The goal of Greenreality Lappeenranta is to stimulate business growth for the benefit of our companies, residents and living environment

In the Lappeenranta region, sustainable solutions are invested in with an open mind. Greenreality Lappeenranta is a key strategic objective of the city, from the point of view of residential comfort and industrial policy alike. With its commitment to ambitious sustainable development and climate targets, the city of Lappeenranta offers a great environment for businesses operating in the fields of energy technology and environmental engineering. The aim is to develop Lappeenranta into a model city for environmentally friendly actions, in which business growth is based on a clean living environment and a waste-free world.

New business from a changing operating environment

The city of Lappeenranta has set ambitious targets for itself, as well as for the local residents and businesses. The target for 2050 is for the city to no longer generate landfill waste or release emissions into the air and for overconsumption to have been stopped. Life in the city has been adapted to the Earth’s biocapacity, i.e. the available supply of natural resources.

In 2050, the city does not generate landfill waste or release emissions into the air and overconsumption has been stopped.

A resource-wise city benefits both residents and businesses. The increasing scarcity of natural resources can be turned into profitable business that increases human well-being. As the emission levels and the consumption of natural resources are reduced, general well-being increases, attracting tourists, investors and new business to the region.

New operating models and innovations create new jobs for the region.

Several development measures aimed at enabling the growth of companies and the improvement of the operating environment under the green economy are in progress in Lappeenranta. Below are some examples of the measures taken by the city of Lappeenranta and Wirma, which have enabled, and will continue to enable in the future, the emergence of new business in the region:

Kivisalmi pumping station, where the city is piloting a local innovation for advancing the purification of the Pien-Saimaa lake system. The pump has proven successful; for example, the reduction in the concentration of phosphorous in the water has exceeded the expectations.
Building a pilot facility for the production of composite products from waste is now in the planning phase. The goal is to launch a facility for making new products from non-recyclable construction waste in Kukkuroinmäki in 2017.
In August 2016, a regional energy data service will be opened for the municipality’s residents and property owners, through which consumer users can, for example, evaluate their carbon dioxide emissions, calculate the payback period of changing their heating method, and compare their energy consumption to that of other similar consumers.
The aim in the planning of the new wastewater treatment plant for Lappeenranta has been to find new types of long-term solutions, in particular, for treatment of sludge and enhanced water purification. The planning has taken into consideration the innovations generated at the university, together with conducted life cycle assessments of various wastewater solutions.
The intention is to modernise the service network of Sammonlahti (including schools and day-care centres) with sustainable development in mind. The university and businesses in the region were invited to participate in the planning at an early stage.
Businesses participate in the creation of the Environmental Programme for South Karelia and the city’s Green Lappeenranta strategy, as well as in defining the sustainable development targets and implementing actions to achieve them.
The aim is to enable the city of Lappeenranta to carry out future procurement on the basis of life-cycle effects and by using the latest technology available on the market, rather than being solely based on price, alone.