Eyes on the Future: Creating a Better World for the Next Generation to Inherit

Creating a Healthier Planet for the World’s Children

“Everything we do serves one purpose: to create a healthier planet for our children,” Leena Matilainen, Head of APAC R&D Centre at Neste, says.

Today, Neste is the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel. They also produce renewable raw materials for various polymers and chemicals industry uses. 

By transforming their own business and providing the world with better, sustainable energy solutions, Neste is here to help the world to combat climate change.

Neste is also looking to bring sustainable aviation fuel to the masses by striking partnerships with airports and airlines. In July 2022, Singapore Airlines and Scoot Airlines began adopting the use of sustainable aviation fuel in their aircrafts in a one-year pilot programme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A pilot project also supported by Neste.

Neste’s Game-Changing Fuel Products Help Everyone Make a Difference

Neste’s numbers for renewable diesel are great, too.

Neste MY Renewable Diesel is made from 100% sustainably sourced renewable raw materials such as used cooking oil and animal fat from food industry waste.

“Today, Neste MY Renewable Diesel is available in over 600 petrol stations in Europe and North America. This way, Neste has a direct impact on the daily lives and carbon footprint of citizens,” Leena says. 

“We need to fight climate change realistically, not idealistically,” Leena explains. “The world still needs energy. We can’t suddenly remove the use of all fossil fuels altogether. In the meantime, we can turn to more renewable sources, and ease the transition from less sustainable solutions, to renewable energy.”

Their Big Goal: Transform Towards a Carbon Neutral Value Chain

Carbon neutrality is when a person, process or company does not release any carbon dioxide emissions at all. As only a few activities are actually carbon neutral, carbon offsetting can offer solutions to balance their carbon footprint by investing in projects that aim to reduce emissions somewhere else in the world.

Few activities are actually carbon neutral. For example, electric vehicles, which are usually seen as the more environmentally friendly option to petrol-powered cars, are not actually carbon neutral. The process of manufacturing the car and the electricity needed to charge it, especially if it is from fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas, still produces carbon dioxide.

Reaching carbon neutrality is an arduous task, but it is one Neste is ready to shoulder. For now, they have committed to reducing their customers’ greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, by 2030. That’s akin to removing the yearly greenhouse gas emissions of 7.7 million cars.

Neste have also set big goals for themselves. “We have set a concrete milestone to reach carbon neutral production by 2035. The commitment is ahead of the European Union’s respective target for 2050. In addition, we are committed to reduce the carbon emission intensity of sold products by 50% by 2040, which will be achieved through increasing the share of renewable and circular solutions as well as working with our suppliers and partners to reduce emissions across our value chain,” Leena adds.

And There’s Still More to Come

It goes without saying that innovation, research and development is at the core of their strategy to offer solutions that combat the climate crisis. 

At the end of 2021, Neste decided to open their Asia Pacific Innovation Center - the first outside of Finland - housed in Singapore Science Park. The space, which is close to 2,000 sqm, is designed to increase Neste’s R&D and innovation capacity globally and it includes a state-of-the-art lab and office spaces to house researchers.

Leena says: “With Neste’s Singapore Expansion Project and the expansion of commercial activities in Singapore and the region, there is a strong innovation needs to support this business growth in the Asia Pacific region.”

But why Singapore Science Park? Leena pointed out that the park, which is located close to Singapore’s major universities, is a known research hub that houses the majority of our tiny nation’s local and international research institutions and powerhouses. This, too, makes it a good location for attracting talents.

Singapore’s close cooperation between governments, industry players and academia also helps to ensure the continuous availability of renewable raw materials: The Singapore government has set goals for the transport sector to reach as part of its ambitious Green Plan.

For the 15 years they have been in Singapore, Neste has exclusively produced renewable and circular solutions. Today, the Neste Singapore Refinery in Tuas has a production capacity of 1.3 million tons.

Expanding their work to the Asian region helps Neste in reaching a more global audience; helping more companies reach their sustainability goals.

To effectively combat the climate crisis, the world will need all the renewable and circular solutions it can get.

Neste is here to make sure we’ll get it.

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