Climate and nature in our own operations
In our own operations, we are constantly improving our processes by increasing resource efficiency. We aim to maximize the use of renewable and recycled raw materials in our technology offering by closing cycles in production processes, cascading the use of production sidestreams, and reducing waste.
We improve environmental performance at our own locations by reducing emissions, increasing resource efficiency, and minimizing environmental impacts in line with our Climate and Nature Policy and Climate Transition Plan.
Protecting nature and biodiversity is essential to ensure long-term resilience and sustainability for both the planet and businesses. Nature is both affected by climate change and plays a key role in its regulation. It is also integral to Valmet’s strategy and business model. Valmet’s own operations, as well as its upstream and downstream value chain, rely on nature for essential ecosystem services such as water, raw materials, and energy.
Valmet's locations are built on land designated for commercial or industrial use by local authorities. Valmet's operations do not cause significant direct environmental impacts on nearby biodiversity sensitive areas nor directly affect threatened species or contribute to land degradation, desertification, or soil sealing.
We conduct environmental aspect and impact assessments for all industrial locations. We also follow mitigation measures for protecting the environment as part of our operating permits, our Global Management System (GMS), and the ISO 14001:2015 standards.
Climate and nature program for own operations
To manage and improve environmental efficiency in our own operations, we have program with ambitious targets for reducing energy, water, and waste in production facilities by 2030.
We are actively replacing fossil fuels with renewables, purchasing CO₂-free electricity and district heat, and implementing efficiency improvements in our facilities related to energy efficiency such as LED lighting upgrades, the installation of motion sensors, improving building insulation and new ventilation systems. We have also included environmental efficiency requirements in our real estate guidelines for new facilities and renovations. In addition, we enhance digital tools, develop remote working habits and promote low-carbon commuting.
To support the cascading of the global program into local actions, we aim for 80 percent of our employees to be working in locations certified to the ISO 14001:2015 environmental management system by 2025, and we are on track.
We map our waste streams to find circularity opportunities through material reuse, recycling, and recovery.All Valmet foundries have targets for the use of recycled metal. In 2025, the share of recycled steel and iron in Valmet’s foundries reached 82 percent. Furthermore, we aim to increase the share of reused or recycled waste. For example, 9,700 tonnes of foundry sand are reused by partners in road construction and land stabilization. We are actively shifting to more sustainable packing materials by minimizing packaging, reducing plastics, and increasing the use of renewable materials.