The Finnish Defence Forces and the environment

The Defence Forces take the environment into account in everything they do. We want to minimise risk and damage inflicted on the environment while carrying out our mandatory tasks (national defence, assistant to other authorities and international crisis management).

We train our personnel in environmental matters and we monitor that goals are reached. We restore the areas we operate in and if our activities cause damage, we seek to minimise the effects immediately.

Our legislation dictates our environmental action. We have set ourselves goals that are recorded in our action plans, in our environmental protection plans and in the defence administration's pledge: Responsible safety. In addition, until 2021, an environmental system will be developed based on the ISO14001 standard, which covers the entire Finnish Defence Forces.

Environmental Protection in the Defence Forces

The Defence Forces are committed to protecting the environment. The following things have to be taken into account when protecting the environment:

• noise and vibration management
• soil and ground water protection
• nature conservation
• energy and global warming impact management

We work in cooperation with, among others, the Construction Establishment of Defence Administration. Guidance on environmental protection is issued by the Defence Command's Logistics Division. In practice, environmental measures are carried out by the Defence Forces Logistics Command.

The Defence Forces' environmental measures emphasise prevention, self-initiative and continuous development. Environmental conditions at shooting ranges and exercise areas are reported on and we monitor possible environmental effects in risk areas together with other environmental authorities by taking samples. We develop our activities by conducting high-quality research and through national and international cooperation.

Into the future responsibly

The entire defence administration is committed to acting responsibly for the good of the future. In addition to the Defence Forces, the pledge "Responsible safety" has been signed by the Ministry of Defence and the Construction Establishment of Defence Administration. Together they pledge to

• reduce the energy consumption of buildings by 20% of the levels consumed in 2010 by 2020
• reduce greenhouse emissions by 30% of the levels produced in 2010 by 2020
• use environmental best practices at shooting ranges.

Links

• Pledge: "Responsible safety" at Commitment2050.fi