Last week, Helsinki hosted the annual meeting of the European Commission’s Big Buyers Working Together project, the theme of which was responsible procurements. Helsinki has been an active member of the project for years, taking part in groups such as the emission-free worksite group, the electric heavy vehicle group, and the circular economy construction and social responsibility groups.
“The objectives of the project are very compatible with the objectives set by the City for its own procurements in its Procurement Strategy. Furthermore, European cooperation is an essential channel through which Helsinki can learn from other procurement units about implementation methods for sustainable procurements,” comments Procurement Director Jorma Lamminmäki from the City of Helsinki.
Guests were interested in Helsinki’s examples of environmentally certified construction and utilisation of circular economy
The knowledge and experiences gained by Helsinki regarding responsible and sustainable procurements generate interest among public operators taking part in the project in other European countries. As part of the meeting, the guests were shown sites the procurements, planning and construction of which have taken into account various perspectives related to responsibility, such as circular economy, reduction of harmful substances, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
“In Helsinki, the responsibility of procurements is quite comprehensively evident from the Procurement Strategy all the way to the implementation and monitoring of procurements. In recent years, procurement specialists’ know-how and ownership regarding responsibility issues has also increased significantly,” remarks Category Manager Satu Turula.
“Through the site visits, we wanted to provide as concrete examples as possible of the implementation of sustainable procurements while also bringing up challenges that the projects have faced,” says Lamminmäki.
Among other sites, the guests had a tour of Helsinki’s first Nordic Swan Ecolabel certified service building, Daycare Soittaja in Kannelmäki. Having opened in 2024, the daycare centre for 224 children focuses particularly on energy efficiency and environmental friendliness during all phases of the building’s lifecycle, from construction to use and potential recycling at the end. Nordic Swan Ecolabel certified buildings keep a particularly close eye on not using substances harmful to the environment or health in their construction. They also have strict requirements regarding the amount of natural light indoors.
The guests also had a tour of Finland’s first permanent building constructed almost entirely from recycled materials in Mustikkamaa. Designed by Aalto University for the City of Helsinki, Closing Loops is a warehouse concept utilising recycled materials. Apart from the foundation, all of the materials of the building are reused. Examples of the reused materials include windows from the former main post office of Helsinki and facade bricks recovered from Malmi Airport.
Helsinki has been an active member of the Big Buyers Working Together project in all of its three project periods since 2019. This year marked the first time that Helsinki also hosted the project’s annual meeting.
