document.

Building sustainable living environments and green growth

In the future, the Finnish government will be streamlined and become more digitalised. The government and civil society will operate in close interaction with each other. Public services will be easily accessible online, while also providing face-to-face services for those that need them. Government officials will help entrepreneurs and citizens to find the solutions they are looking for.

Environmentally beneficial and climate-friendly technology, or green growth, will be a key success factor for Finland, one in which the Ministry of the Environment also wants to be heavily involved. Our work in promoting biodiversity and the good state of waters and the Baltic Sea also supports the export of Finnish environmental expertise. We are excited as well about the projects organised by municipalities and local actors resulting in successful reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and increased use of renewable energy.

Nature always has intrinsic value. The preservation and fostering of Finnish nature is still an important task.

The Finnish government has too much debt and the finances of the public sector are imbalanced. This calls for structural changes. The environmental administration is also involved in decision-making to determine which tasks will continue to be handled in a centralised manner by the Finnish government, which ones will benefit from digitalisation and which operations can be streamlined.

Change also gives us the opportunity to look back and see if we could do things differently – without compromising on quality.

Hannele Pokka Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment

StrategyMinistry of the Environment

Strategy 2022 is a Ministry of the Environment publicationP.O. Box 35, FI-00023 GOVERNMENT FINLAND www.ym.fi

This brochure has been locally printed on environ- mentally friendly paper, Unigrafia, Helsinki 2014.

Nordic Ecolabel press and print product. Paper: Edixion 170 g/m2 (FSC certified).

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Strategic impacts Measures Detailed impacts Indicators

A low-carbon and energy efficient Finland

Sustainable use of natural resources and a functional circular economy

Biodiversity and well-functioning ecosystem services

Housing conditions that promote well-being and competitiveness

Good state of the environment

• Agreement on the international climate change convention • Preparation and implementation of the EU’s 2030 climate and

energy targets • Environmental administration’s comprehensive programme on

climate change and energy efficiency and its implementation

• Environmental administration’s programme for adopting a green economy and its implementation

• Effective integration of the environmental perspective, especially into the legislation on and strategies and operations of the agricultural, forestry, energy and mining sectors, and into Arctic cooperation

• More efficient recycling of waste and nutrients

• Implementation of the strategy and action plan for the conservation

and sustainable use of biodiversity in Finland• Mapping, assessment and promotion of ecosystem services and

their benefits• Development of blue-green infrastructure in land use

• Development of the planning and contracting procedures in growing urban regions

• Reduction of housing costs and improvement of the effectiveness of housing support systems

• Improvement of the possibilities for older people to live at home • Improvement of the housing situation of population groups

that need special support

• Implementation of water resources management plans and the marine resources management plan

• Preparation of a national climate protection plan and its initiation• Programme for improving construction quality and the

enhancement of building control• More effective overall handling of environmental permits and

assessment practices• Revision of the land use planning system

• Improvement of the built envi-ronment will enhance people’s well-being

• Competitiveness of urban regions and the Helsinki metro- politan area, in particular, will be strengthened

• Finland’s greenhouse gas emissions will be significantly reduced

• Low-carbon and energy-efficient solutions will be applied in the built environment

• Products, materials and nutrients will be recycled

• Finland’s key growth sectors will be sustainable

• Finland will be known for its good water and air quality

• Biodiversity will be protected and ecosystem services will play a key role in society

• Housing will be reasonably priced, will meet the needs of residents and will provide a good living environment

Strategy enablersForces of change and phenomena

Operating methods, operating culture• Simplification and reduction of

administrative work• A flexible and inspiring opera-

ting culture • Customer-oriented electronic

services and citizen participation

Management, guidance, organisation• Assessment and development of

the current structure in relation to strategic goals

• Effective organisation of work and cooperation

Competency• Comprehensive competencies • Cooperation and interaction

skills and networking

• Limited carrying capacity of nature

• Climate change• Urbanisation and

population changes

• Stronger engagement of civil society

• Technological development and digitalisation

• Economic development and the shrinking of the public sector

• Recycling rate for municipal waste • Recycling rate for building and demolition waste • Nutrient balance of agriculture

• State of the built environment • Moisture and mould damage • Number of people exposed to noise • Public transport connections and frequency

• Number of people living in areas where the population density is at least 20 residents per hectare relative to the number of people living in urban areas

• Energy consumption of housing by energy source• Final energy consumption of the building stock • Energy-efficient class A buildings

• Productivity of natural resources • Turnover of environmental business operations

(Cleantech) • Bioeconomy yield and the proportion of different

sectors in the bioeconomy • Environmentally harmful subsidies • Carbon footprint of consumption

• State of surface waters, groundwater and marine areas

• Nitrogen and phosphorous load in Finland• Groundwater risk areas• Capacity of oil and chemical spill prevention• Particle concentration of outdoor air and the level of

air emissions causing acidification and eutrophication

• Endangered species• Abundance and distribution of different species• Recreational use of natural areas• Awareness of biodiversity• Number of protected areas and areas that support

protected areas and promote biodiversity relative to total surface area

• Housing expenses relative to available income• Homelessness• Number of people over the age of 75 living at home• Number of housing units not accessible by lift in

two-storey or taller buildings

• Total greenhouse gas emissions in Finland• Growth of wind power• Strengthening of local measures against climate change• Use of structural funds for a low-carbon economy

• Implementation of the housing production objectives for the Helsinki metropolitan area

• Number of planned housing plots in the Helsinki metropolitan area

• Number of people commuting to another municipality

Ministry of the Environment strategy

Building sustainable living environments and green growth