14.7.2023

EWQ does its part for the climate and youth

We are continuing our collaboration with the 4H association for the fourth consecutive year through the Taimiteko project, where we plant additional carbon sinks in Finland and provide employment opportunities for young people living in rural areas. This summer, our entire team visited Virtain Tuuranneva, where the EWQ forest is growing and expanding.

A hands-on approach to sustainability and youth employment

This year, we had the chance to join forces as an entire company to take part in planting activities and learn more about the work of the 4H Federation. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Niina Virnala, Executive Director of the Virrat 4H Association, who first guided us to see the saplings we planted in previous years.

Our group walked across the peatland, carefully stepping around and admiring last year’s saplings. The rain had just stopped, and the sun peeked through the clouds. A mist lingered around the young trees, creating a beautiful and calming view. The saplings planted two years ago were barely visible among the grass. Our CEO, Sampo Brisk, bent down to check their condition. “They look healthy,” he concluded.

EWQ’s annual carbon footprint is approximately 156 tons. The 1,000 saplings we planted today will absorb around 235 tons of CO₂ emissions as they grow. This means we are currently planting more than twice the number of trees needed to offset our direct annual CO₂ emissions. In doing so, we also aim to neutralize our indirect carbon footprint.

Thanks to the Taimiteko initiative, nearly 600,000 spruce and pine saplings have already been planted across Finland, creating over 300 hectares of new forest and providing employment for nearly 550 young people. The planting areas have not been used for active forestry or agriculture for decades. According to the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners, there are still about 100,000 hectares of land in Finland suitable for afforestation.

We chose 4H and Taimiteko as our partners because of the tangible impact of their work. This collaboration allows us to actively contribute to both environmental protection and youth employment. Climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, and Taimiteko offers a concrete way to help mitigate it.

Creating job opportunities for young people

So far, Taimiteko has provided a stepping stone into working life for 71 young people in Virrat. This year, eleven young individuals are taking part in the planting efforts. Some of them have even started their own 4H businesses while still in middle school. A 4H business is a small-scale entrepreneurship model that offers a safe and guided way to learn about running a business — and you can start as early as 14 years old!

In the future, more and more jobs will be available on the peatland. Young forests require care: grass needs to be cut, and saplings need thinning. The idea is that young people will also take care of these tasks together with 4H’s forestry experts.

About Taimiteko

Taimiteko is a project launched by the Finnish 4H Federation in 2019 to take concrete steps toward capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and increasing carbon sinks in Finland. By supporting the growth of carbon sinks, both companies and individuals can make a real climate impact. At the same time, the initiative promotes youth employment, as the saplings are planted by Finnish young people. The goal is to strengthen young people’s connection to forests while planting 10,000 hectares of new forest by 2030 — which means about 20 million new trees in total. The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, serves as the patron of the project. Taimiteko was awarded the title of “Responsible Act of the Year 2022” by the Finland Chamber of Commerce.

You can read more about Taimiteko and the Finnish 4H Federation here:

Taimiteko
4H