The Future Workshop for Sustainable Development (TUPA)
The Future Workshop for Sustainable Development (TUPA) project strengthens the resident-based approach and inclusion in Espoo’s sustainable development work. The project has a sustainable development resident partner group that consists of 25 residents.
News about the project
In this section we update current information about the project and workshop meetings.
The final workshop of Espoo’s resident partner group for sustainable development, held on 14 February 2023, focused on climate cooperation and the group’s future.
In addition to the resident partners, members of the steering group for the Sustainable Espoo programme were invited to the final workshop. At the beginning of the event, Helena Kyrki, the City of Espoo’s Manager of Sustainable Development, told the participants about the city’s climate work. In addition to the measures taken by the city and businesses, every resident’s input matters as it will not be possible to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 without everyone’s participation.
During the group work section, the resident partners and the steering group members discussed what kind of commitments could be made with residents and what other means could be used to increase resident participation. Many of the ideas revolved around getting existing groups and local communities involved. This includes, for example, schools, workplaces, associations and housing companies. According to the residents, these groups could be steered towards informed consumption choices and rewarded annually, for example by selecting an eco-friendly community of the year. One of the ideas proposed was an “environmental responsibility certificate’, which would be required from new residents, city employees and summer workers, among others. Generally speaking, the residents preferred the ‘carrot and stick’ approach, so that good choices would be rewarded, for example in the form of tax benefits, while undesirable behaviour would result in a penalty fee.
Chairperson Meri Löyttyniemi and the other steering group members then said their final words to the group, and the rest of the workshop was dedicated to the resident partners. Together with the entire group, we discussed the successes of this resident participation project as well as the things that could be further developed. We also discussed how the group could continue working in the future.
Next steps
The results of the workshop will be used in the planning and preparation of climate commitments. The participants’ views and ideas will also be presented to the steering group for the Sustainable Espoo programme.
The TUPA project ends on 31 May 2023. The lessons learned will be compiled in a handbook for municipal operators, which will be published in May. They will also be used in the development of the City of Espoo’s resident participation work. The group’s future will be discussed during the spring.
The Desirable Futures exhibition, which is open from 7 March to 24 March, encourages a wider debate on the sustainability themes discussed at the workshops. Read more on the event page: Desirable Futures exhibition | City of Espoo
Espoo’s resident partners got together at a workshop at KAMU to discuss cultural sustainability and the cultural environment in Espoo
KAMU’s Community Manager Kirsi Ojala began the evening by telling the audience about the museum’s cultural environment work, Espoo’s cultural environment programme, and sociocultural sustainability. After the introduction, the participants formed groups to discuss local environments in Espoo and to exchange ideas on how to make important places, landscapes, buildings and natural environments better known among residents. The groups also brainstormed new ways in which residents and the city’s operators could cooperate on issues related to the theme of the day.
Learning café (Oppimiskahvila) method to support brainstorming
The discussions were carried out in small groups seated around tables. Participants included KAMU’s resident partners. The groups shared ideas by moving from one table to the next, in line with the learning café method.
One of the residents’ wishes was to see more historical and cultural information displayed in their local environments. This could be implemented through museums’ outreach work, such as cultural walks and by having QR codes available at interesting sites. The collection of folk tales, especially in relation to emotions and traditional knowledge and skills, was considered important. The stories could be collected through a low-threshold internet platform, and volunteers, such as residents’ associations and the heritage society, could help in the collection work.
Participants felt that Espoo’s multiculturalism is a wonderful asset that is yet to be fully recognised as a source of learning and community spirit. The city could be more active in bringing people from different backgrounds together. Successful examples include the multicultural food events and language cafés organised at libraries. In addition, the groups had lengthy discussions about places that are important to Espoo residents. Ideas were also collected for future residents’ events and KAMU’s activities.
Next steps
The results of the workshop will be utilised in the planning of Espoo City Museum’s activities and in the development of cooperation between the city and its residents related to cultural environment work. Some of the development ideas will also be presented to the Sustainable Espoo programme steering group.
