Commentary by Tellervo Kylä-Harakka-Ruonala, Director, the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers:
From environmental protection to corporate responsibility

The Johannesburg Summit held in August-September will assess the fulfilment of goals set at the Rio Conference on Environment and Development 10 years ago. The Agenda 21 plan of action agreed at Rio called on industry to implement the sustainable use of natural resources and responsible enterprise.

Finnish industry achieved success in environmental protection in the 1990s. Emissions into the water and air decreased even though industrial output grew. Raw materials and energy were used more efficiently and more materials were recycled. Finland leads the way in using bioenergy and is also a leading country in the co-production of heat and electricity.

As companies reduced their own environmental impact, they developed environmental knowledge, technology and products for international markets. Some examples of widely used Finnish technologies are pulp, paper and metal manufacturing processes, low-emission energy production methods and transportation fuels, and water and waste treatment technologies.

In addition, Finnish companies have developed environmentally aware corporate cul-tures. Environmental actions have become a natural part of everyday operations, even in small and medium-sized industry.

Finland is a leading country in the number of certified environmental systems, and the majority of industrial energy consumption is covered by voluntary energy savings agreements. Companies keep stakeholders informed about environmental matters through special reports and on their internet pages.

Companies see good environmental management as part of their overall corporate re-sponsibility, which values not only financial success, but also success in social and en-vironmental matters. Because companies and their environments differ, it is not possi-ble to define a common responsibility model. Rather, each company must establish its own solution on its own terms.

The Rio plan of action called on each party to assume its own responsibility for the im-plementation of sustainable development. In this way good results can be expected in managing corporate responsibility -similar to what happened last millennium in envi-ronmental affairs.

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