Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland, lying in the southern part of the country by the Baltic Sea. Deputy Mayor Pekka Sauri has been re-elected twice as Chair of Procura+ and fulfilled this role for the period of 2015 – 2018. The current Deputy Mayor, Anni Sinnemäki is the current Vice Chair of the Procura+ Network.
Helsinki aims to be carbon neutral by 2030 (Helsinki City Strategy).
Our procurements are responsible, impactful & climate smart (Procurement Strategy).
The key principles in the City’s procurements will be to use virgin resources sparingly and to prevent waste production by 2035. (Roadmap for Circular and Sharing Economy).
The use of dairy and meat products in city of Helsinki food services will be reduced by 50 % by 2025.
 | 630k Population |
 | 2008 Date joined |
Jorma Lamminmäki (Procurement Director)
Satu Turula (Environmental Planner)
Marja Sarmela (Legal Counsel)
More information? Email procurement@iclei.org
Our procurements are effective, responsible and climate-smart.
Helsinki takes its responsibility in the mitigation of climate change seriously and has set a goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2030. Procurements are seen as an important tool to operationalize this goal. We are committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and reported on their accomplishment as the first city in Europe.
We are pioneers and promote the accomplishment of sustainable development goals through financially, socially and environmentally responsible, effective and climate-smart procurements. We promote the creation of new jobs and apprenticeships by applying employment conditions in our procurements. We prevent underground economy and fulfil our obligations as specified in the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out. We pay particular attention to enforcing labour and human rights in our procurements. We ensure that our procurements lead to cooperation with reliable partners that fulfil the statutory obligations.
The network of sustainable procurement established in 2013 has reinforced the cooperation and information exchange between the parties in charge of the city’s procurements. The group has worked on, among other matters, definitions of the use of sustainability criteria in Helsinki’s public procurements and the monitoring of procurements.
Helsinki is an active partner in various national and international networks such as:
o ICLEI
o Procura+
o Big Buyers for Climate and Environment
o Circular Procurement Interest Group
o Working group for ethical IT
o The responsibility network of metropolitan area
o Keino Competence Center
o National procurement strategy theme groups
Partnerships with the business community are seen as an overall theme without which the goals of procurement strategy cannot be reached. Sustainability and responsibility are themes emphasized in all supplier communication.
International co-operation (e.g. the Big Buyers for Climate and Environment group) and national green deal agreements help to develop criteria and measures to reduce emissions during the contract period. Furthermore the use of the employment condition in procurements promotes responsibility of all parties.
Helsinki is actively developing tools for the contract period, so that the responsibility criteria do not only remain in the procurement phase but also reaches the contract period and general cooperation.
Internal guidance for SPP is being continuously updated in city of Helsinki internal website to aid work with sustainable criteria in public procurement of Helsinki. Helsinki also utilizes a city-wide sustainability criteria bank, where well-functioning sustainability criteria and contract clauses are being shared in order to boost the internal cooperation and information exchange.
KEEPING TRACK OF SPPOn average, the environmental criteria were used in around 56 per cent of the procurements of the City’s divisions and enterprises in 2020, when examined as individual procurements. However, there are differences between the city’s divisions and enterprises in their use of the environmental criteria: for example, 86% of the Service Centre’s procurements, 84% of the Education Division’s procurements and 81% of Stara’s procurements included environmental criteria in 2020. Some of the City divisions faced major challenges in monitoring the environmental criteria and the numbers are therefore not completely reliable.
For more information, read the City of Helsinki Environmental Report 2020.
The total greenhouse gas emissions generated by residents, services and industry in Helsinki in 2020 amounted to 2,360,000 t CO2e, decreasing by 9 % from the previous year. The decrease in emissions is partly due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly reduced travelling and the energy consumption of workplaces. The key factor, however, was the specific emissions from Helen’s district heat generation. They decreased significantly, while the relative proportion of natural gas increased and the use of coal clearly decreased. This was for the most part due to a change in the prices of fuels, energy sold and emissions. The proportion of renewable district heat also increased as a result of investments. The total emissions in Helsinki in 2020 were roughly 33% lower than in 1990.
