Industrial Ecosystem
Are you ready for the circular economy?
Finland is one of the leading countries of the circular economy. We in Mäntsälä want to be actively along in the change. The wellbeing of people and globe does not increase by producing goods. Let’s return closer to the consumption of former times together, utilising new innovative solutions. More together, securing our future. We have gathered information, hints and the local examples to the site. The shift towards the circulation economy begin!
“Waste is just a resource in the wrong hands.”
Oliver Waddington-Ball,
founder of Goldfinger Factory
Utilising of Excess Material and Excess Energy Flows
The wise use of resources is the key to the profitable business of the future. The circular economy based cooperation, between the companies and the communities, takes its model from the nature’s own ecosystem. In the industrial ecosystem, one should try to the similar resource effectiveness.
The model has many scalable opportunities, but, an optimised result comes with a regional, diverse cooperation and its attention is in a smart design and in a life cycle of materials. Recycling is often mixed with the circular economy. But, waste management should be just a step towards material management and waste prevention. In practice, this means that several actors do cooperation and use each other’s excess materials and excess energy flows and designs wiser material use through the knowledge share and collaboration. Every company and the consumer should think about their own relation to the circulation economy. The preparing for the breakage of the business is strategically wise. It is good to know the leading principles and their effect and opportunities to the business environment of your company. We believe that with the help of the actors of the municipality it is easier to reach the cooperative resource effectiveness.
Effects on the Business
A company responsibility and environmental values are increasingly important factors of the image forming. The value-based action can be a crucial factor in the competition situations.
With a business model based on the circular economy, you can:
- reduce the business risk: Shared responsibility, agility for renewing and rise of the equity ratio
- strengthen existing business: New products or services and resource efficiency
- improve the image of the company: added value
- be one of the ecological pioneers
The cooperation is developing the business in a new way. It is easier to notice innovative solutions which improve business in cooperation with the actors of different fields and with the help of the actors of the municipality. In addition, the visibility of your company increases as a result of the common marketing.
The global market of the circulation economy has been estimated to be 1800 billion euro. Finland has potential for one percent share of this, which is 18 billion euro.
Ecosystem and Mäntsälä
The placing in Mäntsälä is easy and quick. For the companies, we have created the efficient model of Mäntsälä which is a pioneer, in transparency and speed, of placing services.
The model of Mäntsälä played its part also when the data center of Yandex placed in Mäntsälä. Now, a good example of the industrial ecosystem has formed around the data center. By promoting new environmental friendly cooperation models, we want to improve and to open new business possibilities. According to the environment strategy of the municipality, the goal is also the reducing of the carbon footprint and pass on the advantages, which consist of the company cooperation, to the consumers, for example as a more advantageous and greener energy.
Methods
You can carry out circular economic business between the actors, inside an organisation, inside an industry park or regionally. Besides to the productive use of resources, the aim can be:
- to reduce the amount of waste with the help of industrial design
- to create services around products
- to utilise modularity and offer repair services
- to replace the virgin materials with the help of new technology and innovations
- to develop long lasting materials
- to extend the lifespan of the product, e.g. with the wise industrial design and redesigning and producing used materials
Start to think the new profitable business opportunities and partners with questions such as:
- Can you servitize products? Can you create new services or form service entireties, which create value to the customers? The services which relate to the sharing economy are good examples.
- What possibilities does the digitalisation create? Utilising of the sensors, data streams, artificial intelligence, robotics, mobile solutions or service platforms.
- What immaterial or material materials are from the company at the moment wasted? Can you utilise materials yourself with the help of the product development?
- Could the company utilise excess materials or excess heat energy flows of some other company, in its own production?
The waste which cannot be prevented would be upgraded in an optimal case to produce the value to the company and consumers.
Industrial Ecosystem Examples from Mäntsälä
K-Citymarket Mäntsälä solar power plant
The solar power plant at K-Citymarket Mäntsälä markedly increased the renewable energy production in Mäntsälä. On the rooftop of K-Citymarket Mäntsälä, there is a 401 kWp solar power plant with 1,431 solar panels and an annual production of 326 megawatt hours of pure solar electricity.
The electricity produced by the solar power plant covers more than half of the annual consumption of the store’s refrigeration units. All electricity consumed by K-Citymarket Mäntsälä comes from renewable sources: in addition to the solar power produced by its own solar power plant, the store uses 100% renewable electricity supplied by Kesko.
The store’s parking lot is equipped with a fast-charging station where customers, while they do their shopping, can conveniently charge their electric cars with electricity produced by wind power.
Yandex Ltd
The excess heat of the data center of Yandex is recovered and transmitted, by the local electric company Nivos, to the district heating network, for warming houses in Mäntsälä. When Yandex enlarge, the excess heat capacity will be so large, that it would be possible to build a greater ecosystem around it. One alternative, a greenhouse, is already an on-going project. The aim is that the rain water from the roof of the data center of Yandex will be collected and used in the greenhouse. After a growing period, it is possible to use the organic material in a bio energy plant.
In Mäntsälä, there are also many other fine ecological business examples.
Mäntsälän Biovoima
Mäntsälän Biovoima takes in organic waste to be used as raw materials from, for example, waste transport companies, food industry companies and shops.
From this organic waste, Mäntsälän Biovoima produces biogas, which is 100% renewable, domestic fuel. Biogas can be used in industry, for producing district heating and in transport. In the future, this biogas will be available in the local natural gas network and people will be able to tank up their cars with it at Nivos Energia’s service stations in the centre of town.
Mäntsälän Biovoima’s organic fertilizers will help meet the future challenges of agriculture. The organic products will improve soil quality and help it bind water and more efficiently transport nutrients for plants to use. Putting the food chain’s waste back into the cycle will reduce the carbon emissions of food production.
