Neste produces world's first Christmas diesel in charity campaign
Neste Corporation
Press Release
22 December 2016 at 3.30 pm. (EET)
Neste produces world's first Christmas diesel in charity campaign
A holiday recycling campaign invites Finns to collect the fat from baked Christmas hams in an effort to produce enough 100% renewable fuel to drive around the world three times. The festive charity stunt aims to demonstrate the power of recycling and circular economy.
This holiday season, Finns are called upon to donate the excess fat drizzling from their home-cooked Christmas hams for a good cause. Grocery stores and service stations across the country have set up collection points for ham fat. The collected fat will go on to be processed and finally turned into a diesel by the world's leading renewable fuels company Neste.
The result will be the world's first Christmas diesel. By producing 100% renewable diesel from waste fat, the fuel's carbon footprint can be reduced by up to 90 percent when compared with regular diesel.
Enough fuel to circle the world three times
Baked ham is a staple at Finnish Christmas dinners, with a whopping 7 million kilograms or 15 million pounds consumed annually by the nation of 5.5 million over each festive season. Neste calculates that the fat contained in an average-sized ham could produce enough fuel for a 3-kilometre or 1.8-mile drive in a regular car. Overall, the campaign could produce enough fuel to drive around the world three times.
"We are constantly on the look for new renewable raw materials that we can turn into low-emission fuels. At the moment, it is not commercially viable to source waste fats directly from homes or even small restaurants, but that might change in the future. Our goal with this campaign is to bring the idea of circular economy closer to consumers, encourage recycling and environmental consciousness, and of course spread some holiday cheer", says Osmo Kammonen, VP, Communications and Brand Marketing, Neste.
The campaign's Finnish name and hashtag is Kinkkutemppu, which literally translates into Ham Trick. Cooks around the country are encouraged to donate their ham fat for a good cause. After the campaign, the fuel will be sold at Neste's service stations, with all the proceeds donated to charity. The campaign will support two organisations: one that collects and distributes Christmas presents to low-income households, and one that arranges for sports opportunities for socially excluded youths.
Renewable technology for a cleaner tomorrow
The technology used by the campaign to transform waste fats into diesel is already available and in use on a much larger scale. Not only is the fuel renewable and vastly more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels, but it also burns cleaner and is a better choice for engines.
Progressive companies and cities, such as San Francisco, have already switched their entire municipal fleets to Neste Renewable Diesel, effectively dropping their CO2 footprint by 50% overnight. It is also available in blended or unblended forms to private car owners in the US and the Nordics.
Neste Corporation
Osmo Kammonen
Senior Vice President, Communications and Brand Marketing
Further information: Osmo Kammonen, SVP, Communications and Brand Marketing, tel + 358 10 458 4885, osmo.kammonen(at)neste.com
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Neste in brief
Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates sustainable choices for the needs of transport, businesses and consumers. Our global range of products and services allows customers to lower their carbon footprint by combining high-quality renewable products and oil products to tailor-made service solutions. We are the world's largest producer of renewable diesel refined from waste and residues, and we are also bringing renewable solutions to the aviation and plastics industries. We want to be a reliable partner, whose expertise, R&D and sustainable practices are widely respected. In 2015, Neste's net sales stood at EUR 11 billion, and we were on the Global 100 list of the 100 most sustainable companies in the world. Read more: www.neste.com/en