Finland - Environmental TechnologiesFinland - Environmental Technologies
Overview
The value of the environmental goods and services market in Finland was $46.7 billion in 2017 and the GDP share was around 7 percent. The most prominent industry within the environmental goods and services sector was construction with a turnover of over $16 billion, representing one-third of the whole environmental goods and services sector. The bulk of this comes from the design and construction of renewable energy plant projects.In the more traditional environmental technologies product categories, the share of imports from the United States is estimated to be five percent with products including measuring, controlling and analyzing instruments. The table below showcases the top ten highest valued American import categories related to environmental technologies to Finland in 2018.
| Category | Percent of Top Ten Imports by Value (2018) | U.S. Import Value (2018) |
| Air Pollution Control Goods | 34 percent | $2.66 million |
| Waste Water Treatment | 24 percent | $1.87 million |
| Traditional Environmental Technology Products | 18 percent | $1.38 million |
| Top Ten U.S. Imports by Value | 100 percent | $6.9 million |
Cleantech is one of the focal points of Finland’s industrial policy and Finland is one of the leaders in the field of cleantech globally. Traditionally, the metals and the pulp and paper industries have been the two major investors in environmental technology. The primary technology investments for these industries have been air pollution and water protection technologies.
In recent years, the Finnish environmental technology and services sector has evolved into a dynamic area where production of new innovative technologies and services has expanded and gained international prominence as Finnish cleantech solutions.
In 2013, the Finnish Government adopted a resolution concerning the promotion of new and sustainable environmental and energy solutions in public procurement. The objective is for the public sector to procure new cleantech solutions with at least EUR 300 million every year. This compares to approximately one percent of total public procurement expenditures and would double current public research, development, and innovation spending on cleantech solutions. These include waste management, electricity, property development, transport, energy-related products, services for which ecolabel criteria have been established, as well as food and catering. In Finland, the necessity for utilizing the best available technology is included in the Water Act, the Air Pollution Control Act, the Waste Act, and the Sea Protection Act. In addition, the producer responsibility principle in waste management has increased reuse and recycling, offering new business opportunities.
The key competitive factors in selling environmental technology in Finland are quality and level of technology. Price is a secondary factor. Finding a Finnish partner or using a distributor/importer is highly recommended as they have direct distribution channels to end users, strong relations with various industry representatives, and direct access to the municipalities.
Finland’s Council of State approved the national Cleantech Strategy in May 2014, which points the way for Finland to develop into one of the world's leading countries in clean technology. It is estimated that there are about 3,000 environmental technology companies in Finland, operating in different segments of the market, including cleantech. The number of companies operating in the more traditional segments of environmental technology such as waste management and handling, recycling, and remediation is close to 800. About 20 percent of the companies have operations abroad. Most of the companies are small-to-medium size companies, but there a few big global players as well.