At its core, the Finnish Customs’ operations is all about taking responsibility for society and its customers. The sustainability report is Finnish Customs’ manifesto on the dimensions of sustainability and their significance.
We aim to do more and do better. Setting ambitious targets supports us in this work. We recognise that there are always challenges and areas to improve. On the other hand, there are areas where we have already made plenty of progress. In challenging circumstances, we may come to a dead end, prompting us to search for alternative ways and try something new. In many cases, the work is not easy, but successes are especially rewarding.
2023 was a successful year in terms of Finnish Customs’ control operations. The expansion of sanction controls over the year yielded good results, and the professional skills of those involved greatly improved. The slowdown of traffic across the nation’s eastern border and the eventual closure of all the border stations led to more control elsewhere such as ports and the main airport. The success of control operations depends on technological capabilities. A great deal of funds are required to update and improve these capabilities, and Finnish Customs had some success in securing the funds needed.
Customs clearance is handled digitally. Finnish Customs developed its digital operating environment without wavering in the face of challenges. A new customs clearance system is nearly complete, and parts of it have been already been gradually deployed. Finnish Customs invested in customer service to make the customer experience as smooth as possible. However, the EU’s common regulation imposes some constraints. Nonetheless, we did our best within this framework, and most of the customer feedback was positive.
Environmental responsibility is a self-evident, all-encompassing starting point for Finnish Customs. We worked to identify environmentally sustainable solutions and implement operating models. This requires the right attitude, solid expertise and close cooperation on a broad scale. In addition to people in key positions, we endeavour to get every member of the staff to strive towards better results. We will continue to encourage everyone to participate and innovate.
We have made much progress in our sustainability efforts, but we intend to go even further. The sky is the limit. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who actively advanced our sustainability actions for their invaluable contribution to an important goal! I encourage everyone to strive to develop Finnish Customs in a wide range of sustainability issues and become a bold trailblazer in this field.
Hannu Mäkinen, Director General of Finnish Customs
