Today we are flying the flag for sustainable development
Today, 25 September 2025, the City of Espoo joins thousands of organisations in a global flag campaign to demonstrate its commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Ten years ago, the member states of the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. The 17 goals of the Agenda guide global efforts for sustainable development from 2016 to 2030.
The Sustainable Development Goals help us assess the situation in Espoo from social, cultural, economic and environmental perspectives. According to the statistics, Espoo’s overall performance has been excellent. You can read more about the figures in the Voluntary Local Review below.
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“Espoo’s figures look good, but our work is not yet done – the goals cover many areas that can easily be overlooked,” says Senior Specialist Suvi Jäntti regarding the city’s review.
The UN’s 2030 Agenda period is already halfway through and, unfortunately, the goals will not be achieved at the current rate. Finland is one of the best-performing countries, especially in terms of social sustainability goals. However, there is still room for improvement in relation to environmental and climate-related goals.
“Globally, we have actually taken steps backwards or development has halted. In practice, wellbeing is being created at the expense of the environment, which is obviously not sustainable. One area where Finland and Espoo have room for improvement is consumption habits, which are in fact one of the main causes of global ecological crises, such as climate change and biodiversity loss. However, there is hope as consumption-related issues are often linked to our daily lives and we can all make a difference, even through small actions,” Suvi Jäntti says.
By raising the SDG flag, we want to demonstrate our commitment to promoting sustainable development. We also want to raise awareness of the UN’s 2030 Agenda and accelerate change in different sectors of society.
Would you like to learn more about how the city promotes sustainable development: subscribe to our sustainable development newsletter. In the newsletter, we share information on how companies, research institutes, universities, associations and other organisations are working together with the city for a more sustainable future.
Learn more about Espoo’s sustainable development work and read the international Sustainable Development Report 2025 – Financing Sustainable Development to 2030 and Mid-Century(external link, opens in a new window).