As one of the most sustainable energy companies in Europe, Fortum looks to reduce its environmental impact wherever it can. Hydropower is one of the key renewable energy sources in the Nordics, and Fortum operates around 150 hydropower plants in Finland and Sweden altogether. Since it was created in 1878, hydroenergy has been by far the largest renewable energy source worldwide. Although it provides low-carbon, clean, eco-friendly electricity, the hydropower dams prevent thousands of fish from returning home every year. A problem which has been unsolved for almost two centuries. This creates a conflict for Fortum, for which they are also criticized by the public and in the media. Therefore, they need to find solutions that help them make existing renewable energy sources even more sustainable by enhancing their impact on biodiversity. We wanted businesses, media, and the public to recognize hydropower as an eco-friendly way to produce energy.

Fortum has been seen by the public as a distant corporation, even though its services are used everywhere. However, their services are not very tangible or visible and are even taken for granted. They are needed even more since the energy demand is rising. It is in their communications target to show to the greater public how they create value even beyond energy. Since fish have somewhat symbolic value in our society and opposing dams get a lot of media coverage, we aimed to find a way to get positive attention to hydropower by showing that it is not a threat to fish’ living environment and a threat to biodiversity in general. We needed a real tangible solution to show what we do, as opposed to just traditional communications campaigns. Fortum strengthened its positioning as the most sustainable energy company in Finland, by transforming the hydroelectric business using biometric data.

DATA DRIVEN STRATEGY: Dams block fish from moving along their natural pathways between feeding and spawning grounds, causing interruptions in their life cycles and their abilities to reproduce. To successfully allow migratory fish to bypass the dam, it was necessary to recognize and differentiate the species that are migratory from the ones that are not.

IDEA: A floating hydraulic fishway that uses biometric data collection to identify and enable fish to migrate past dams, up river streams to their natural spawning waters.

PRIMARY TARGET GROUP: Businesses, companies, and investors interested in sustainable-generated energy. By restoring the ecosystems affected by human alteration, we created a sustainable solution to preserve the European migratory fish, materializing new B2B leads and helping fishing communities at the same time.

SECONDARY TARGET GROUP: General public, positioning Fortum as a company where people, businesses, and nature live together.

IDEA: A floating hydraulic fishway that uses biometric data collection to identify and enable fish to migrate past dams, up river streams to their natural spawning waters. A smart detection process collects the migration data in real-time. If the specimen does not belong to migratory species, the tunnel sends the fish back. If the specimen is a migratory fish, the underwater tunnel propels it safely and unharmed, to the other side of the dam.

TIMELINE AND PLACEMENT:

Floating Platform Development

Jan 2022

Leppikoski Hydropower Plant equipped with the Floating Platform

30/08/2022

Launch of Social Media Campaign on Facebook, Instagram

01/07/2023

World Energy Council Documentary

BBC Story Works productions, YouTube

05/09/2023

Over 13,300 fish are transferred per year.

22 species preserved in Finland.

Giving a second chance for Oulujärvi lake trout, an endangered species.

Restoration of the habitats and breeding grounds of the lake trout across the Seitenoikea hydropower plant located upstream of the Leppikoski power plant.

US Department of Energy grants 1,3 million USD in funding for FishHeart.

The perception of hydropower as an eco-friendly solution to generate energy has improved by 30% in Finland.

We saw an increase also in the B2B demand for hydropower which rose by 15%.