Many Finns start their morning with a cup of coffee. The kitchen table may be made of tropical solid wood, the parquet may come from Indonesia. The coffee machine has been ordered…
Finnish habits could put up to 20 percent of the world's species at risk of extinction
In Finland, the environmental footprint of consumption is not at a sustainable level.
If everyone in the world ate, lived, moved and consumed like Finns, at least a fifth of the world's species would be at risk of extinction.
The large environmental footprint of Finns is due, among other things, to the high consumption typical of wealthy Western countries, a diet high in meat and dairy products, and transportation habits that cause climate emissions.
The University of Jyväskylä researchers' future house is being prepared for Sitra in the report The average environmental footprint of Finnish consumption has been calculated for the first time. The environmental footprint shows how much of a burden an individual's lifestyle places on nature.
"By calculating the ecological footprint, we can now see what the environmental impact of Finnish consumption is both in Finland and outside of Finland," says postdoctoral researcher Sami El Geneidy from the University of Jyväskylä.
The environmental impacts of eating extend beyond Finland's borders
42 percent of the average Finn's environmental footprint is caused by eating. More than half of the environmental damage from eating comes from meat and dairy products. 98 percent of the environmental damage from eating is directed outside Finland through international production chains and only two percent is directed to Finland.
Transport accounts for about a quarter of the environmental footprint of Finns. Other consumption – such as hobbies and other leisure consumption, healthcare and household goods – accounts for about a fifth of the environmental footprint. Housing energy accounts for 14 percent of the average environmental footprint.
Text: Uusiuutisten editorial team
Image: Adobe Stock. The image's ecological footprint visualization is deceptively small. If everyone in the world ate, lived, moved, and consumed like Finns, at least a fifth of the world's species would be at risk of extinction.
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