Sustainable Sydänsuomi - Sustainable business growth program in Sydänsuomi

The Sydänsuomi sustainable business growth program project promotes climate work in northern central Finland by offering companies the know-how and practical implementation of responsibility work in their own company, e.g. to reduce emissions, reduce the carbon footprint, promote diversity and improve the company's competitiveness.

The main implementer for the project is the Development Company Witas Oy, and the partial implementers of the project are the Development Company of the Karstula region and the Kerttu Saalasti Institute of the University of Oulu. The project targets SMEs in Central Finland, i.e. Kannonkoski, Karstula, Kinnula, Kivijärvi, Kyyjärvi, Pihtipudas and Viitasaari, and especially micro-companies that do not have the resources to take over the responsibility expertise required by many parties on their own.

The mission of the Kerttu Saalasti Institute is to provide companies and business developers with the tools to start responsibility work in companies and to continue responsibility work in companies throughout their life cycle. Responsibility competence affects whether a company in the region can join subcontracting chains of large principals, where responsibility reporting and work are required from the entire value chain. Responsibility competence affects companies' financing possibilities and the price of the loan. Responsibility knowledge also affects consumers' purchasing decisions, and in tourism, for example, responsibility is a clear competitive advantage. Above all, however, responsibility work offers companies a meaningful tool to do their part in climate work and also commit to provincial and national climate goals, where companies play a significant role in terms of reaching the goals.

Goals

• Increase the understanding of micro and small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sydänsuomi regarding responsibility and its connection to business success.
• Enhance the motivation of micro and SMEs in Sydänsuomi towards responsible business practices.
• Promote the capability of micro and SMEs in Sydänsuomi in sustainability reporting, communication, and the creation and implementation of a responsibility program.
• Integrate sustainability tools into the operations of development organizations.
• Support the piloting of company-developed methods that promote sustainability.
• Develop a growth program and operational model for responsible and sustainable business in the Sydänsuomi region.
• Monitor and make visible the progress of sustainability and responsibility in Sydänsuomi.
• Explore and learn from international examples of responsible and sustainable business development.

As a result of the project, the understanding of the companies in Central Finland about responsibility and climate work increases and the companies initiate actions that create new services, products, innovations and new business in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The project will introduce tools for the business development of development companies and municipal vitality units, which will continue to be used even after the project. In addition, the project creates an operational model for the region, which unites the public and private sectors to compete together in responsibility and climate work, and whose achievements are monitored e.g. on the www.sydänsuomessa.fi website with different metrics. The project also benchmarks good practices in the European Union region regarding responsibility and climate work in other countries.