More than half of Helsinki’s direct emissions are generated from heating. Because of this, measures related to energy generation in particular are essential in climate change mitigation. Helen’s investments in renewable energy will significantly start affecting emissions from heating during the 2022–2023 heating season.
The city has set strict objectives for its own construction:
In 2020, the required E value of service building projects was 20% stricter than the national requirement. An energy efficiency requirement was also set for the building improvement projects implemented by the city. It requires that the E value of the service buildings improves by at least 30% in conjunction with a building improvement project.
The goal for both new construction and building improvements projects is that an amount of electricity equivalent to approximately 10% of the purchased electricity will be produced with solar power if the system is economically viable.
Reductions in emissions are sought by trying to increase the use of emission-free and low emission machinery and transport vehicles in construction projects:
The requirement of energy efficiency class A is included in the plot conveyance competitions and terms of general plot reservations rounds.
Helsinki has the ambition to become carbon neutral by 2035. The mobility sector plays an important role in achieving this target.
In line with the EU Clean Vehicles Directive, Helsinki is increasing the share of electric vehicles and promoting the use of alternative fuels in its fleet. In 2021, the city expanded its electric vehicle fleet with 55 new BEVs. In addition, Helsinki has signed a voluntary agreement to reduce emissions at construction sites.
To reduce emissions from the bus fleet, Helsinki Region Transport (HRT) has set the following targets: 90 % of the CO2 emissions and local air pollutants will be reduced by 2025 (from 2010 levels). HRT also aims to electrify 50% of the bus fleet by 2030. In January 2021, 74 electric buses were in operation in the Helsinki region. The Euro VI standard is also required for local buses and garbage trucks operating in the environmental zone (larger city centre area).
Comprehensive responsibility development work has been carried out in the city's food and food service procurement recently. Criteria and contractual measures to minimize environmental and ethical impacts have been developed.
City of Helsinki works in food and food service procurements to:
The city's ICT equipment procurement has made extensive use of TCO and Energy Star certifications, as well as obliging the supplier to receive as many equipment for information-safe and environmentally friendly recycling as new ones are procured. The CO2 emissions of certain equipment have been fully offset. Development work, in particular to promote the principles of the circular economy and social responsibility, will continue to be active.
The responsibility of textiles has been developed in several recent work wear purchases. In these procurements, we have taken into account, among other things, working conditions in the production chain, a living wage, reduction of harmful substances, Transparency Pledge, consultation of users, use of employment conditions as well as responsible disposal and recycling of materials and fibers. Extending the life cycle of work wear is a key way to influence emissions that occur from procurement, so it is important to communicate about the responsibility, maintenance options and the proper recycling of old work wear to the end user as well. In the future, city-level co-operation and information exchange will be further increased in order to develop the responsibility of work wear procurements and, among other things, to better utilize eco-labelled products.
CANEMURE project pilot on food services for the service homes and senior centre
CANEMURE project pilot on Restaurant and café services of Helsinki Urban Environment House
Signatory of the Circular Cities Declaration - CCD
Portraits - Ethical Procurement of ICT
Helsinki City Strategy 2021-2025
Helsinki City Procurement Strategy
Carbon-neutral Helsinki 2035 Action Plan
Roadmap for Circular and Sharing Economy
Helsinki's Environmental Policy
City of Helsinki Environmental Report 2020
Report: carbon footprint calculators for public procurement
Climate wise procurement of dairy products
Climate wise procurement of meat products
Climate-smart street renovation
Guidelines on social and economic responsibility (coming in autumn 2021)
Case study: framework agreement for energy efficient IT equipment and services
Case study: calculating the environmental footprint of catering services
For further information on the activities of Helsinki visit their website:
or email procurement@iclei.org
