Circular economy & environment
The Lahti region has been at the forefront in environmental matters since the 1990s: we cleaned Lake Vesijärvi, were among the first to launch efficient recycling of waste, and invested in business and research related to the environmental sector. Today, we are one of the most significant clusters of environmental expertise and business in Finland, with two universities, a university of applied sciences and dozens of environmental businesses.
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European Green Capital 2021
Lahti was the European Green Capital in 2021. The European Commission selected Lahti, based on a strict set of criteria and after a tough competition, to lead the way in European sustainable development. As a European Green Capital, we work with companies to create growth-oriented business and new, replicable environmental and circular economy solutions.
Finland aims to become carbon-neutral by 2035. Lahti is ten years ahead of everyone else: we will become carbon-neutral by 2025! Today, the CO2 emissions per resident are only approximately a fifth of the 1990 level. We also know what we still have to do, and we want to develop these solutions with the best business partners.

Circular economy innovations
The Lahti region has been at the forefront in the reuse and recycling of waste since the 1990s. Currently, the region utilises as much as 99% of the household waste generated. The time of fossil fuels came to an end in the city’s energy generation in 2019 with the completion of the new power plant of the energy company Lahti Energia.
We are constantly seeking business partners for Finland’s leading circular economy cluster, to participate in developing new circular economy solutions with other businesses, higher education institutions and the city. We will help your business find the right partners, investment opportunities and material flows in the Lahti region.
99 %
of household waste
is reused
0 %
fossil fuels
in the city’s energy generation
Carbon-neutral
Lahti by 2025




World-class water and soil expertise
Lahti has some of the best groundwater in the world and one of the largest groundwater areas in Finland. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that we also have world-class expertise in the maintenance and remediation of water and soil.
The restoration of Lake Vesijärvi is an internationally well-known success story. The contaminated lake was successfully remediated through cooperation between the City of Lahti, businesses and the University of Helsinki. It resulted in a significant urban environment and human ecology research cluster being established in Lahti. The water and soil expertise of Lahti is continuously being utilised around the world.
Most of the population of Europe live in cities similar in size to Lahti. This makes Lahti an exceptionally good environment for developing and testing solutions that improve the quality and sustainability of urban environments. We are continuously looking for new, innovative partners to join us in these efforts!




At your company’s service – contact us!



