The UN's Agenda 2030 action plan guides the advancement of sustainable development at the EU level, in Finland, and in Tampere alike. For which years have the EU, Finland, or Tampere set their own carbon neutrality targets, and how does sustainable development show in the work of Pirkanmaan kierrätys ja työtoiminta ry?
Sustainable development in the EU and the Agenda 2030 action plan
On the website of the Finnish UN Association, sustainable development is defined as follows: “Sustainable development means development that secures good living conditions for current and future generations.” The UN, or the United Nations, is an organization between many different states that has, among other things, drawn up the sustainable development action plan Agenda 2030. The program contains a total of 17 sustainable development goals, and beneath them there are as many as 169 targets. The program was adopted in 2015 and its goals are set through to 2030.
Other measures advancing sustainable development have also been taken at the European level. For example, in 2020 the European Commission adopted the European Green Deal, which aims to achieve EU carbon neutrality by 2050. The EU Green Deal, however, focuses mainly on creating ecological sustainability, whereas Agenda 2030 also covers the social and economic dimensions of sustainable development.
Agenda 2030 guides the advancement of sustainable development at the state level
The Agenda 2030 goals drawn up by the UN apply to every member state and thus to Finland as well. Progress toward the goals is monitored regularly using various indicators, and Finland, like the other Nordic countries, has indeed done well in achieving the goals. Progress toward the goals can be followed through a report published annually. On the report's website it is possible to review, among other things, the progress of each of the 17 goals as well as the different indicators. For example, on goal 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Finland is on the right track according to all indicators. There is of course room for improvement, since for example on goal 2. Zero Hunger Finland faces considerable challenges in reaching the goal. The report shows that Finland is ahead of the European Union average in its goals, but progress has been slower than average (over the review period from 2000 to 2020). Finland, too, will need to step up over the coming years in order to reach the goals by 2030.
Finland has a sustainable development committee chaired by the Prime Minister, which monitors the achievement of the Agenda 2030 goals in Finland and oversees the measures and schedule needed to meet the goals. The current government led by Sanna Marin has, in its government program (2019), set Finland's goal to be the first fossil-free welfare society and carbon neutral by 2035. The Agenda 2030 goals will certainly also support Finland in achieving its carbon neutrality target.
Sustainable development part of everything the City of Tampere does
The City of Tampere has also committed to the goals of the Agenda 2030 program. On the City of Tampere's website, the matter is described as follows: “Sustainable development is taken into account in Tampere's operations and decision-making, and it is a theme that runs through the city's strategy and management.” The City of Tampere has also produced a report Local assessment of the UN sustainable development goals in Tampere 2022, which describes well the city's measures to advance the sustainable development goals and explains the metrics set for them. The report also briefly describes the different goals globally, in Finland, and in Tampere.
In 2020, the City of Tampere also created the Carbon Neutral Tampere 2030 roadmap, which addresses Tampere's climate goals through six different themes. Tampere has thus set a more ambitious carbon neutrality target than Finland or Europe. That said, Lahti, for example, has set its carbon neutrality target for 2025 and Turku for 2029, so on a Finnish scale the target does not appear as the most ambitious of all.
The three dimensions of sustainable development at the core of Pirkanmaan kierrätys ja työtoiminta ry
Through its work, Pirkanmaan kierrätys ja työtoiminta ry supports all dimensions of sustainable development. Social sustainable development shows in the provision of work activities, which in turn is made possible by selling products for reuse in the second-hand stores. Reuse especially supports ecological sustainable development and its goals. Economic sustainable development shows in the association's work in that, through work activities, the aim is to help people reach a better financial situation. With the help of work activities, the long-term unemployed can return to working life or education, which in turn provides them with better employment prospects and, through that, a better financial situation.
Sustainable development and all of its dimensions are indeed at the core of the association's work. From the responsibility page soon to open on the association's website, you can read how PKT ry advances the Agenda 2030 goals and what the key responsibility figures of the association's work are for 2022.
Sources:
https://www.ykliitto.fi/kestava-kehitys
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/sustainable-development
https://eu-dashboards.sdgindex.org
https://unric.org/fi/yhdistyneet-kansakunnat
https://www.tampere.fi/tampereen-strategia/kestava-kehitys
https://www.tampere.fi/sites/default/files/2022-06/Tampere_VLR-raportti_2022_FI_0.pdf
https://www.tampere.fi/sites/default/files/2022-05/hiilineutraali_tampere_2030_tiekartta.pdf
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en