The development commitment for Kera will make it a pioneering area for sustainable development – a unique land use agreement approved by the City Board

In August 2021, the Espoo City Board unanimously approved the development commitment for the Kera area as a part of the land use agreement included in the town plan for Kera center. The development commitment for Kera is a unique document that steers the development of the Kera area in accordance with Espoo’s carbon neutrality and sustainable development goals. Such a development commitment attached to a land use agreement has never before been signed in a Finnish municipality. The goals in the commitment have been defined through extensive collaboration with the local operators, and it has been signed by both the City of Espoo and the local landowners.

The development commitment will direct operators in Kera to realise the goals of sustainable development in the long term. Espoo aims to be carbon-neutral by 2030 and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2025. The pioneering solutions in Kera play a major role in achieving these goals. However, achieving the ambitious goals is only possible through extensive cooperation – doing things together with companies, researchers and residents.

Espoo aims to turn Kera into a forerunner in sustainable development, circular economy and digitalisation. Its pioneering qualities include resource-wise construction, innovative and low-emission energy solutions, and new digital services and applications. The development commitment for the Kera area will steer the land use and service development in the center of Kera according to the following goals:

1. Kera will be developed through close collaboration.
2. Kera operators will seek to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 through low-emission and carbon-binding solutions.
3. Significant circular economy solutions will be created in Kera.
4. Kera will be a national and international point of reference as a sustainable district.

The City Council approved the plan for Kera center on 13 September 2021. The surroundings of Kera Station will transform from a former industrial and logistics area into an urban district with good local services and workplaces. Construction will likely begin in 2022. Two other plans regarding Kera areas are under preparation, and a similar development commitment is also being planned for these areas.

The development commitment and future operations in Kera will be presented at the Kera Talks! event on 18 November 2021. At the event, sustainable urban development in Kera will be presented, and operators will be invited to the Solution Path to Sustainable Growth Ecosystems (RAKKE) project, in which socially impactful measures and development projects are sought in cooperation with a hundred other companies, both in Kera and elsewhere in Espoo.

You can see the City Board’s decision via this link (only available in Finnish).(external link, opens in a new window)

Read the Kera commitment via this link.(external link, opens in a new window)

Read more about the development in Kera via this link.

Read more about projects in Kera, such as  Smart and Clean Kera, via this link.