Neste and Liiga Team up to Reduce Emissions from Game Travel

(Neste) Neste and Finland's national ice hockey league, Liiga, have started a collaboration in which the majority of Liiga teams* will use Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ for their bus transportation during the 2024–2025 season in Finland. With the switch from fossil diesel to Neste MY Renewable Diesel, Liiga targets to reduce a substantial part of its annual total emissions, approximately 6,400 tons of CO₂e**, which is equal to the annual carbon footprint of approximately 500 to 600 Finns.

Liiga has been focusing on the environmental responsibility of its operations in recent years and is committed to further reducing its carbon footprint. Liiga teams' travel emissions, approximately 8% of Liiga's total emissions, are the fourth largest source of emissions after spectator travel (64%), arenas’ electricity consumption (17%), and arenas’ heating (11%). By utilizing Neste MY Renewable Diesel, Liiga can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from teams’ bus transportation by an average of 90%*** over the fuel’s life cycle when compared to fossil diesel.

“We are glad to partner with Liiga, which shows an inspiring example of how more sustainable solutions can be adopted in sports. Neste MY Renewable Diesel provides Liiga an immediate and effortless way to reduce emissions from the teams’ bus transports. Neste targets to help its customers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030. We are excited to help Liiga to work towards its sustainability goals,” says Joni Pihlström, Vice President, Marketing & Services at Neste.

Neste's station network serves as the official rest stop for Liiga during the season 2024-2025. Neste MY Renewable Diesel is available at nearly 190 Neste stations across Finland, making it easy for the teams to refuel their buses while players enjoy their break.

To accurately track emission reductions, the bus company transporting a Liiga team will utilize a team-specific customer number when refuelling Neste MY Renewable Diesel. This will send data on the refuelling to the Neste MY Carbon Footprint reporting service, enabling Liiga to monitor fuel consumption by each team and report the overall greenhouse gas emission reduction achieved.

“We believe that sports can have a natural role in society as a forerunner in sustainability providing a visible example. Our partnership with Neste allows us to take a concrete step forward in reducing our transport emissions and demonstrate our strong commitment to sustainability. It is also important that we get comprehensive reports from Neste regarding the teams' travel, enabling us to further develop and improve our operations for future seasons,” says Vili Nurmi, Sales Director at Finnish National Ice Hockey League.

*) HIFK, HPK, Ilves, Jukurit, KalPa, Kiekko-Espoo, KooKoo, Lukko, Tappara and Ässät
**) https://lutpub.lut.fi/handle/10024/158773
***) Calculation method complies with the EU Renewable Energy Directive II (EU) 2018/2001. The GHG emission reduction varies depending on the region-specific legislation that provides the methodology for the calculations (e.g. EU RED II 2018/2001/EU for Europe and US California LCFS for the US), and the raw material mix used to manufacture the product for each market.

Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) uses science and innovative technology to transform waste and other resources into renewable fuels and circular raw materials. The company creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. Being the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel and a forerunner in developing renewable and circular feedstock solutions for polymers and chemicals, the company aims to help its customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030.

The company’s ambition is to make the Porvoo oil refinery in Finland the most sustainable refinery in Europe. Neste is committed to reaching carbon-neutral production by 2035, and will reduce the carbon emission intensity of sold products by 50% by 2040. Neste has also set high standards for biodiversity, human rights and the supply chain. The company has consistently been included in the CDP and the DJSI lists of the world’s most sustainable companies. In 2023, Neste's revenue stood at EUR 22.9 billion. Read more: neste.com READ MORE