Climate City Joensuu 2025 project promotes the development of low carbon, sustainable and energy efficient businesses, services, and production in Joensuu. It aims to increase awareness and understanding of businesses on their carbon emissions and to stronger engage local companies in local climate action. The City of Joensuu aims for carbon neutrality by 2025. Business and service production account for a significant share of the city’s regional and consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions. The aim of the project is to provide companies tools to set and monitor their carbon neutrality targets and to develop energy efficient and competitive products, services, and solutions. The goal is to impact the sustainability of entire local production chain and to create new low carbon and energy efficient product and service concepts. In the project, the carbon footprint and emission reduction potential of selected production and service companies in Joensuu is examined and climate and energy efficiency measures planned based on this, the development of low carbon and energy efficient services and products in Joensuu promoted, and a vision of low carbon city for 2030 created. Through carbon footprint calculations it is possible to examine the bottlenecks for low carbon businesses as well as the main emission sources and emission reduction potential of local service and production chains. Based on the results it is possible to implement targeted measures that decrease emissions in a cost-effective way. As a result of the project, the emissions of Joensuu will decrease and new carbon neutral businesses start operating in the area. Inclusion of local companies in the development and execution of low carbon and energy efficient production and service selection highlights the importance of cooperation to mitigate climate change and speeds up the green transition of businesses in Joensuu. New innovations and operating models are created, which can be scaled up and duplicated into businesses and regions around Finland and internationally.