If you would like to know more about KAMU’s activities, you can subscribe to the KAMU newsletter via the link below and participate in the museum’s resident activities.
Come along and develop KAMU! | KAMU Espoo City Museum | City of Espoo
Espoo’s resident partners developed new solutions for reducing and making use of food waste in schools
The theme of the December workshop was food waste. The workshop was organised in cooperation with the City of Espoo Catering Services. The aim was to find practical solutions for reducing and making use of food waste in Espoo’s schools. The staff of Catering Services presented some real-life challenges, to which the resident partners then developed various solutions.
Food waste in schools is the sum of many factors
During the evening, experts gave presentations on issues related to food waste. Reetta Jänis from the city’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development told the participants about the effects of food waste on climate emissions. Minna Ahola from Catering Services provided information on the organisation of the city’s meal services and the ways in which the food waste problem has been tackled in the past. The amount of food waste generated in schools is a result of many factors, including lower consumption of vegetarian food, variations in the number of people eating meals at school, practical challenges and strict regulations on the sale of surplus food. However, the amount of food waste has been reduced by more than 20% since 2014. Surplus food is sold and donated whenever possible.
New concepts developed through the customer journey method
The resident partners developed solutions to food waste challenges with the help of the customer journey (‘palvelupolku’) method. The aim was to consider, on a step-by-step basis, how the new concepts would work at the practical level from the perspective of different parties, for example pupils or a charitable organisation. In addition, the participants came up with more than 60 individual development ideas.
Next steps
The results of the workshop will be utilised in the development of Espoo’s meal services and external partners’ services. Some of the development ideas will also be presented to Espoo’s Youth Council for comments.
City planning experts and resident partners got together at ‘Pelissä yhteinen kaupunki!’ workshop
Residents had a chance to try city planning through a game. What could a sustainable future city be like? What kind of issues need to be resolved and coordinated through planning? The workshop was facilitated by the developer of the ‘Pelissä yhteinen kaupunki!’ concept, Heli-Maija Nevala from Espoo’s City Planning Department. In addition to the residents, four city planning experts took part in the workshop. They told the participants about and commented on city planning from different perspectives: the principles of detailed planning, traffic planning, green areas and cultural environments.
Layered city planning with consideration for the characteristics of each area
During the evening, the resident partners built a future city based on their values and ideas. The experts supported the builder teams and the facilitator occasionally gave them additional tasks. The aim of the event was to help residents understand the various goals and challenges of city planning and to build good interaction and trust between the residents and experts.
Each team worked on a different area and had to take its characteristics and limitations into consideration as part of planning. Facilities in an old industrial area were transformed into loft apartments, and an unused manor house became a community space for local residents. As a landscape architect said: “A good city is not built from bricks but from decades.”
The city planners praised the residents’ consistent and creative solutions that highlight sustainability as a value. After the rounds of comments and development, the workshop ended with playful negotiations where the aim was to find compromises in a tricky building situation. All teams had to be flexible but, in the end, the wooden apartment buildings found their places on the board.
Next steps
The City of Espoo has started to work on its new master plan that looks far into the future, all the way to 2060. The results of the workshop may be used during the initial phase of the master planning process as the goals of the plan are being set. In addition, the development ideas and results will be presented to the steering group of the Sustainable Espoo development programme.
Read more about the workshop method (in Finnish): https://kaupunkipeli.fi(external link, opens in a new window).
Espoo’s resident partners tested a model for the co-creation of sustainable and smart urban areas at an energy-themed evening at Lippulaiva Library.
Lippulaiva Shopping Centre, known for its sustainable energy solutions, hosted its fourth sustainability workshop in cooperation with Espoo’s SPARCS project team. The project develops sustainable, energy-positive and carbon-free communities and areas. As one of the project activities, the City of Espoo, in cooperation with WSP Finland and Korkia Consulting, has developed a co-creation model for sustainable and smart urban areas to support the adoption of new solutions in the urban environment. Residents were given Legos to use as a tool for dialogue and reflection as they exchanged views on urban development and energy solutions.
