Rinne has said that “it is the time to invest for the future” and told his Cabinet to commit to keeping the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as recommended by the United Nations and stated in the Paris Agreement.

Finland’s target, which is in line with the European Union’s goal to be a carbon-neutral forerunner by 2050, is one of the world’s fastest targets after Norway’s target by 2030. However, unlike its neighbor, Finland will not count on purchasing international carbon credits — a currency that regulates carbon emissions between countries.

Awareness about sustainable living is deep rooted in Finnish society. Helsinki resident Mikko Tanner, for instance, sorts his trash — partly incentivized by the lower garbage fee of using categorized trash containers compared to mixed-waste containers.

Every day, he and his wife take turns placing their sorted garbage into categorized trash containers prepared by the management of their apartment building, a common practice in Helsinki that has local authorities deliver sorted waste to be recycled.

Another example is how businesses establish their own approaches to sustainable living.

Located in Lapinlahti, several kilometers from Helsinki, fine-dining restaurant The Loop has been promoting ecological living by only serving dishes cooked from what it described as “past-due” ingredients.

The restaurant, which was established in 2016 with largely vegetarian and vegan dishes, collects almost-expired but fresh ingredients from 15 grocery stores and producers. The restaurant offers a different menu every day based on ingredients that are available.

Efforts by Mikko and The Loop contribute to Finland’s national campaign on a circular economy, the concept of striking a balance between the production of goods and waste, which was first introduced by the EU in 2015.

Across Finland, the concept has been promoted at schools and universities. It is also a part of Finland’s strategy to achieve the UN’s 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2016, Finland launched the 2016-2025 Circular Economy Roadmap, under which parliament-supervised public think tank Sitra and government-directed public funding agency Business Finland engaged with many national stakeholders to further push the sustainable economy in the country.

Finland is home to various start-ups engaged with ecological innovations, like the award-winning Sulapac and Infinited Fiber which, respectively, create degradable and microplastic-free packaging and technology to reduce textile waste.

In 2017, Finland hosted the first World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) in Helsinki, bringing together the world’s policymakers, business leaders, researchers and innovators with a shared concern for sustainability. Earlier this month, the WCEF returned to Finland after it was hosted by Japan in Yokohama in 2018.

Indonesia Circular Economy Forum cofounder Bijaksana Junerosano, who was among the WCEF participants, said that Finland’s success in instilling awareness of sustainable living was the result of the country’s various national policies on sustainability.

“Finland is one of the leading countries because it made an early start and came up with various strategies, like the circular economy roadmap,” he said, calling on Indonesia to learn from Finland.

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