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PRESS RELEASE: One third of the commitments made for the Baltic Sea Action Summit in 2010 in Helsinki were completed in two years

Wastewater plant in Kaliningrad is planned to be opened this year.
Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) gathered some 140 concrete commitments to action for the Baltic Sea Action Summit (BSAS) held two years ago 10.2.2010 in Helsinki. States, companies and other organizations published their commitments, direct or indirect help for the Baltic Sea in the unusual summit. Two years later the commitments are proceeding well and their amount has grown to 183.
“BSAG is pleased how the commitments are implemented as a whole. Most of commitments proceed as planned and some third of all commitments have reached their goal. Some commitment makers have even been willing to continue further, beyond the original plan. From this perspective it may be for the benefit of the Baltic Sea that a commitment stays open in our books,“ states Ilkka Herlin, Chairman of the Board, Baltic Sea Action Group.
“BSAG emphasizes that the private sector is needed in order to save the Baltic Sea but we fully acknowledge that political decision making and public sector play a central role in this. One of the most ambitious commitments published in the BSAS 2010 was the new Kaliningrad wastewater plant by the Russian Federation, “ Herlin continues. The construction of the plant has started and the opening is scheduled in the end of this year. Now the untreated wastewater of the city’s 400 000 inhabitants ends up in the Baltic Sea.
BSAG now gathers new commitments and works for the next Baltic Sea Action Summit to be organized in St. Petersburg, Russia in the fall of 2012. “We have seen that better results are achieved by creating positive incentives than accusations.”
As an example of a new commitment is food producer Raisio’s Closed Circuit Cultivation concept, where Raisio uses the special measurements tools in its’ advisory service for contract farmers. The aim is to assure that nutrients added to the field efficiently end up in the form of the crop and thus minimize the nutrient runoff from the fields. This directly affects the eutrophication in the Baltic Sea.
Another interesting, new commitment is by Halti, a Finnish outdoor clothes company. Hazardous chemicals are widely used in waterproof coating in outdoor clothes. Halti has now introduced a waterproof coating that is free of hazardous substances and 100% biodegradable. Hazardous substances are a severe but less well-known problem in the Baltic Sea.
BSAG actively communicates with the commitment makers and continues to follow their work. Finnish Environment Institute SYKE’s commitment is to analyze the commitments made for BSAG. SYKE’s analysis will be published in the next Baltic Sea Action Summit to be organized in the fall 2012 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
For further information, please contact:
Mathias Bergman, Secretary General, +358 50 380 7155, mathias.bergman@bsag.fi
Anna Kotsalo-Mustonen, Development Manager, Founder, +358 500 200 480,anna.kotsalo-mustonen@bsag.fi
Pieta Jarva, Communications Officer, +358 50 338 1096, pieta.jarva@bsag.fi
www.bsag.fi
Read commitment updates
Update on Commitments 10 02 2012.pdfUpdate on Commitments 10 02 2012.pdf
Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG)
”The Baltic Sea is our employer”
Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) is part of Foundation for a Living Baltic Sea. BSAG works effectively to save the Baltic Sea through deliberate projects. Constructive cooperation with authorities and private sector is based on scientific research and the views of the specialists. BSAG follows the HELCOM’s (Helsinki Commission for Protecting the Baltic Sea) Baltic Sea Action plan, focusing on problems concerning agriculture, maritime activities and hazardous substances.
In February 2010, BSAG organized a Baltic Sea Action Summit together with the Finnish President and the Prime Minister. The Heads of State and more than 140 companies and organizations around the Baltic Sea made concrete commitments for wellbeing of the Sea. BSAG continues to work on new commitments and follows the old ones. The next Baltic Sea Action Summit will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2012.​

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