Finnish defence administration issues sustainability report for 2024

The Ministry of Defence and the Finnish Defence Forces have published an annual report on the sustainability efforts of the Finnish defence administration. The report describes the defence administration’s sustainability priorities and the results achieved in them in 2024. The defence administration’s responsibility to ensure overall sustainability across its activities is growing due to additional resources, expanding activities and their increasing impact on society.

The defence administration bases its sustainability reporting on the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The priorities identified in the report are stability and security; gender equality, non-discrimination and wellbeing of personnel and trainees; environmental responsibility; lifecycle approach and the circular economy; and energy and climate responsibility.

In 2024, the activities and sustainability efforts of the defence administration were strongly affected by an unstable and unpredictable security environment. Maintaining and improving security and stability are of great importance in the current security environment: security enables sustainable development. The efforts towards the sustainable development goals also support the stability and security of society, and the sustainable implementation of the defence administration’s tasks safeguards Finland’s defence capability.

Among the measures launched in 2024 was a Defence Forces’ project on ecologically sustainable procurements, aiming to incorporate environmental aspects into procurement processes.

The Defence Forces is preparing for and adapting to the energy transition by developing its energy and climate management. A working group on energy management started its work in 2024 to prepare a concept of energy management.

In the area of environmental responsibility, the Defence Forces’ main focus in environmental protection has been a project to develop environmental protection in firing and exercise areas. In 2024, the project introduced off-road refuelling sites with soil and groundwater protection, improved waste management in firing and exercise areas and developed the process of biodiversity impact assessment.

Finnish defence administration’s sustainability report for 2024 (in Finnish)

Inquiries

Anna Hernberg, Specialist, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 164, firstname.lastname(at)gov.fi

Major Mika Romppanen, Defence Command Finland, tel. +358 299 510 562, mika.p.romppanen(at)mil.fi