Expert presentations were given on the sustainable solutions of Lippulaiva Library and Shopping Centre (see here(external link, opens in a new window) for examples). Citycon’s Sustainability Manager Elina Ekelund also gave a tour of the shopping centre, which served as an introduction to the theme of the evening.
Facilitators helping to coordinate solutions
Co-creation in an urban environment often requires the coordination of different solutions and sometimes also compromises, when different elements and solutions are fitted into a limited area. At the workshop, the residents first built the living environment of their dreams and then worked in small groups to coordinate the urban solutions they wanted, and to optimise the future sustainable city block in terms of energy, mobility and urban environment solutions. The residents were largely very like-minded, so they found it easy to harmonise their solutions. However, there were also some cases where it was more challenging to find consensus.
Multi-voiced discussion on future energy solutions
For the most part, the resident partners found the use of the Legos to be an inspiring and thought-provoking way to address the theme of the evening. The desire to increase the use of renewable energy solutions, such as solar energy, emerged strongly in the discussions. Integrated and/or hybrid energy solutions and energy citizenship were identified as some of the ways in which this growth could be realised. Ideas for future solutions included making greater use of the powers of nature and kinetic energy to generate energy – for example, trains could power wind turbines or road traffic could recharge batteries. Local solutions, such as shared and locally sourced energy storage, geothermal wells or biogas, were envisioned as means to provide services. Other sub-themes included the use of waste energy, energy-efficient solutions, energy education and adjustment to energy-saving measures, among others.
The residents’ ideas were in part well aligned with Espoo’s vision for the future, one example of which was the recovery of waste heat from Microsoft’s planned data centre region in cooperation with Fortum. This project will contribute to the future supply of zero-emission heating in Espoo, Kauniainen and Kirkkonummi.
More information on Espoo's energy solutions can be found on Climate Watch(external link, opens in a new window) and SPARCS projects co-creation model.
Next steps
The results of the workshop will be used in the further development of the co-creation model, as part of the work of the Energy Team of the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development and to support planning. The development ideas and results will also be presented to the steering group of the Sustainable Espoo development programme.
The next workshop will take place on 15 November with a focus on developing future urban solutions with a city game(external link, opens in a new window) (link in Finnish) facilitated by the City Planning Department.
Visioita tulevaisuuden kestävistä kaupunkiympäristöistä ideoitiin Espoon asukaskumppaneiden kesken 6.9. Keran Halleilla
Kolmannen kestävän kehityksen tulevaisuuspajan teemana oli kiertotalous ja 1,5 asteen elämäntavat. Kestävän kaupunkikehityksen edelläkävijän Keran aluevisioita käytettiin työskentelyn pohjana.
Kestävistä elämäntavoista tulee tehdä arjessa helppoa
Pyysimme asukaskumppaneita pohtimaan, miten kaupunkia tulisi kehittää asukkaiden kestävien elämäntapojen helpottamiseksi ja mahdollistamiseksi. Visiotauluihin ideoitiin toimintoja, palveluja ja mahdollisuuksia, joita tulevaisuuden kaupunkiympäristössä tulisi olla. Tuloksena saimme moniäänisiä näkemyksiä eri kategorioihin liittyen. Yleisesti asukkaat olivat samaa mieltä siitä, että kestävistä elämäntavoista ja kiertotaloudesta pitäisi tehdä arjessa niin helppoa, että asukkaat toteuttaisivat niitä oletusarvoisesti.
Kiertotalouden, palveluiden ja yhteisöllisyyden vahva linkki
Visiotaulun parissa työskentely toi esiin, kuinka vahvasti kiertotalouden toteutus on yhteydessä palveluihin ja yhteisöllisyyteen. Jakamistalous näkyy jo kaupungeissa mm. erilaisina yhteiskäyttötiloina, tavaroiden ja resurssien vaihtona sekä liikenneratkaisuissa. Asukkaat toivoivat lisää mm. eri ikäluokkien välistä taitojen ja osaamisen vaihtoa.
