Towards Responsible and Sustainable Snow Logistics—State-of-the-Art from Helsinki, Finland

Sustainable development is key for humankind to keep its present lifestyle. In the northern hemisphere, efficient snow logistics are essential for people's everyday life during a three-four months-long winter season. If snow logistics are not done efficiently, it increases traffic emissions greatly and immediately. However, can snow logistics also be efficient and more sustainable? For this question, the city of Helsinki has been finding solutions. They started in Finland with an innovative procurement process to find new ideas and solutions for sustainable snow logistics with commercial partners. In total, they received more than 20 new ideas. Five were selected to go to a pilot phase. The city has also been helping to develop a machine that efficiently compacts snow when loading it into the truck. This solution decreases the amount of air transported per truckload. In Helsinki, the amount of snow loads varies from 10,000 to 300,000 truckloads. If the city can increase the mass per truckload, for example, by 30%, it will heavily decrease the need for trucks and traffic, decreasing emissions and accident risk. In this presentation, the speakers will discuss findings and lessons learned.