Google accused of illegally felling 250,000 trees in Finland for data centre

Google has been accused of illegally felling an estimated 250,000 trees in Finland to make way for a data centre, the New York Post reports, citing The Guardian.

The company reportedly cleared 816 acres of woodland in Northern Finland, near the town of Muhos, before obtaining full approval, although Finnish law requires a mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment before large-scale operations.

Residents said the destruction pushed wildlife out of the forest. “We had wolves coming into the village because all the wild animals moved out of the forest,” Anni Ranta, a resident of Otanmäki, told the Guardian.

The Finnish Licensing and Supervision Agency ordered Google’s subsidiary, Tuike Finland Oy, to suspend operations by October 23. Environmental Department head Tommi Muilu said, “In our opinion, the measures in question will change the environment and cause impacts, the identification and assessment of which are among the key objectives of the EIA procedure.”

Google’s Finnish chief, Antti Järvinen, apologised and said the company would protect water sources and replant trees on 321 acres. Finnish Association for Nature Conservation chair Hanna Halmeenpää called the move “pure arrogance.”