The consumption of the City of Tampere affects nature around the world. The calculation of the biodiversity footprint showed that food, heating, construction, and electricity consumption cause the most damage to nature (Pokkinen et al. 2024). That is why it is worth changing and reducing their consumption. For example, it is possible to prepare nutritious and tasty food from a wide range of ingredients, and it is possible to replace red meat with vegetable proteins or domestic lake fish, for example.
Reusing building materials directly saves natural resources. When the concrete elements in good condition of an apartment building to be demolished are reused in a new apartment building under construction, virgin natural resources are saved. The same applies to earthworks and soil masses, if they can be used, for example, as noise barriers in a new residential area under construction. Circular economy solutions in construction reduce the damage caused to nature by construction. Tampere joined the Green Deal commitment for the circular economy in spring 2025. As a voluntary commitment, it is significant.
Energy consumption consumes nature and natural resources, especially when energy is produced by burning non-renewable natural resources. In 2021, more than half of the biodiversity footprint of the City of Tampere organization's heat consumption was generated by fossil fuels, especially the use of peat. However, peat burning was discontinued in Tampere in 2025, which will significantly reduce the biodiversity footprint of heat consumption.
In addition to fossil fuels, the biodiversity footprint is caused by the use of wood, which has replaced fossil fuels in Tampere. The use of wood reduces greenhouse gas emissions and thus slows down climate change, but its use can cause harm to nature. The sorts of wood used in energy production differ from each other in terms of their impacts: for example, sawdust and recycled wood cause less impact on nature, while wood shavings collected from forests can have a significant impact on nature. In particular, the use of wood suitable for processing should be avoided as far as possible, as it increases the felling pressure. Logs, which are suitable for long-lasting products, are not used in energy production in Tampere, and it is important to ensure the continuation of the practice. Tampere also utilizes other forms of renewable energy, such as wind power, and its production and utilization have grown rapidly in recent years. In 2025, a large heat pump was completed in Naistenlahti, and new electric boilers and heat storage facilities were completed in Lielahti.
Note: You can translate the measures using your internet browser's translation tool. The measures are written in Finnish, because they are being updated continuously.