Ympäristöraportointimallinkehittäminen vesihuoltolaitokselle

Diplomityössä tarkastellaan ympäristöraportointia yrityksen ympäristöviestinnässä.Työn kirjallisuusosuudessa syvennytään ympäristöraporttien toteutukseen, tavoitteisiin, mahdollisuuksiin sekä raportointiohjeisiin ja -periaatteisiin. Työn kirjallisuusosassa käsitellään myös ympäristöjohtamista ja yrityksen sidosryhmiä. Diplomityön kirjallisuusosan ja yrityksen ohjauksen perusteella Joensuun Vedelle on kehitetty ympäristöraportointimalli, jota käyttäen yritys voi tehdä vuosittaista ympäristöraportointiaan. Ympäristöraportointimallin laadinta perustui erilaisiin raportointimalleihin, raportointiperiaatteisiin ja raportointiohjeisiin, kuten muiden muassa Global Reporting Initiativen (GRI) vapaaehtoiseen yhteiskuntavastuun raportointiohjeistoon ja Kirjanpitolautakunnan (KILA) yleisohjeeseen ympäristöasioiden kirjaamisesta, laskennasta ja esittämisestä tilinpäätöksessä. Joensuun Vedelle laaditunympäristöraportointimallin tavoitteena oli luoda laitokselle ympäristöraportti,joka sisältää merkittävimmät ympäristönäkökohdat, taloudellista vastuuta käsittelevän ympäristötilinpäätöksen sekä tietoa tärkeistä sosiaalisen vastuun asioista. Ympäristöraportin sisältämän tiedon kokoamisella haluttiin myös saada kokonaisvaltaista näkemystä, vuoden 2005 Joensuun, Kiihtelysvaaran ja Tuupovaaran kuntaliitoksen takia laajentuneen, Joensuun Veden toiminnan ympäristövaikutuksista. Diplomityössä on esitetty Joensuun Veden vuoden 2005 ympäristöraportin kokoamisenvaiheet sekä tulokset. Ympäristöraportointimalli täytti sille asetetut tavoitteet. Ympäristöraportin sisältöä tulee kuitenkin jatkossa kehittää sekä raportoitavan aineiston alkuperäisen dokumentoinnin osalta että sidosryhmien mielipiteidenja vaatimusten mukaisesti.

Ympäristöasioiden hallinnan kehittäminen elintarviketeollisuuden yrityksessä

Ympäristöjärjestelmät auttavat organisaatioiden toiminnan ympäristövaikutuksien hallinnassa. ISO 14001 -standardi antaa yritykselle työkalun ympäristöjärjestelmän rakentamiseen, ylläpitämiseen ja kehittämiseen. Ympäristöjärjestelmälle voidaan hakea ulkopuolisen tarkastajan myöntämä hyväksyntä eli sertifikaatti, jota sidosryhmät voivat vaatia osoitukseksi ympäristöasioiden hoidosta. Sidosryhmien kasvava ympäristökiinnostus lisää yrityksien paineita kehittää ympäristöraportointiaan. Yrityksen yhteiskuntavastuuseen sisältyvien taloudellisen, sosiaalisen ja ympäristövastuun raportointiin kehitetty kansainvälinen GRI-raportointiohjeisto on saavuttanut yleisesti hyväksytyn raportointiviitekehyksen aseman ja sitä voidaan hyödyntää myös pelkän ympäristövastuun raportoinnissa. Tässä diplomityössä tarkastellaan yrityksen ympäristöasioiden hallintaa ja ympäristöraportointia. Tavoitteena on suunnitella ja osittain toteuttaa elintarviketeollisuuden yritykselle ISO 14001 -standardin mukainen ympäristöjärjestelmä. Toisena tavoitteena on suunnitella yrityksen ympäristöraportoinnin aloittamista ja antaa GRI-ohjeiston pohjalta ehdotus asioista, joita yrityksen ympäristöraportti voisi raportoinnin alkuvaiheessa sisältää. Työn lopussa annetaan ehdotus jatkotoimenpiteistä, joilla ympäristöjärjestelmä saadaan sertifiointivalmiiksi ja miten ympäristöraportointiprosessia voidaan edistää.

