Lahti, FI

The city of Lahti is located in South-Finland, 100 kilometres north of the capital Helsinki, and has a population of approximately 120,000 inhabitants. In Lahti region Lahti Region Development LADEC Ltd works closely with local companies and helps them to grow and internationalize their businesses. Lahti is a growing and attractive city focused on becoming a leading municipality in sustainable development. To reach this objective, the city has adopted an integrated approach taking into account environmental criteria in each of its activities.

As a pioneer in sustainable development, the city of Lahti has committed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2020 in comparison to the year 1990. Furthermore, the city is planning to increase the share of renewable energies in energy consumption up to 70% by 2025. To meet these objectives, the city has concluded several local energy efficiency agreements and implemented a strategy to ensure that the municipal buildings meet a low or zero energy level by 2020. Additionally, the city is promoting low carbon transport systems and intends to make sustainable tourism a key component of the region’s development.

In the framework of the Replication Cluster, the city of Lahti will have the opportunity to work with other European smart cities and to share best practices on sustainable building refurbishment.