Office of the President of the Republic joins Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development

Office of the President of the Republic
Press Release 27/2016
30 May 2016

 

The Office of the President of the Republic takes firm steps to commit itself to implementing sustainable development. The Office is not only aiming for ecologically but also financially and socially sustainable development. The Office has set concrete objectives, and their progress can be viewed on the Commitment 2050 web site.

In order to promote socially sustainable development, the Office promises to engage at least two persons a year that either have a disability or have otherwise difficulty in finding work; this takes the form of a fixed period of employment, work trial or on-the-job training. To reach these objectives, the Office cooperates with special schools and Ohjaamo, an outreach youth work organisation.

The Office also gives its employees the opportunity to one paid day a year for volunteer work. Volunteer work is available through the Finnish Red Cross or Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, for example.

To reduce its carbon footprint, at least 80 per cent of the Office's district heating and cooling will be created with renewable energy by 2020. The Office also promises to use electricity created by means of geothermal heat or solar power.

Other means of reducing the carbon footprint have already been included in the Office's energy efficiency plan. These include a reduction of office paper use by 20 per cent between 2015 and 2020. Measures also concern travel: by 2020 at least two of the Office's vehicles will run on alternative energy, and the total number of mileage will be reduced by 20 per cent from the 2015 level.

The Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a UN programme covering all aspects of sustainable development, with an objective to eradicate poverty and create wellbeing within the limits of nature's resources. Agenda 2030 is also the theme during the European Sustainable Development Week from 30 May to 5 June 2016. Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development is a key tool in Finland to realise global objectives.

Commitments to sustainable development: https://commitment2050.fi/

Further information is available from: Katri Makkonen, Director of Communications, tel. +358 9 661 133 or +358 40 560 3103 and Major Domo Anne Puonti tel. +358 9 661 133.