The measures set out in the Recovery and Resilience Plans shall not cause any harmful impacts on the EU environmental objectives.
The funding of projects under the Finnish recovery and resilience plan is only possible if the projects comply with the “Do No Significant Harm” principle. The project shall not for example weaken the mitigation of climate change, transition to a circular economy or protection of biodiversity. Report on the application of the DNSH principle is published in English.
The recovery and resilience plan (RRP) is Finland’s national plan for utilizing the funding provided under the European Union (EU) Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and it is also part of Finland’s programme for sustainable growth.
The harmful impacts arising during the entire project life cycle must be addressed in the DNSH assessment. However, as a rule, a complete life cycle assessment is not required; it is sufficient to identify the most significant impacts occurring during the project life cycle.
The extent of the assessment depends on the size and significance of the anticipated environmental impacts of the project. A more complete assessment has to be drawn up for projects with new industrial activities.
The report by the Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE, presents guidance and methodologies for the DNSH assessment of funding applications under the Finnish program for sustainable growth. The developed methods and approaches are designed particularly for investment projects as well as research, development and innovation projects. To a large extent, the developed methodology can also be applied to the DNSH assessment of other types of projects.
The assessment methods for investment projects can be used for example for investments in battery production or recycling and reuse projects. The report also includes an example of a DNSH assessment for a commercial-scale bioproduct plant.
The developed guidance methods are intended as support and background material for the parties responsible for the funding programmes and applicants for funding.
Additional information
Project Manager Kaj Forsius, Finnish Environment Institute SYKE
firstname.lastname@syke.fi, phone +358 295 251 119
Development Manager Kimmo Silvo Finnish Environment Institute SYKE firstname.lastname@syke.fi, phone +358 295 251 640
Reports of the Finnish Environment Institute 3en/2022
Implementation of the DNSH – principle for measures set out in Finland’s recovery and resilience plan (helsinki.fi)