Self-Assessment Report for International Accreditation - Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes in Environmental Technology

Ympäristötekniikan kandidaatin ja diplomi-insinöörin tutkinto-ohjelmien itsearviointiraportissa käsitellään tutkinto-ohjelmien osaamistavoitteita ja niiden saavuttamista. Raportissa käydään läpi myös käytössä olevat resurssit sekä tutkinto-ohjelmiin liittyviä tunnuslukuja. Itsearviointi on toteutettu kansainvälisen akkreditointijärjestön kriteerien mukaisesti (ASIIN ja EUR-ACE).

Pasvik Water Quality Report Environmental Monitoring Programme in the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian Border Area

The Pasvik monitoring programme was created in 2006 as a result of the trilateral cooperation, and with the intention of following changes in the environment under variable pollution levels. Water quality is one of the basic elements of the Programme when assessing the effects of the emissions from the Pechenganikel mining and metallurgical industry (Kola GMK). The Metallurgic Production Renovation Programme was implemented by OJSC Kola GMK to reduce emissions of sulphur and heavy metal concentrated dust. However, the expectations for the reduction in emissions from the smelter in the settlement Nikel were not realized. Nevertheless, Kola GMK has found that the modernization programme’s measures do not provide the planned reductions of sulfur dioxide emissions. In this report, temporal trends in water chemistry during 2000–2009 are examined on the basis of the data gathered from Lake Inari, River Pasvik and directly connected lakes, as well as from 26 small lakes in three areas: Pechenganikel (Russia), Jarfjord (Norway) and Vätsäri (Finland). The lower parts of the Pasvik watercourse are impacted by both atmospheric pollution and direct wastewater discharge from the Pechenganikel smelter and the settlement of Nikel. The upper section of the watercourse, and the small lakes and streams which are not directly linked to the Pasvik watercourse, only receive atmospheric pollution. The data obtained confirms the ongoing pollution of the river and water system. Copper (Cu), nickel (Ni) and sulphates are the main pollution components. The highest levels were observed close to the smelters. The most polluted water source of the basin is the River Kolosjoki, as it directly receives the sewage discharge from the smelters and the stream connecting the Lakes Salmijarvi and Kuetsjarvi. The concentrations of metals and sulphates in the River Pasvik are higher downstream from the Kuetsjarvi Lake. There has been no fall in the concentrations of pollutants in Pasvik watercourse over the last 10 years. Ongoing recovery from acidification has been evident in the small lakes of the Jarfjord and Vätsäri areas during the 2000s. The buffering capacity of these lakes has improved and the pH has increased. The reason for this recovery is that sulphate deposition has decreased, which is also evident in the water quality. However, concentrations of some metals, especially Ni and Cu, have risen during the 2000s. Ni concentrations have increased in all three areas, and Cu concentrations in the Pechenganickel and Jarfjord areas, which are located closer to the smelters. Emission levels of Ni and Cu did not fall during 2000s. In fact, the emission levels of Ni compounds even increased compared to the 1990s.

Targeted measures bring the greatest benefits for environmental protection in agriculture final report of the TEHO Plus project (2011–2014)

Targeted measures bring the greatest benefits for environmental protection in agriculture final report of the TEHO Plus project (2011–2014). Particular priority areas of the project activities included creating a training package for agri-environment advisers and testing it, farm-specific advisory services and exploitation of experiences of advice provision, putting together an information package of agri-environment issues, farm-level experiments, and development of water quality monitoring. The recommendations issued by advisers on targeting environmental measures were based on utilising geographical information material and nutrient balances. The project was implemented in cooperation by Southwest Finland Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, MTK-Satakunta and MTK-Varsinais-Suomi. The project received funding from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Ministry of the Environment. Participating farmers, with whom environmental advice was developed and experiments were carried out, were important partners for the project. The operating area of the project was Satakunta and Varsinais-Suomi in Southwest Finland, but its outcomes can be exploited nationally. A national perspective was ensured by close cooperation with actors in different provinces. This final report describes project experiences and outcomes including environmental advisory services, training of agri-environmental advisers, farm visits and the feedback received from farmers on agri-environmental advice, development of water quality monitoring, experiments and project work.

