The UN Conference on Environment and Development, held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, strongly emphasised the role of local people and actions in trying to solve global environmental problems. The challenge of Rio was accepted by the City of Kotka, which responded by launching a local programme on sustainable development.

The UN Conference on Environment and Development, held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, strongly emphasised the role of local people and actions in trying to solve global environmental problems. The challenge of Rio was accepted by the City of Kotka, which responded by launching a local programme on sustainable development.

The invitations were sent to people from private sector, local administration, organisations of citizens and educational institutes. Roughly 100 people responded to the invitation. The practical work took place in working groups, the so called fora, which were arranged around seven themes. These themes were environmental education, natural environment, social sustainability, industry and transport, services and traffic, rural areas and archipelago, waste management and cycling of materials. At the beginning of summer 1998 this process, which had started two years earlier, was formalised in practical directives published by the local forum of people. The forum had reached an agreement about the steps the community should take during the next five years.

The directives are based on long-term goals and the practical steps were scheduled for the years 1998-2003. Some of the proposed actions were widely accepted already during the planning process. The local energy company is now planning to build a new wind-powered power plant. The company also participated in a project, together with Kotka Polytechnic and the Environmental Centre of Kotka, where a local CO2 budget was calculated. Collaboration between the rural areas and villages and the urban areas was started as a result of the discussions on social sustainability.