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Amcham
The Finnish approach is science-based and technologically agnostic In 2019, Finland set the ambitious target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2035 and becoming the “world’s first fossil-free welfare society”. Rosa Thurman, director of Foreign Affiliate Services and Sustainability at Amcham Finland, writes on how her organisation works to attract foreign direct cleantech investment. BY ROSA THURMAN
In 2021, Finnish electricity was 87 per cent CO2 free, and as it is available with the same terms across the country with one of the lowest costs in Europe, an excellent opportunity is created for energyintense businesses to substantially lower their CO2 footprint. Photo: Kosti Keistinen from Pixabay
The strengths of Finland’s business environment such as political stability, worker talent and digital infrastructure have long been recognised and have helped the country successfully top the Nordic rankings for attracting the most foreign direct investment (FDI) projects for several years in a row. The Finnish economy has continued to rebound swiftly from the Covid-19 crisis, but now with the war in Ukraine casting a shadow on the global investment landscape, the key question is how to retain the investor confidence in times of uncertainty and how Finland can continue attracting FDI in an increasingly competitive environment. “Do not underestimate the power of a strong, long-term vision.” That has been 80 |
Issue 03 |
June 2022
a core message from investors and company leaders alike. When Amcham Finland gathered its diverse community of international investors and asked what they would need to expand their operations in Finland, the importance for a longterm vision for FDI and talent from the decision-makers was very high on their agenda. The investors agreed that in the current investment climate, predictability and enabling regulation, stability, transparency, and regular dialogue with the decision-makers is more important than ever.
velop channels through which FDI can best support Finland in reaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). The Finnish Government programme starts with the words ‘climate change’. In 2019, Finland set the ambitious target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2035 – in line with EU’s target of 2050 – and being the “world’s first fossil-free welfare society”. These ambitious targets require close cooperation between the public and private sectors, of which sector-specific low-carbon roadmaps are one pioneering example.
CARBON-NEUTRAL BY 2035 In Amcham’s Finland FDI Vision report, one of the drivers for Finland’s future competitiveness was to attract more FDI in the field of sustainability and to de-
Markku Kivistö, head of Industry, Cleantech, Invest in Finland, at Business Finland, the government organisation for innovation funding and investment, trade