Carbon-Neutral Urban Transport

The Carbon-Neutral Urban Transport programme – or Hilkka – is our way of facing climate challenges. We want to be the forerunners of carbon neutrality in the fields of infrastructure and transport services and change the operations of the entire industry.

The Hilkka programme is currently under development, and when complete, it will become a tool that will help us systematise the implementation of our emission reduction measures and our carbon neutrality goal.

The work is based on the results of an emission calculation from spring 2021, according to which the largest emissions from our operations come from construction and equipment procurement.

The Hilkka programme’s level of ambition is high and requires us all to change our methods. On a concrete level, this could mean evaluating the different energy efficiency solutions and the possibilities of circular economy when renovating the metro stations.

Honestly and openly

We are known for and proud of our electric public transport vehicles, but they alone are not enough. We also want to be honest about the downside of our rail transport expansion – the heavy emission load generated by our construction projects. The decision-making regarding these projects cannot be based on costs alone, but instead the emission impacts also need to be considered. This may increase our costs, at least in the beginning.

Not only does the Hilkka programme require us to take new measures, our stakeholders and owners must also take action. Use of concrete and steel as well as equipment procurements are our biggest emission sources.

As clients, we want to request our contractors to use a more low-emission concrete, for example. Our requirements will then have a more extensive impact: we will enable market development and act as a good example for other operators.

In addition to the concrete measures, the Hilkka programme will define more detailed sub-objectives, such as building-specific energy efficiency objectives or the low level of emissions of construction materials. More easily measurable sub-objectives will allow us to monitor how our emission reduction work is progressing.

The project manager of Hilkka is the Quality and Environmental Manager of Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd, Maija Sarpo.