Apartment Oy K2 of Mäntsälä
Apartment building K2 utilise the solar energy widely. Premises are lit with the solar energy, the electricity is obtained to the offices and to general premises and the charging units of the electric cars of the car park get their energy from the sun. The ecological solutions were designed together with, local company Nivos. In addition to the solar energy, recycled heat from the cooperation with Yandex is obtained and is used for the heating of the house.
Puukenttä Ltd
The forest industry is known for its ability to utilise all material effectively. Around 60 000 solid cubic meters of energy wood goes through the terminal of Marjala in Mäntsälä per year. The energy wood is obtained and harvested in a sustainable manner and it is a chain of custody certified (PEFC). The energy need for about 10 000 small houses is covered with the energy chip deliveries to the local energy plants. Fossil fuels are replaced with the energy chip.
Puukenttä is a local actor of Vapo. Vapo is an energy producer and its values are responsibility and locality those are familiar from circular economy. (All actors of Vapo are guided by a Code of Conduct.)
Gles Rock
Gles Rock has a good example of a business model which saves the raw materials of the nature. Operation of Gles Rock is an example of how waste is utilised and at the same time creating added value around it.
Photo by Gles Oy
Concrete crushing company Gles Rock crushes dismantling concrete to reuse . At the moment, the crushed concrete is used in a field of infrastructure and excavation. When a permission practices facilitate, the crushed concrete will be more widely used also in private households. Again as a consolidating material, the crushed concrete allows thinner structure layers compared to the raw materials of nature. The transporting of the smaller amount brings cost advantages and the crushing of it exports less energy.
Addition to crushing and equipment leasing business, Gles Rock is planning to set up a sorting place to its coming business site to Veturi in Mäntsälä. Sorting station would be in a use of private persons and companies.
Photo by Gles Oy
Trash Factory
Trash Factory is a fine example of, a smaller size company and community symbiosis, whose values come from circular economy. By producing design products from trash, they want to be an example and inspire others to think about product design and waste materials with new eyes.
They are a community that operates in Numminen in Mäntsälä. They offer production facilities, tools and a showroom and an office space for people interested in using trash materials in design and production.
KieKanat
KieKanat prepares handmade products, out of used fabrics and other materials, for oneself or for gift to interior design, indulgence and to wellbeing. The small business owner believes in the reuse of all materials. KieKanat also makes unique products.
Schools of Mäntsälä
The schools and day cares teach with a practice examples to the children how different materials can be utilised. In the hobbies and in the teaching, many kinds of materials are benefited. In the mathematics, the addition is taught with the help of egg cartons. The families are also delighted with paintings made to a crispbread box, or with wash ball –bunnies which grow Easter grass.
Ball Beverage Packaging Mäntsälä Ltd
Ball is a good example from an internal ecosystem in a company. It manufactures beverage cans which are 97% of recycled aluminium.
Panimo Kiiski Oy
A mash of the brewery Panimo Kiiski is utilised with the cattle farm of the neighbouring area. Smaller amounts are going to the horse stables of the area. The mash which contains much fibre and proteins is a good addition in feeding and also operates as a stomach medicine. Panimo Kiiski is registered at Evira as a feed producer, so they can offer the mash also to the farmed animals' feed. At the moment, the whole 12 000- 15 000 kilos of mash per year is utilised.
Recycling place Varikko
Municipality’s Recycling place Varikko, has received recognitions for the collection point that has been well taken care of. The hazardous materials of households, the EE –devices, in other words electricity and electronics, are received free of charge. Papers, cardboards, clothes, glasses and small metals are collected into utilisation as self-service.
OrboTech
UltraH20 by Orbotech is an innovative and ecological cleaning concept. Ordinary tap water is filtered through the modified canister which contains a special filtering mass. From it results so called “hungry water” which seeks to obtain its original balance by dissolving and absorbing dirt. Method requires no additives or electricity. Chemical free UltraH20 is effectively used and examined in interior cleaning within many sectors, such as health care, schools and hotels.
Using Ultra H20 you can reduce stockholding, waste and have an effect in health. Cleaning staff, the personnel of the buildings and the environment will benefit from reduced chemical load.
UltraH20 was rewarded at Finnclean exhibition as the most significant innovation and it was also the choice of the jury in the series of materials. The vision of Orbotech is to change cleaning industry towards the more comprehensive process thinking where the keywords are the effectiveness, the cleaning efficiency, the ecological sustainability and simplicity.
Pinewood Stables Oy
After exploring healthy living and sustainable, ecological building together with their architect Richard Sirén, Pinewood Stables Oy has finally started building work on their new bed&breakfast. The house will be built in the centre of nature, using healthy Finnish building materials, completely chemical-free and employing local and nearby businesses. Love of nature and the important values of sustainability and ecological living will be combined in this beautiful guesthouse.
The framework of the house is the innovative, additive free Aalto Haitek wood and insulation will be straw. The heating system will make use of Pinewood's own invention of compost heat from horse manure. The surrounding forest has been protected by building the house on a bore pole foundation - this also preserves the environment so that when you step out of the house, the forest is right there on your front doorstep.
Pinewood has already received interest in the house from all over the world. This is the first house of this kind ever built. More information about the house is available at Pinewood's website.
In the future
We hope that the site is waking thoughts and a discussion in all stakeholders. The future lies in broader and more versatile cooperations and partnerships. Change must happen and all of us can have an effect. Even the smallest actions matter. It would be great if in the future it is easier to make more greener choices and the companies would be given for example tax relief for the efforts they are doing.
We are still developing this site. Please tell us your eco-act or uncover an other eco-act.