Metsäteollisuuden jätevesien häiriöpäästöt ja niihin varautuminen. CASE: Kaakkois-Suomi

Metsäteollisuuden jätevesien normaaleja jatkuvia päästöjä hallitaan yhä paremmin. Tästä syystä niin sanottujen häiriöpäästöjen merkitys vesien kuormittajana kasvaa. Työssä tarkasteltiin 14 Kaakkois-Suomen metsäteollisuuden toiminnanharjoittajan jätevesien häiriöpäästöjä.Työn tavoitteena oli selvittää minkälaisia ja kuinka paljon poikkeuksellisia tilanteita on viime vuosina esiintynyt. Työssä selvitettiin mitkä syyt olivat aiheuttaneet häiriöpäästöjä, mitä vaikutuksia häiriöillä oli jätevesipäästöihin sekä kuinka tilanteissa oli toimittu. Työn teoriaosassa tarkasteltiin metsäteollisuuden tuotantoprosessien ja jätevedenpuhdistuksen mahdollisia häiriöpäästölähteitä sekä niiden ominaispiirteitä. Lisäksi tarkasteltiin häiriöpäästöjen vaikutuksia ja seurauksia toiminnanharjoittajien ja lupaviranomaisten näkökulmasta sekä kuinka häiriöpäästöihin tulee lainsäädännön ja ympäristöjärjestelmien mukaan varautua. Tutkimusosio koostui toiminnanharjoittajille lähetetystä häiriöpäästökyselystä, viranomaisille lähetetyistä häiriöpäästöilmoituksista sekä VAHTI –tietokannan vesipäästötiedoista. Kaikilla toiminnanharjoittajilla esiintyi häiriöpäästöjä. Häiriöpäästöt aiheuttivat lupaehtojen ylityksiä vuosina 1998-2003 yhteensä 66 kappaletta. Suurimpana syynä häiriöpäästöihin olivat prosessihäiriöt. Useimmiten häiriöpäästöt olivat usean eri syyn summa. Häiriöpäästöjen ilmoittamiskäytäntö viranomaisille vaihtelee, vaikka lupaehdoissa häiriö- ja poikkeustilanteet on määritelty kaikille lähes samalla tavalla. Jotkut ilmoittavat kaikista päästölisäyksistä, kun taas toiset ainoastaan merkittävistä. Osa ilmoittaa häiriöpäästöistä puhelimitse, jolloin ilmoituksesta ei jää kirjallista dokumenttia. Kaikista lupaehtojen ylityksistä ei ole tehty kirjallista ilmoitusta. Lupaehdoissa on häiriö- ja poikkeustilanteet määritelty sen verran suppeasti, että toiminnanharjoittajat soveltavat niitä haluamallaan tavalla. Valvontaviranomaiset puuttuvat häiriötilanteisiin lähinnä kehottamalla toiminnanharjoittajia poistamaan häiriötilanteet. Viranomaiset eivät ole määränneet toiminnan keskeyttämistä häiriöpäästöjen poistamiseksi. Yhdestä häiriöpäästöstä on tehty rikosilmoitus.

IEA Bioenergy Task 40 “Sustainable International Bioenergy Trade: Securing supply and demand” Country report of Finland 2008

This study considered the current situation of biofuels markets in Finland. The fact that industry consumes more than half of the total primary energy, widely applied combined heat and power production and a high share of solid biomass fuels in the total energy consumption are specific to the Finnish energy system. Wood is the most important source of bioenergy in Finland, representing 21% of the total energy consumption in 2006. Almost 80% of the wood-based energy is recovered from industrial by-products and residues. Finland has commitment itself to maintaining its greenhouse gas emissions at the 1990 level, at the highest, during the period 2008–2012. The energy and climate policy carried out in recent years has been based on the National Energy and Climate introduced in 2005. The Finnish energy policy aims to achieve the target, and a variety of measures are taken to promote the use of renewable energy sources and especially wood fuels. In 2007, the government started to prepare a new long-term (up to the year 2050) climate and energy strategy that will meet EU’s new targets for the reduction of green house gas emissions and the promotion of renewable energy sources. The new strategy will be introduced during 2008. The international biofuels trade has a substantial importance for the utilisation of bioenergy in Finland. In 2006, the total international trading of solid and liquid biofuels was approximately 64 PJ of which import was 61 PJ. Most of the import is indirect and takes place within the forest industry’s raw wood imports. In 2006, as much as 24% of wood energy was based on foreignorigin wood. Wood pellets and tall oil form the majority of export streams of biofuels. The indirect import of wood fuels increased almost 10% in 2004–2006, while the direct trade of solid and liquid biofuels has been almost constant.

