Borealis among first companies to join Finnish Environment Ministry’s Circular Economy Green Deal

Borealis is joining the Finnish Environment Ministry’s Circular Economy Green Deal (KGD), announced on September 12, 2024. KGD is a voluntary commitment in which the participating organizations aim to reduce their use of natural resources and to set effective goals that promote a low-carbon circular economy.  Borealis plans to use 30 kilotons of Finnish plastic waste as raw material by 2035 and to improve its energy efficiency by 360 GWh. These commitments align with the SPIRIT program, initiated and led by Borealis in Finland, which aims to shift Finland’s plastics industry towards using renewable raw materials, achieving carbon-neutral production, and establishing a circular economy for plastics.

“The Circular Economy Green Deal is very welcome. Its goals and direction align well with Borealis’ sustainability goals and its EverMinds™ ambition of accelerating action on circularity. The Green Deal outlines a long-term vision for Finland’s progress towards greater sustainability, with the circular economy creating new opportunities for the country. For companies like Borealis, having a long-term vision is essential when developing new business and making investment decisions,” emphasizes Jaakko Tuomainen, SPIRIT Development Program Manager at Borealis.

Borealis’ Porvoo site manufactures polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, which are widely used across society and are easily recyclable. Borealis aims to replace plastics made from virgin raw materials with those made from recycled plastics, while maintaining their material properties. As its first KGD commitment, Borealis plans to use 30 metric kilotons of Finnish plastic waste as a raw material by 2035.

The plastics’ recycling value chain requires a broad network of partners: Operators are needed for waste collection and sorting as well as for the processing of plastic waste. “As a producer of plastic raw materials, Borealis aims to develop plastics recycling to enable the production of high-quality recycled plastics from waste-based raw materials sourced from partners. Finnish plastic waste should be recycled in Finland,” says Jaakko Tuomainen.

Borealis belongs to an energy-intensive class of industry and works to continuously improve its energy efficiency to lessen the environmental and climate impact of its operations and to remain competitive. Borealis Finland supports the “Energy Efficiency First” principle; as its second KGD commitment, the company aims to improve its energy efficiency by 360 GWh by 2035 (based on a 2022 baseline). “Borealis sees energy efficiency as a key part of carbon-neutral production; reducing energy use is one of our long-term sustainability goals and truly in line with Borealis’ purpose of reinventing essentials for sustainable living,” says Satu Kosonen-Kaija, Managing Director of Borealis Polymers Oy.