The amount of EU legislation concerning environmental issues has rapidly increased. The preparation and enactment of new legislation for the domestic market and its application to the business sector drains both governmental and corporate resources. Too much regulation takes its toll on companies by limiting their room for manoeuvre with regard to initiative and innovation.

Overlapping mechanisms

In addition, there are many overlapping regulatory mechanisms: permits, norms, taxes, payments, agreements and emissions trading.

In order to make environmental policies work in support of competitiveness and prosperity, they should offer opportunities and promote improvements. They should not be restrictive nor penalise companies that have already achieved a good standard in their operations.


Finnish forest industry companies pioneers in environmental protection

The Finnish forest industry companies are pioneers in environmental protection. Emissions have been reduced to a fraction of what they were earlier, whilst at the same time production has increased.

Statistics: Waste water emissions and process water use have decreased by 50-85% per produced tonne since 1992 

Statistics: Emissions to air have decreased by 30-80% and landfill waste by 85% per produced tonne since 1992 

The Forest industry companies have invested in the best available technology, and their industrial processes have been optimised and tuned to minimise malfunctions.
 
Statistics: The forest industry annually uses around 150 mill. EUR for environmental protection in Finland  

The introduction of further steering mechanisms would not necessarily lead to a large reduction in emissions. A further reduction in emissions would not have a significant environmental impact considering that emission levels today are already low. 

All pulp and paper mills in Finland, and most sawmilling and panel manufacturing facilities, utilise environmental management systems, such as the ISO 14001 and/or EMAS standards. When considering the introduction of various steering mechanisms, utilisation of these voluntary systems could be increased. 

The competitive position of companies operating in the global market should be safeguarded

When considering regulatory mechanisms for environmental protection, it is necessary to ensure that the proposed measures would lead to cost-efficient reductions in emissions and that they would have a significant bearing on the environment. The need for additional controls and their effect on a company’s ability to compete in the international markets should be clarified carefully in advance.