E-PORT. Improving efficiency of Finnish port community by intelligent systems Final report of the Mobile Port project

The management of port-related supply chains is challenging due to the complex and heterogeneous operations of the ports with several actors and processes. That is why the importance of information sharing is emphasised in the ports. However, the information exchange between different port-related actors is often cumbersome and it still involves a lot of manual work and paper. Major ports and port-related actors usually have advanced information systems in daily use but these systems are seldom interoperable with each other, which prevents economies of scale to be reached. Smaller ports and companies might not be equipped with electronic data transmission at all. This is the final report of the Mobile port (MOPO) project, which has sought ways to improve the management and control of port-related sea and inland traffic with the aid of ICT technologies. The project has studied port community systems (PCS) used worldwide, evaluated the suitability of a PCS for the Finnish port operating environment and created a pilot solution of a Finnish PCS in the port of HaminaKotka. Further, the dry port concept and its influences on the transportation system have been explored. The Mobile Port project comprised of several literature reviews, interviews of over 50 port-related logistics and/or ICT professionals, two different kinds of simulation models as well as designing and implementing of the pilot solution of the Finnish PCS. The results of these multiple studies are summarised in this report. Furthermore, recommendations for future actions and the topics for further studies are addressed in the report. The study revealed that the information sharing in a typical Finnish port-related supply chain contains several bottlenecks that cause delays in shipments and waste resources. The study showed that many of these bottlenecks could be solved by building a port community system for the Finnish port community. Almost 30 different kinds of potential services or service entities of a Finnish PCS were found out during the study. The basic requirements, structure, interfaces and operation model of the Finnish PCS were also defined in the study. On the basis of the results of the study, a pilot solution of the Finnish PCS was implemented in the port of HaminaKotka. The pilot solution includes a Portconnect portal for the Finnish port community system (available at https://www.portconnect.fi) and two pilot applications, which are a service for handling the information flows concerning the movements of railway wagons and a service for handling the information flows between Finnish ports and Finland-Russian border. The study also showed that port community systems can be used to improve the environmental aspects of logistics in two different ways: 1) PCSs can bring direct environmental benefits and 2) PCSs can be used as an environmental tool in a port community. On the basis of the study, the development of the Finnish port community system should be continued by surveying other potential applications for the Finnish PCS. It is also important to study if there is need and resources to extend the Finnish PCS to operate in several ports or even on a national level. In the long run, it could be reasonable to clarify whether there would be possibilities to connect the Finnish PCS as a part of Baltic Sea wide, European-wide or even worldwide maritime and port-related network in order to get the best benefit from the system

Pasvik Water Quality until 2013 ; Environmental Monitoring Programme in the Norwegian, Finnish and Russian Border Area

The Pasvik monitoring programme was created in 2006 as a result of the trilateral cooperation and with the intention of following changes in the environment under variable pollution levels. Water quality is one of the basic elements of the programme when assessing the effects of the emissions from the Pechenganikel mining end metallurgical industry (Kola GMK). In this report temporal trends of the water chemistry during 2000–2013 are examined on the basis of the data gathered from lake Inari, River Pasvik and directly connected lakes, Lake Kuetsjarvi and 25 small lakes in three areas: Pechenganikel (Russia), Jarfjord (Norway) and Vätsäri (Finland). The lower parts of the Pasvik watercourse are impacted by both atmospheric pollution and direct wastewater discharge from the Pechenganikel smelter and the settlement of Nikel. The upper section of the watercourse and the small lakes and streams which are not directly linked to the Pasvik Watercourse only receive atmospheric pollution. Lake Inari is free of direct emissions from the Pechenganikel and the water quality is excellent. In River Pasvik and the directly connected lakes copper, nickel, and sulphates are the main pollutants. The most polluted water body is the Kolosjoki River as well as the stream connecting the Lakes Salmijarvi and Kuetsjarvi. The concentration of metals and sulphates in the water notably increases downstream the river lower Lake Kuetsjarvi. In Lake Kuetsjarvi copper and nickel concentrations are clearly elevated and have changed insignificantly in the last years of the research period. In the small border area lakes recovery from acidification in Vätsäri and Jarfjord is evident. Nickel and copper oncentrations have fluctuated but remained on clearly elevated level in Jarfjord and Pechenga. Copper concentrations have been slightly rising in the recent years. In Pechenga area nickel concentrations during the last four monitoring years are decreasing in some places but the regional trend through whole time series is still positive.

