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The Challenge of Saving the Baltic Sea

Kemira has joined forces with other players around the Baltic Sea to conduct research to help improve the condition of the Baltic Sea.  Because a considerable number of cities and industrial enterprises in the region use Kemira’s chemicals for wastewater treatment, Kemira is in a league of its own as a business with an opportunity to reduce the burden on the Baltic Sea.

Kemira’s strategy focuses on water. The key objective of Kemira's research and development activities is, naturally, to support today’s and tomorrow’s business. Water-related research is conducted in Kemira’s own research facilities in cooperation with both Finnish and international partners, including  universities and other institutes of higher education, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and companies focused on water technologies.

The objective of the Baltic Sea Action Plan of the Helsinki Commission is to ensure a good ecological status for the Baltic Sea by 2021. To achieve this, countries around the Baltic Sea should reduce their annual phosphorus emissions by 15,000 tonnes and their nitrogen emissions by 135,000 compared with the levels in 1997-2003. Finland’s reduction target is 150,000 tonnes of phosphorus and 1,200 tonnes of nitrogen. Kemira aims to be a key player and participant contributing to the achievement of these objectives.  Kemira is also a natural contributor towards switching from more hazardous to less hazardous chemicals.

Kemira's Action Plan:

1. Reducing Point Source Pollution

  • We will ensure the point source pollution from our own production facilities continues to decrease.
  • We will ensure the safety of Kemira’s marine transportation.
  • We will share our knowledge with communities and industry in the Baltic Sea region to promote further reductions in nitrogen and phosphorus emissions through improved treatment of waste and drinking water. We will offer assistance in unexpected situations.

2. Research Projects

  • We will place more emphasis on research and development work targeting projects arising directly from customer needs. Our cooperation with Helsinki Water is an example of such work.
  • We will participate in joint research projects related to water treatment, such as the Water Programme for 2008-2012 launched by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation.

3. Raising Awareness of the Condition of the Baltic Sea

  • We will organize and support seminars and other forums addressing the condition of the Baltic Sea.
  • We will voice Baltic Sea concerns in our own publications.

4. Other

  • We will support the WWF’s oil spill combat groups and take part in oil spill prevention projects.