Ryhmätyön toisessa osassa asukkaat tarinoivat yksilötason skenaarioita siitä, miten tulevaisuudessa kiertotalous ja kestävyys arjessa voisivat toteutua. Tähän käytettiin palvelumuotoilun menetelmää, jossa erilaisille esimerkkipersoonille luotiin Päivä elämässä -tarina. Tarinoissa ryhmillä oli erilaisia painotuksia – monissa oli kuvailtu luontosuhteen ja yhteisöllisyyden merkitystä, joustavampaa elämänrytmiä ja digi- ja älyratkaisujen mahdollisuuksia ihmiskontakteja unohtamatta.
Seuraavat askeleet
Työpajan tuloksia tullaan hyödyntämään osana Kestävän kehityksen osaamiskeskuksen kiertotalous ja kaupunkikehittämisen tiimin työtä ja suunnittelun tukena. Kehitysideoita ja tuloksia esitellään myös Kestävä Espoo-kehitysohjelman ohjausryhmälle.
Seuraava työpaja järjestetään 11.10. Lippulaivan kirjastossa energia-teemalla.
Workshop on the promotion of biodiversity at Nature House Villa Elfvik
The theme of the second Future Workshop for Sustainable Development held on 16 August was biodiversity and local nature. Nature House Villa Elfvik, located in the Laajalahti nature reserve, offered an inspiring setting for the workshop.
Increasing mutual understanding
At the beginning of the workshop, the Director of the Nature House, Riitta Pulkkinen, spoke about the activities of Villa Elfvik and biodiversity in Espoo. The next speaker, Katri Luukkonen from Espoo’s Environment and Building Control Department, explained how the city must consider both recreational and diversity values in its operations involving nature. Discussion and questions ensued, particularly on the impacts of planning and construction on nature. Residents also shared their ideas and thoughts on biodiversity-promoting measures in Finland and abroad.
The resident partner group also suggested locations for new nature trails and measures for increasing the accessibility and appeal of natural sites. Lack of accessibility, the fragmentation of nature due to construction, and lack of company were seen as the main hindrances to visiting natural sites. In the future, residents would like to see a wider variety of interesting local natural sites that would accommodate the diversity and needs of both nature and people. Residents would also welcome more information on natural sites. They hoped that natural sites would be easier to access by public transport and that the city would increase green areas in urban environments.
During the break, the group was able to visit Villa Elfvik’s new photo exhibition on marine life in the Baltic Sea as well as the permanent exhibition, Long Live Espoo.
Envisioning the future
After the break, the workshop focused on Espoo’s goals for 2035 and the Espoo of the future. The participants formed small groups, and each group had to come up with measures that would help Espoo reach the goals of the Sustainable Espoo Development Programme and implement the Espoo Story. This was done using the backcasting(external link, opens in a new window) method, in which a pre-defined vision is used as a basis for creating potential development paths and steps that would lead to the desired outcome. The groups envisioned that the city would make biodiversity a central part of budgeting, planning and all development activities. The city should also encourage and enable other actors to engage in sustainable activities.
Next steps
The results of the workshop will be used as part of the city’s work. The development ideas and results will also be presented to the steering group of the Sustainable Espoo Development Programme.
The next workshop will be organised on 6 September at Keran Hallit. The theme will be circular economy and 1.5-degree lifestyles.
Asukaskumppanuusryhmän työskentely starttasi orientoitumisella kestävän kehityksen teemoihin ja tutustumisella
Resident partner group started its work by getting to know each other and learning about the themes of sustainable development
The first Future Workshop for Sustainable Development was held on Tuesday 14 June at A-Grid, a creative start-up centre in Otaniemi.
The workshop participants included almost all of the 25 Espoo residents selected for the group as well as the city’s team of experts. The key aim was to offer the group members an opportunity to get to know each other and to familiarise themselves with the work ahead and the themes of sustainable development based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The opening remarks by Meri Löyttyniemi, chairperson of the Sustainable Espoo programme, and the round of introductions led to a discussion of the expectations regarding the Future Workshops.
From words to action
The group of residents is diverse, but they all have a strong knowledge of sustainable development and are eager to make a difference. The group expressed a desire for concrete opportunities to promote sustainable development in Espoo. Expectations were also discussed in terms of the next workshops, and the group’s ideas will be taken into account when planning the workshops.
