We at Stala are from Lahti and very proud of our roots. In 2021, we can be particularly proud since Lahti is the first Finnish city to have the honour of being the European Green Capital. We are part of Lahti, even our name reflects that. We at STALA, STAinless LAhti, appreciate sustainable future and acts done the achieve it.
Lahti is a traditional industrial city that has had a great impact on Finland’s development. A period of fast growth and industrialisation, which put a strain on the environment, continued until the 1970s. Stala was established in Lahti in 1972 when the rate of urbanisation and new construction was high. Even back then, we were so proud of our Lahti roots that we wanted our name to advertise it, which led to the name STALA, STAinless LAhti. At that time, lake Vesijärvi was one of the most polluted lakes in Finland, but when there was the will to stop the eutrophication of the city’s largest lake, Lahti began the ambitious water conservation work in the 1970s.
Lahti has come a long way since those times – it is now the leading environmentally friendly city in Europe. As a pioneer in circular economy, Lahti is not only decreasing the amount of waste but also utilising the waste created as efficiently as possible. A third of the waste created in the region becomes raw material for new products and the remaining two thirds are utilised in energy production. However, the goals are now even more ambitious: Lahti aims to be completely a waste-free, circular economy city by 2050.
Stala’s operations have always been based on the efficient use of resources. Stala’s stainless steel mailboxes were created in the beginning of the 1980s as the company was trying to come up with a way to utilise the surplus steel from kitchen sink holes. For Stala, circular economy now means, among other things, that 100% of stainless steel waste is recycled and raw materials with recycling rate of up to 90% are used.
When Lahti leads, the rest of the world will follow. Lahti has set ambitious climate goals and intends to become carbon-neutral by 2025 – ten years before the target set by the Finnish Government Programme and 25 years before the EU. As the first large carbon-neutral city in Finland, Lahti shows the way both for the other Finnish cities as well as internationally.
Stala’s objective is to be completely carbon neutral by 2035. In addition, we have committed ourselves to decrease the amount of waste our factory creates by 10% annually and to recycle all created waste by 2030. The same ambitious annual reduction goal of 10% also applies to the use of water and energy.
Building a sustainable future calls for action. We find it very important that future generations can also enjoy their clean living environment the same way we have been able to enjoy it. Therefore, we have rolled up our sleeves and gotten to work.
In 2020, we began to use only renewable energy in our factory in Lahti. Our acts to reduce the consumption of water have been successful and in 2020 we managed to reduce our water consumption by 16% per product unit when compared to the previous year. At the same time, we have reduced our energy consumption by 10% per product unit. The amount of dangerous chemical waste per product unit has been reduced by about 87% during that same period of time. These are incredible achievements that show others how serious we are about sustainable development.
We are on our way. We are not ready or perfect, but we are taking major steps towards a better future. We have ambitious objectives and the responsibility to achieve them. We are committed to human wellbeing, safety, nature, the common good and a sustainable future. Tomorrow is what we make it — together.