Opportunities in Ukraine with UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Since Russia’s full‑scale invasion in February 2022, UNEP has a formal mandate to support Ukraine in assessing environmental damage from the war and in steering recovery towards a “green recovery” model.
Since Russia’s full‑scale invasion in February 2022, UNEP has a formal mandate to support Ukraine in assessing environmental damage from the war and in steering recovery towards a “green recovery” model.
Pier Carlo Sandei, Country Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Ukraine, is visiting Ministry of Environment of Finland and Ministry for Foreign Affairs in April, 2026.
On April 29 at 2 to 4 pm, Mr. Pier Carlo Sandei, Country Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Ukraine will give a short presentation on opportunities in Ukraine.
Focus areas of UNEP’s work in Ukraine
1. Environmental damage assessment
2. Post conflict environmental recovery
3. Embedding climate, biodiversity and pollution objectives into reconstruction
4. Advisory and coordination roles, rather than large scale infrastructure delivery
During his visit in Finland, the interesting topics and discussion items for Mr. Sandei include:
1. Chemical management and asbestos in destroyed buildings is a huge problem in Ukraine, awareness of the adverse effects of chemicals, improving storage, private sector opportunities related to hazardous soil and hazardous waste.
2. Wastewater management – incl. possibilities for energy production. Russia has destroyed water supply plants and access to water at an accelerating rate over the past couple of years. Immediate needs include repairing damaged infrastructure, drawing up local and regional reconstruction strategies and developing/training the capacity of the personnel of the water supply plant.
3. Green de-mining: at the request of Ukraine, UNEP has drawn up mine clearance standards based on international regulations that take into account environmental aspects. Disposal of clearance waste is an important element. Disposal and temporary storage must be proper. The challenge is how to monitor the handling of clearance waste.
4. Renewable energy: Finland is supporting strongly Ukraine’s energy sector and there are several companies able to provide solutions for Ukraine. The most interesting topics are power generation, wind power generation, waste to energy, power transmission and distribution, power and battery management, energy storage, power-to-x, integration and services, cyber security.
5. Green jobs: People need meaningful jobs with fair salaries. There is also the need for “green jobs” that support sustainability. In the coming years, Ukraine will have 1.5 million veterans and a large number of them will need retraining. Training is also needed for women in urgent reconstruction tasks.
Program
14:00–14:15 Presentation by Mr. Pier Carlo Sandei, Country Director of the UN Environment Programme about the opportunities in Ukraine
14:15–15:10 Selected presentations of Finnish solutions
15:10–15:15 Funding for piloting with UN organizations, Partnership Manager Axel Sointu, Finnpartnership
15:15–15:20 Business Finland’s services for Ukraine, Sr. Advisor Jyrki Härkki
15:20–16:00 Q&A and Networking
16:00 End of the event