A second life for the European Green Capital’s marketing materials

Lahti, winner of the European Green Capital 2021 competition, is a pioneer in environmental activities. Recognising that taking care of the environment is always a shared effort, the City has strived to carry out communications that reach all the different target groups of the European Green Capital project as effectively as possible. Partnering with Grano has ensured that the project’s marketing materials are also produced and re-used as ecologically as possible.

The European Green Capital Award is awarded annually to a single European city. The 2021 European Green Capital Award was awarded to Lahti for its long-term work and bold environmental actions. The award was the result of the City’s close cooperation with the region’s municipalities, residents and several different organisations.

– We are extremely proud of Lahti winning this year’s European Green Capital Award. This is the culmination of years of persistent environmental work, emphasises Saara Piispanen, head of communications of the European Green Capital project.

Recyclable and reusable materials

As regards the marketing of the European Green Capital project, it was very important to ensure that the materials used could be produced and recycled as ecologically as possible. The partnership with Grano ensured that all of the marketing materials could be used twice or recycled. 

– The recyclability of the materials was very important to us, as recycling saves both energy and materials, says Piispanen.

Grano strives to minimise the use of unrecyclable materials in its productions by taking the re-use of materials into consideration in and minimising the environmental load of all the stages of the production process. In view of this, partnering with the City of Lahti and the European Green Capital project has been a great honour for Grano. 

– All of the flags, banners and other materials used in communications can be either recycled or used twice. It was a great honour to be chosen as a partner by Lahti, as our production departments across Finland are constantly striving to develop new products that have a smaller impact on the environment, praises Product Director Lasse Järvinen from Grano.

Grano made everything easy

Environmental issues concern all city residents. With this in mind, the aim in the marketing of the European Green Capital project has been to reach different target groups as comprehensively as possible. With so many target groups, marketing needs to be visible where people spend their time. A good example of this are the wall advertisements at the sports stadium.

– We have even asked residents where they have found information about the European Green Capital. Outdoor advertising has been one of the most often mentioned sources, says the project’s Marketing and Communications Specialist Maria Ansas.

Piispanen and Ansas are very pleased with how easy the cooperation with Grano has been. For example, banners and pennants have been installed in a timely manner and removed right after they are no longer needed. Grano is also responsible for ensuring that the materials are recycled and reused.

– In cooperation with Globe Hope, our banners, pennants and flags have been made into various types of bags that have been given out as prizes in draws and as gifts, for example, Ansas says.

–The cooperation with Grano has worked very well. They have actively highlighted these opportunities for recycling materials and also helped us to reuse them.

Saara Piispanen