VTT’s impact: technology and innovation creating sustainable growth

Customer impact Societal impact Sustainable world Sustainability of VTT's activities

As a partner in research, development and innovation, VTT strives to dismantle any obstacles to our customers’ radical renewal. The central impact of our work is realised every time a customer utilises our applied research and technology. 

At VTT, our customers get access to unique expertise and the newest technologies for their own innovation work. In our customer surveys, 93% of customers reported improved knowledge base after working with VTT. Customers’ RDI projects also become faster with better result scalability, for example thanks to VTT’s research environments. When surveyed, 62% of customers reported that their project with VTT made their R&D faster. Through VTT, our customers also get access to new international business opportunities by joining VTT’s networks, for example via research cooperation funded by the EU. When surveyed, 60% of our customers say that their project with VTT brought them new business opportunities.
 

93% of our customers reported improved knowledge base

In addition to direct customer work, VTT has an overall broader impact on society.

We promote sustainable renewal in business and industry. Our customers report that, in addition to direct project results, working with VTT promotes sustainability and generates more investments, better or improved products or services and new recruitments. When surveyed 75% say that working with VTT promoted their achievement of sustainability goals.

VTT’s research also creates new, international deep tech growth companies. Over the last decade, VTT has already generated over 50 science-based start-ups that have accumulated over EUR 536 million in funding internationally (in 2013–2022), which is nearly 10% of the funding accumulated by all start-ups in Finland during that time.

VTT’s efforts generate more talent and number of skilled experts increases in society. Each year, a significant number of our experts take up roles in industry. We also recruit talent from abroad to bring international top-level experts to Finland. 
 

75% of customers report that working with VTT promoted their achievement of sustainability goals
 

According to our purpose, we at VTT commit ourselves to focus all our energy and expertise on those systemic and technological challenges where we can make the biggest possible impact. We bring together people, business, science and technology to solve the biggest challenges of our time. On this basis, we create sustainable growth, jobs and wellbeing, and bring exponential hope to the world.

In our strategy we aim to solve seven globally significant challenges. When it comes to systemic challenges, we strive towards carbon neutrality, a productivity leap and societal resilience. As for technological challenges, we promote a leap in quantum technology, the sustainability of materials, the development of digital systems with superior performance and the utilisation of synthetic biology.

Solving these challenges requires intensive collaboration with research organizations, businesses, and the public sector, so that the advancements of science can be refined into commercially significant, world-changing innovations. VTT works to promote this collaboration and dialogue. 

To achieve impact in the long run, we ensure economic, environmental and social sustainability internally at VTT as well. In practice, this means doing profitable and customer-oriented business and making sustainability efforts while ensuring the happiness and well-being of our staff.