Environmental impacts to a sustainable level
Environmental responsibility comes under the UN Sustainable Development Goal:
- Industry, innovation and infrastructure (9).
The PRH has set itself the following environmental responsibility objectives:
- Our carbon footprint is at a sustainable level
- Both as a service provider and as a customer, we are able to lower our carbon footprint to sustainable levels by the year 2030.
In addition to the environmental impacts of our premises, purchases and events, environmental responsibility also comprises other environmental impacts arising from our activities. These include the utilisation rate of our online services and the projects to promote digitalisation.
Environmental responsibility also includes the patents we have granted and registered trademarks that are relevant to sustainable development.
We prepared the Nordic Innovation Award
In 2024, the PRH and other Nordic patent and trademark offices prepared the Nordic Innovation Award competition. The aim is to highlight Nordic innovations that promote sustainable development and are protected by patents, trademarks or design rights.
In autumn 2024, the national agencies selected their finalists for the main competition, which was organised in spring 2025. All innovations selected for the final solve significant environmental challenges.
The PRH’s environmental footprint or the negative impacts of our activities on the operating environment
Our premises at Sörnäisten rantatie 13 in Helsinki have been rented from Senate Properties, which monitors the consumption of electricity, heat and other energy in the premises. We share the building with the State Treasury.
The PRH’s archives at Antinkatu 1 in Helsinki are located in a subleasing site and Senate Properties does not monitor energy consumption in these facilities.
Electricity consumption in our offices at Sörnäisten rantatie 13 increased and heat consumption decreased compared to the previous year.
Energy consumption in 2021–2024: Sörnäisten rantatie 13, Helsinki
Year |
Electricity |
Heating |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 355.95 MWh | 419.87 MWh |
| 2023 | 252.79 MWh | 503.28 MWh |
| 2022 | 374.60 MWh | 659.29 MWh |
| 2021 | 347.31 MWh | 784.12 MWh |
Emissions
As in previous years, the emissions generated by energy consumption at Sörnäisten rantatie 13 totalled zero g/kWh because Senate Properties purchases carbon-neutral district heating and electricity generated with renewable energy.
Ecologically sustainable procurement
The PRH makes extensive use of the joint procurements offered by Hansel, many of which take ecological sustainability into account.
In 2024, the PRH carried out several competitive tendering processes using Hansel’s dynamic procurement system (DPS) for IT consulting, in which the contract supplier has committed to the following environmental requirements:
- The supplier has a written organisation-level set of instructions and description of the methods to promote energy efficiency and to reduce the environmental load caused by the provision of the service to be purchased.
- The supplier must ensure that the personnel taking part in the provision of the service to be purchased know how to make environmentally friendly choices (including choices saving energy).
- The supplier works to implement indicators that can be used to determine the achievement of objectives in the field of environmental friendliness and energy efficiency.
Responsibility work at the staff canteen
Senate Properties has put out to tender the Toppen staff canteen in our premises. The restaurant company is Compass Group, which has an extensive responsibility programme for responsible procurement and reducing waste.
Among other things, the canteen has reduced the supply of red meat to two days a week. The restaurant also has an application that allows the customer company to find out about the restaurant’s responsibility information.
Proposals for acts of responsibility
Measures proposed for “Our carbon footprint is at a sustainable level”
Proposal |
Schedule |
|---|---|
| Give up red meat at stakeholder events/red meat only twice a week in Toppen | Ongoing |
| Enhance recycling on the premises (for example a separate container for cardboard waste) | From 2026 |
| Introduce green code requirements for IT suppliers and code | From 2025 |
| Eco-electricity for telecommunications | From 2025 |
| Commute by train (not by air) or do foreign meetings remotely | From 2025 |
| Lights and equipment off when not in use | Ongoing |
| LED lamps to replace fluorescent tubes | From 2026 |
Information bulletin on responsibility: environmental responsibility
The environmental responsibility information bulletin for staff addressed environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, overconsumption of resources, and resource shortages. For Finland, challenges mean not only risks but also opportunities. For example, Finland is innovating solutions for combating climate change.
In the training, we learned that in addition to reducing harmful impacts, we need positive impacts, or handprints. In addition to minimising our own adverse effects, efforts should be made to produce as much good as possible for society, for example by developing solutions that prevent harmful effects.