What is the role of small rural businesses in green transition? Overview of strategic guidance in the Kainuu region

Abstract

The green transition is guided by legislative and political means by both the European Union and national governments. Finland has set ambitious targets for carbon neutrality by 2035 and the state committed to support the green transition financially. The set political guidelines steer regions, municipalities, and individual companies. In rural areas, the social acceptability of the green transition requires that policy measures are acceptable in terms of local well-being and livelihoods. This review examines how rural and sparsely populated areas and the small businesses operating there have been considered in national, regional, and local strategic guidance related to the green transition. Improving the opportunities in sparsely populated areas is seen as nationally important, and small businesses, in particular, can play a crucial role in sustaining the vitality of these regions. The focus area of this review is Upper and Eastern Kainuu. The material used includes Prime Minister Orpo’s government program, the National Energy and Climate Strategy for a Carbon Neutral Finland 2035, the Kainuu Program, and the strategies of the region's municipalities. The review provides an overview of how the different regional-level strategies reflect the potential for small businesses to act as leaders of the green transition and thus promote the vitality and diversity of rural areas. In comparison, differences in the strategies are observed in the role of rural areas and small businesses as part of the green transition. At the national level, the countryside is reduced to a resource periphery for the production of necessities and energy. At the regional level, Kainuu profiles itself as an attractive and distinctive region in the green transition. The goals of the green transition may also be present in the activities of municipalities, but they are not articulated in their respective strategies.