Nordic tractor brand, Valtra, is marking five years of collaboration with energy company Neste on renewable diesel. All of Valtra’s tractor testing uses Neste MY Renewable Diesel and it first fills every tractor’s fuel tanks with the diesel before it leaves the factory in Finland.
Valtra have a long standing interest in renewable fuel as part of a wider strategy to reduce its carbon footprint. Neste’s My Renewable Diesel is made from 100% waste and residues. Due to its sustainable, renewable characteristics, an engine running on Neste My Renewable Diesel reduces its carbon footprint by 90% on average. Valtra calculates that over the last five years it has used around 4 million litres of renewable diesel. This has reduced Valtra’s carbon footprint by approximately 12,240,000 kg – roughly the equivalent to removing 4735 diesel cars from our roads.
Heidi Peltonen, lead of sustainable partnerships at Neste, said: “Valtra was among the first companies that showed leadership in their industry and decided to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions with Neste MY Renewable Diesel. We are extremely happy to see the reduced climate impact that our partnership has created and are looking forward to continuing the collaboration in the future.”
Valtra’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint has led to many innovations and strategies in recent years. For example, since 2022, Valtra’s factory in Suolahti, Finland has operated using 100% renewable energy. Their portfolio of renewable sources includes wind, water, and biomass-based resources as well as solar panels on the roof of the factory. Careful energy management has seen the factory reduce its energy consumption by 12.5% in recent years.
As well as looking to its own operations, Valtra works with its partners and customers to help them reduce their environmental impact. Through these efforts, Valtra has reduced its inbound emissions by 17% since 2018. When it comes to assisting customers, Mikko Lehikoinen, Vice President Marketing, Valtra EME, is passionate about helping farmers reap the greatest benefits of Valtra’s tractors and technology. He said: “We know that farmers are switched on to the subject of sustainability. Our smart farming technologies enable farmers to lower fertiliser and pesticide usage to be Green Deal-ready. We also know that they want to reduce their fuel consumption. We have the tools, like Valtra Connect, to help them monitor their tractor usage and find ways to reduce fuel consumption. If you can combine intelligence like that with the lower carbon footprint from using Neste MY, then it’s a real win-win situation”.