Project Coordinator Suvi Jäntti introduced the participants to the theme of sustainability through the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. As an important part of fruitful long-term cooperation, we also agreed on common rules.
Next steps
The first meeting provided a good basis for further discussions and brainstorming at the next workshop. It will take place at Villa Elfvik on 16 August and focus on the themes of biodiversity and local nature. We will, for example, discuss what would encourage more Espoo residents to visit natural areas and how the city could better support biodiversity activities.
As the city wants to support the group as change agents for sustainable development, we will also share the facilitation methods used at the workshops to support the group’s activities within their own networks. At the first workshop, we discussed expectations with the help of the “me-we-us” method(external link, opens in a new window), based on which participants gradually move from an individual reflection to pair and group discussions.
What is it all about?
The Future Workshop for Sustainable Development (TUPA) project strengthens the resident-based approach and their inclusion in Espoo’s sustainable development work. The project develops and tests a new model of resident inclusion, in which a number of residents from different backgrounds resolve sustainability challenges together with the city’s operators. The objective is to better integrate the voice of residents into the sustainable development work done by Espoo, to better view the goals from the residents' perspective, to establish the resident-inclusion model and to scale it for wider use both nationally and internationally. The coaching provided in the project strengthens the city personnel’s competence in using methods of inclusion.
The Future Workshop for Sustainable Development (TUPA) project, funded by the Ministry of the Environment, is developing a new model for engaging residents in the city’s sustainable development work. The project is part of the Ministry of the Environment’s Sustainable City programme, which provides funding for new types of solutions to activate and engage different operators in sustainable development work.
The TUPA project implements the city’s strategy, the Espoo Story, according to which the Espoo community develops sustainable and local pioneering solutions promoting carbon neutrality to be also shared with other urban areas in Finland and abroad. Espoo’s goal is for the entire community to operate sustainably and to discover new solutions to promoting carbon neutrality and improving the flow of everyday life. Espoo is committed to being a pioneering city in view of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to presenting the solutions to achieving these goals at the UN High-level political forum (HLPF) in July 2025. The TUPA project is part of a larger whole, in which urban solutions will be developed for better consideration of residents, promotion of good governance and participation of residents. The outputs of the project will be presented as part of Espoo’s SDG pioneering solution.
Dialogue and partnership thinking at the core of the project
In the future workshops, a number of residents from different backgrounds will process the city’s climate and sustainability goals together with the city’s employees. Residents and other interest groups will be involved in the planning of the project. The workshop activities will include expert presentations and processing of various sustainable development themes in a facilitated manner by making use of functional methods. Where possible, the workshops will be held in a place in Espoo related to the theme being processed and accessible with public transport. Participants for the workshop activities will be selected in spring 2022 through an open call, supplemented, if necessary, by a targeted call.
In the future workshops, the city’s employees and residents will sit around the same table to discuss matters as equals, which will allow for open interaction. The parties will gain a more comprehensive understanding of each other’s needs and perspectives, which is of particular importance in the future-oriented development work of sustainable development.
The future workshops will provide valuable experience in a new form of resident inclusion, where a group of residents will meet during the project period to deepen their knowledge of the sustainable development themes and to consider future solutions to them. After the future workshop experiment, the model can be further developed to promote better interaction between the city and its residents. The objective of the future workshops is to better integrate the voice of residents into the city’s sustainable development work and to better view the goals from the residents’ perspective. This promotes social sustainability as part of the green transition and strengthens Espoo’s goal of being a pioneer in sustainable development together with its residents.
1 January 2022 – 31 May 2023
Processing of personal data in connection with the Future Workshop for Sustainable Development (TUPA) project
The privacy notice was published on 7 July 2022.
