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25.09.2017
Gasum has signed a comprehensive circular economy cooperation agreement with IKEA Finland. The cooperation will involve using food waste from IKEA restaurants in Finland to produce biogas, with Gasum gas filling stations also to be constructed in conjunction with IKEA stores. The first station will be opened at the IKEA store in Espoo in late 2017. In the future the cooperation will also enable the utilization of biogas fuel in IKEA Finland’s own operations and by IKEA’s transport partners.
Gasum has taken yet another major step in the promotion of the circular economy and cleaner transport. The cooperation between Gasum and IKEA Finland will result in the production of environmentally friendly biogas from food waste generated in all of Finland’s IKEA restaurants. Biogas is a clean and 100% renewable local fuel made from biodegradable feedstocks such as biowaste sourced from homes, retail outlets and industry.
”Utilizing the volumes of food waste remaining after our efforts to eliminate wastage is a sustainable act for the promotion of a clean energy form, biogas. As a company we’re determined to set a good example by adopting new circular-economy approaches and hopefully at the same time inspiring consumers as well as other companies to take concrete environmental action,” says Country Sustainability Manager Tiina Suvanto from IKEA Finland.
Biogas produced in Finland is an easy and inexpensive way to cut carbon dioxide and fine particulate emissions from transport. In transport use, biogas helps reduce the fuel’s lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85%. Gasum biogas is also the only road fuel sold in Finland that has been awarded the Made in Finland Key Flag Symbol as well as the Nordic Ecolabel.
One of the aims of the cooperation is to construct gas filling stations in conjunction with the IKEA stores in Finland. The first filling station will be opened at the Espoo store in late 2017. The Finnish IKEA stores will be the first IKEA units in the world to get gas filling stations.
”Our partnership with IKEA Finland is a great example of comprehensive circular-economy cooperation benefiting all those involved. The opening of gas filling stations in conjunction with the stores will improve access to a cleaner road fuel among consumers as well as logistics operators,” says Jukka Metsälä, Vice President, Biogas, from Gasum.
”Environmentally friendly biogas is beyond compare as a road fuel – it’s 100% renewable, local and inexpensive. I believe our cooperation now launched will lay the foundation for a long-term partnership supporting the rapid development of the gas vehicle market,” Metsälä continues.
The circular economy provides enterprises with an excellent opportunity to fuel their vehicles with biogas produced from their own biowaste. In addition to the use of biowaste from the IKEA restaurants as feedstock in biogas production and the opening of gas filling stations in conjunction with IKEA stores, the cooperation also enables the future utilization of biogas in IKEA Finland’s own operations as well as by its transport partners.
”The gas filling stations will improve our partners’ capacities for fleet renewal through a switch to environmentally friendly biogas. Our aim is also to gradually replace the cars used by IKEA Finland’s personnel as well as the IKEA buses with vehicles running on environmentally friendly fuel,” Suvanto says.
Gasum has opened four new gas filling stations in Finland this year. At the moment there are 36 gas filling stations in Finland, with 24 of these operated by Gasum.
For more information please contact:
Jukka Metsälä, Vice President, Biogas, Gasum Ltd, phone: +358 40 5633 756, firstname.surname(a)gasum.com
Olga Väisänen, Vice President, Communications, Gasum Ltd Phone: +358 40 554 0578, firstname.surname(a)gasum.com
IKEA Communications, pr.finland@IKEA.com Phone: +358 40 451 7856