Environmental Challenges in the Joint Border Area of Norway, Finland and Russia

This report examines the human impact on the subarctic environment of the joint border area of Norway, Finland and Russia. The aim is to present the current state and recent changes that have taken place in the region. The main threat to the environment is the Pechenganikel mining and metallurgical industrial combine in the towns of Nikel and Zapolyarny in the Kola Peninsula. Emissions from this complex include high levels of heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants and sulfur dioxide. Pollution, along with climate change, water level regulation and other anthropogenic effects, has affected the aquatic ecosystems in the joint border area. The main heavy metals in the area are copper and nickel, the highest concentrations of which are measured near the combine. Direct discharge of sewage into the river continues and airborne heavy metal particles are also deposited to areas farther away. Climate changeinduced increase in temperature and precipitation in the Kola Peninsula is evident. Water level regulation with seven hydropower plants in the Pasvik River have changed it into a series of lakes and lake-like reservoirs. This report discusses modelling, which was enabled to estimate the effect of climate change on Lake Inarijärvi and the Pasvik River hydrology, water level fluctuation and ecology and to follow the sulfur dioxide emissions emitted from the Pechenganikel. Effects of pollution on the nature and concentrations of the main pollutants were studied and climate change in the border area and its effects on the ecology were estimated. Also the effects of water level regulation on the ecological status of the aquatic ecosystems were addressed.

Deinking sludge utilization possibilities: technical, economic, and environmental assessments

This report introduces the ENPI project called “EMIR - Exploitation of Municipal and Industrial Residues” which was executed in a co-operation between Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), Saint Petersburg State University of Economics (SPbSUE), Saint Petersburg State Technical University of Plant Polymers (SPbSTUPP) and industrial partners from both Leningrad Region (LR), Russia and Finland. The main targets of the research were to identify the possibilities for deinking sludge management scenarios in co-operation with partner companies, to compare the sustainability of the alternatives, and to provide recommendations for the companies in the Leningrad Region on how to best manage deinking sludge. During the literature review, 24 deinking sludge utilization possibilities were identified, the majority falling under material recovery. Furthermore, 11 potential utilizers of deinking sludge were found within the search area determined by the transportation cost. Each potential utilizer was directly contacted in order to establish cooperation for deinking sludge utilization. Finally, four companies, namely, “Finnsementti” – a cement plant in Finland (S1), “St.Gobian Weber” – a light-weight aggregate plant in Finland (S2), “LSR-Cement” – a cement plant in LR (S3), and “Rockwool” – a stone wool plant in LR (S4) were seen as the most promising partners and were included in the economic and environmental assessments. Economic assessment using cost-benefit analysis (CBA) indicated that substitution of heavy fuel oil with dry deinking sludge in S2 was the most feasible option with a benefit/cost ratio (BCR) of 3.6 when all the sludge was utilized. At the same time, the use of 15% of the total sludge amount (the amount that could potentially be treated in the scenario) resulted in a BCR of only 0.16. The use of dry deinking sludge in the production of cement (S3) is a slightly more feasible option with a BCR of 1.1. The use of sludge in stone wool production is feasible only when all the deinking sludge is used and burned in an existing incineration plant. The least economically feasible utilization possibility is the use of sludge in cement production in Finland (S1) due to the high gate fee charged. Environmental assessment was performed applying internationally recognized life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies: ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. The results of a consequential LCA stated that only S1 and S2 lead to a reduction of all environmental impacts within the impact categories chosen compared to the baseline scenario where deinking sludge is landfilled. Considering S1, the largest reduction of 13% was achieved for the global warming potential (GWP), whereas for S2, the largest decrease of abiotic depletion potential (ADP) was by 1.7%, the eutrophication potential (EP) by 1.8%, and a GWP of 2.1% was documented. In S3, the most notable increase of ADP and acidification potential (AP) by 2.6 and 1.5% was indicated, while the GWP was reduced by 12%, the largest out of all the impact categories. In S4, ADP and AP increased by 2.3 and 2.1% respectively, whereas ODP was reduced by 25%. During LCA, it was noticed that substitution of fuels causes a greater reduction of environmental impact (S1 and S2) than substitution of raw materials (S3 and S4). Despite a number of economically and environmentally acceptable deinking sludge utilization methods being assessed in the research, evaluation of bottlenecks and communications with companies’ representatives uncovered the fact that the availability of the raw materials consumed, and the risks associated with technological problems resulting from the sludge utilization, limited the willingness of industrial partners to start deinking sludge utilization. The research results are of high value for decision-makers at already existing paper mills since the result provide insights regarding alternatives to the deinking sludge utilization possibilities already applied. Thus, the research results support the maximum economic and environmental value recovery from waste paper utilization.