Data controller
City of Espoo
P.O. Box 1, 02070 CITY OF ESPOO
Person responsible for the register
Suvi Jäntti, Coordinator, suvi.jantti@espoo.fi
Contact person of the register
Suvi Jäntti, Coordinator, suvi.jantti@espoo.fi
Data Protection Officer
Data Protection Officer of the City of Espoo
Address: P.O. Box 12, 02070 City of Espoo
Tel. +358 9 81621 (switchboard)
Email address: tietosuoja@espoo.fi
For what purpose will personal data be processed?
Personal data is collected for the selection of a group of residents for the Future Workshop for Sustainable Development (TUPA) project. Data is collected to put together a group of people with varied backgrounds. After selecting the group members, their contact information will be used to contact them.
Key legislation:
- General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union (2016/679).
- Data Protection Act (1050/2018).
- Local Government Act (410/2015).
- Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999).
On what grounds will personal data be processed?
- Article 6(1)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union: the data subject has given consent to the processing of his or her personal data for one or more specific purposes.
- Article 6(1)(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union: processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
What data will be processed?
During the application process, we will process data related to persons who have filled in the application form (name, age group, family situation, gender, native language, education, employment situation, greater area where one lives, minority status (incl. disability), participation in organisations’ activities, membership in a city body). Contact information will be collected, to the extent necessary, to contact the persons (email address and telephone number).
PUBLIC ACCESS TO AND CONFIDENTIALITY OF DATA: The data is confidential.
What are the sources of data?
Data is received directly from the data subject. They will provide their data when filling in the application form. The provision of personal data is based on the person’s consent.
Will data be disclosed or transferred outside the city?
Data will not be disclosed to parties external to the City of Espoo.
Will data be transferred outside the EU/EEA?
Personal data will not be transferred outside the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA).
How long will data be stored?
Data will be stored for the duration of the project, until 31 May 2023 at the latest. Data will, however, be erased as soon as it is not needed.
How will data be protected?
A survey tool provided by a contracted supplier of the City of Espoo. Access to the data is limited to certain designated employees involved in the project. User rights are given on a task-specific basis. Each user must accept the user agreement and non-disclosure agreement concerning the data and the data systems. The users regularly participate in data protection and data security training.
Each user must accept the data and data system user agreement and non-disclosure agreement of the City of Espoo.
Rights of the data subject
Further instructions on submitting information requests referred to in the General Data Protection Regulation: espoo.fi/en/city-espoo/data-protection#section-7317.
How can I access my data?
You have the right to obtain from the data controller a copy of the personal data that is subject to processing. The data controller must provide the data without undue delay and in any event within one month of receipt of the request. That period may be extended by two further months where necessary, taking into account the complexity and number of the requests.
If the data controller does not take action on the request of the data subject, the data controller must inform the data subject without delay, and at the latest within one month of receipt of the request, of the reasons for not taking action and on the possibility of lodging a complaint with a supervisory authority and seeking a judicial remedy.
Requests from the data subject and any resulting actions are free of charge. Where requests from a data subject are manifestly unfounded or excessive, in particular because of their repetitive character, the data controller may either charge a reasonable fee taking into account the administrative costs of providing the information or communication or taking the action requested, or refuse to act on the request.
2. When can I request rectification of my data?
You have the right to have inaccurate, incomplete, outdated or unnecessary personal data that we store either rectified or completed by us.
When can I request erasure of my data?
You have the right to have the data controller erase your personal data without undue delay under certain conditions. The data subject does not have the right to erasure if the processing of data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation or for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. In these cases, the data will only be erased after the statutory time limit.
When can I request restriction of processing of my data?
If the data concerning you is inaccurate, you have the right to request that its processing be restricted until its accuracy has been verified.
Right to lodge a complaint
You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you feel that the processing of your personal data is in infringement of data protection legislation. You can lodge a complaint with the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman: www.tietosuoja.fi(external link, opens in a new window).
The handbook entitled Involving residents in sustainable development work provides a concise collection of experience-based tips for organising a residents’ panel as a workshop. The resident participation work carried out under TUPA. The handbook has been published in Finnish and English and can be downloaded for free through the link below.
Downloadable files
- Download file: TUPA-hankkeen kasikirja.pdf.TUPA-hankkeen kasikirja.pdfFile is only available in FinnishFile is only available in Finnish