Google Finland head apologises for forest clearances at data centre sites

Google Finland's country manager, Antti Järvinen, has issued an apology for the extensive forest clearances at the company's data centre sites in Muhos and Kajaani. These clearances have resulted in the loss of 330 hectares of forest in Muhos and nearly 200 hectares in Kajaani. Järvinen addressed the media on Tuesday following the company's previous written statements on the matter.

He explained that he is only speaking to the media now because there has been a lot to investigate. Järvinen acknowledged that people have been looking for him as well. The controversy began when the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation accused Google of illegally clearing forests in Muhos and Kajaani without the necessary environmental impact assessments.

The Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) subsequently ordered Google to suspend the work. Järvinen stated that Google and its subsidiary had acted in accordance with their understanding of the law at the time. He emphasized that the projects had been developed in cooperation with authorities and experts. However, he declined to name which authorities they believed had been informed of their plans.

Järvinen attributed the lack of transparency to the fact that he believed it would not be beneficial to start debating the issue publicly. He also stated that Google does not think it is useful to discuss their own involvement with the authorities. The Muhos municipality's building inspector claimed that Google's lawyers had pressured him into granting permission for preparatory work.

Järvinen denied this claim, asserting that he had not recognized such behavior and that no Google lawyers were present at the meeting where the permit was granted. He also denied that Google had rushed the clearances to get ahead of environmental assessments, stating that the project had been advanced swiftly and very openly in good cooperation with all partners and local authorities.

Järvinen further denied receiving pressure to speed things up from outside Finland. He emphasized that the environmental assessment process had been part of the project's development throughout. Järvinen acknowledged that all decisions were made based on the best understanding they had of the legislation at the time. He denied that the company's actions were due to a lack of expertise, inexperience, or negligence.

He expressed his extreme apology for the current situation and reiterated that he took full responsibility for what had happened. Google is currently building data centres in Muhos, Kajaani, Hamina, and Vaala. The company recently announced a 13 billion euro investment in Finland.