Natural Capital
Alland Bank in Finland

About the Baltic Sea Project ... Using fintech and rewards to help clean up the Baltic Sea

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

About the Baltic Sea Project

We at the Bank of Åland would like to serve as a role model for others around the Baltic Sea and to remind people that everyone can do their part to help improve the situation. We are doing this by funding and supporting smart projects for a healthier Baltic Sea. In addition, our new Åland Index helps private individuals to understand their own environmental impact. By giving good ideas an opportunity to be implemented, we can together create a better tomorrow.

Together we can make a difference.

Since 1997, the Bank of Åland has supported a wide range of environmental projects. Over time, the bank has donated more than 1.3 million euros to the important environmental efforts of both large and small organisations. During the last couple of years we have further developed our environmental engagement.

When Anne-Maria Salonius from the Bank of Åland was sailing with friends around the Åland Islands archipelago she got a close-up view of the Baltic Sea’s sorry state. This was unfortunately far from the healthy Baltic Sea that we would all like to enjoy. After the sailing trip they were firmly convinced that something had to be done.

Meanwhile at the Bank of Åland’s head office in Mariehamn, Åland, Tove Erikslund and Mathias Wikström had been working on ideas to expand the bank’s environmental work. When they met later with Anne-Maria Salonius in the Åland Islands – in the middle of the Baltic Sea – all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

The Bank of Åland's long-term environmental efforts, combined with their personal initiatives, laid the foundations for the new Baltic Sea Project: an open platform that strives to fund good ideas and to create grassroot level commitment. The project focuses on the Baltic Sea. Thanks to a simple process we are now able to engage and involve customers, partners and the public.

Partners

The Baltic Sea Project is based on the conviction that we must tackle major environmental challenges together. This is why we are working actively with a variety of companies and organisations. The project is open for everyone who wants to contribute to a healthy Baltic Sea. One way is to acquire the Baltic Sea Card for yourself. Besides, we offer official partnerships to other companies that would like to contribute to the good cause with their expertise or funding. See the film about the Baltic Sea Project Contact Crista Tammela Marketing coordinator +358 (0) 204 293 407 crista.tammela@alandsbanken.fi Anne-Maria Salonius Director, Bank of Åland, Business Area Finland +358 (0) 20 429 3401 anne-maria.salonius@alandsbanken.fi

Åland has supported many different environmental projects and has over time donated 1.300.000 euros to support the important work of both small and large organisations. ”Now individuals, organisations, schools or workplaces can apply for both financial and knowledge-related support for their projects. Together we can carry out good ideas and accomplish what is needed to obtain a positive development of the sea we all enjoy being in, on or near.” Anne-Maria Salonius Director, Bank of Åland, Business Area Finland How the contest works Application: From May to September, you who live or have operations in Finland or Åland can register your project here on www.balticseaproject.org. The application will contain a short description of the project and additional documents - such as budget, timeline and an explanation of how the results will be measured - if needed. In the application you will also declare which category you wish to participate in as well as provide the contact information of the person in charge. The last day for registering an application is September 30th. Jury process: When the application period has expired, the jury will go through the applications and choose which projects will move on to a public vote. Public vote: At the beginning of November, all the nominated projects will be presented on www.balticseaproject.org. The public vote will be active to the beginning of December and anyone can vote for their favorite project. The public vote is a contest, and therefore we encourage all the nominated projects to actively share information about the vote via their social channels in order to accrue as many votes as possible. Winners: The winning project, which collects the most votes from the public vote, is guaranteed to get financing. The jury may also choose to award additional projects among the other nominated projects. The amount of financing varies and will be assessed by the jury on the basis of the project’s needs, scale and goals. During the previous application period in 2015, nine good ideas for the environment got to share a total amount of 113.000 euros. Results presentation: In the spring we will arrange an event where the best ideas for protecting the Baltic Sea are presented and rewarded.

Calculate your carbon footprint Try our calculator and get a rough estimate of your impact on the environment. Everything we humans do impacts our environment in some way. That our lifestyle affects the environment there is probably no one who disagrees with, but how much and where? We have compiled a calculator for the 49 most common areas as it applies to daily consumption in order to provide you with an overview of what kind of impact your particular transactions have. Test yourself by filling in the amount you spend per month. If you are a customer of the Bank of Åland you will automatically receive a calculation once a month during the fall. Read more about the Baltic Sea Card here. Food & Beverages Grocery Stores and Supermarkets ? Restaurants ? Bakeries ? Stores Department Stores ? Clothing ? Hardware Stores ? Pet shops, pet foods and supplies ? Electronic sales ? Book stores ? Lawn and garden supply stores ? Florist ? Barber and beauty shops ? House furnishing specialty shops ? Equipment furniture stores ? Household Appliance store ? Healthcare Drug Stores Pharmacies ? Doctors ? Transportation Fuel ? Taxicabs ? Railroads, freight ? Airlines ? Automobile parking lots and garage*** ? Automotive parts accessories stores ? Automotive services shops ? Entertainment Cigar stores and stands ? Amusement parks, carnivals, circus ? Motion Picture Theaters ? Hotel ? Bar Lounge Disco nightclub taverna - alcoholic drinks ? Gambling transactions* ? Cruise lines ? Package stores beer wine liquor ? We have done our best to present a way to calculate your carbon foot print based on leading financial markets data in combination with the top credit card transaction categories. Our intention is to provide insight on the foot print of each transaction in order to better understand the effect as well as enable informed decision in every day life for any one that cares about our planet. Disclaimer This web site is provided by the Baltic Sea Project on an 'as is' and 'as available' basis. The Baltic Sea Project has taken reasonable care to ensure that information is accurate at the time it was added to this web site. The website is intended to provide information and guidance only. The Baltic Sea Project is not liable for any incorrect or misrepresented information on this web site. The Baltic Sea Project makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of the site, the information, content, materials or products, included on this web site. The Baltic Sea Project will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of this site, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive or consequential damages. Calculator The carbon footprint calculator has been produced on a best efforts basis. The conversion factors used in the calculator come from a variety of sources including Total CO2 Emissions (in tonnes) and Total Revenue 2015 companydata collectedfrom Thomson Reuters (12.04.2016), Total CO2 Emissions (in tonnes) and Total Revenue 2014 industry data collected from Sustainalytics (13.04.2016),social cost of carbon,is based on WorldBank¹s Mitigationof ClimateChangeWorkingGroup. Source: Clarkeet al. 'Assessing Transformation Pathways,' in Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. World Energy Outlook, 2014. Data and analysis performed has been reviewed by KPMG. The Baltic Sea Project, has taken reasonable care to ensure the information is accurate, but cannot be held liable for any errors or omissions. Offsets Any suggestion for offset or in other ways contributing to the environment is presented in partnership with WWF. * Industries with significant difference between Thomson Reuters and Sustainalytics data. We used the averages of both data sources to encompass information from the datasets.