Espoo

Finland

Mission city Pilot city
National Mission Ecosystem Finland
Espoo Mission City Label
Population 321k
City Area 312.3 km²
City active since June 2022

Espoo is an innovation city committed to ambitious sustainability goals and inclusive city development. As Finland’s second largest city, Espoo is one of the key actors contributing to regional and national targets of climate neutral Helsinki-Uusimaa region by 2030 and climate neutral Finland by 2035.

 

Espoo has grown and continues to grow faster than any other city in Finland facing a challenge of keeping the city growth sustainable. Despite the fast population growth, Espoo has already managed to start reducing not only the CO2 emission per capita, but also its total emissions, and has adopted ambitious measures to continue the reductions at an increasing pace.

 

Espoo’s approach to sustainability and climate action is to look for integrated solutions considering simultaneously the systemic effects on ecological, social, and economic sustainability. The 17 UN Sustainable development goals - including SDG13 climate action - provide us a framework to understand the highly interconnected aspects of sustainability. Espoo was one of the first cities to conduct Agenda 2030 Voluntary Local Review (VLR) in 2020 with more than 1,000 people participating in assessing the city’s sustainability performance. This highlighted the interconnectedness of climate goals to other aspects of sustainability and the need to just transition in the spirit of « leaving no one behind ».

Key Learnings

COMET - Espoo Climate Community - pilot activity

Espoo is building the coalitions, capacities, and tools needed to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. Espoo Climate Community works across three pillars: deepening collaboration with the city's 25 climate partners from the private sector, research institutions, and civil society; engaging citizens --- especially through sports clubs and NGOs --- in inclusive climate action; and developing a Climate Investment Framework to attract private capital to key emission domains. The project treats governance and community mobilisation as the central levers of change, rather than individual technical interventions.

Espoo and Helsinki: Climate Action in Energy, Transport and Construction

Espoo and Helsinki are leading Finnish cities driving climate neutrality. committed to ambitious climate neutrality targets and inclusive urban development. Espoo, which aims to be climate-neutral by 2030, has reduced its emissions by 33% since 1990 (64% per capita), while the city’s population has almost doubled. At the same time, Helsinki aims to cut emissions 85% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2040, having already reduced emissions 56% overall (67% per capita) since 1990, while the city has grown rapidly. This document was prepared in advance of the Group Study Visit to outline the practices to be shared.

Impact Leadership in Espoo

The Impact Leadership Model developed by the city of Espoo (Finland) is an initiative that seeks to transform how sustainability challenges are addressed through strategic governance, impact orientation, and citizen-centric thinking.

Espoo waste heat from data centres

Espoo is collaborating to ensure waste heat can be captured from its data centres and fed into its district heating supply.

Decarbonising apartment buildings in Helsinki

Energy Renaissance kicked off in 2021. The city established a team of energy specialists providing free, impartial advice to housing companies, promoting energy-efficient renovations.
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Latest updates from the city

Pilot project spotlight
Visit Espoo City Website Read Espoo Climate City Contract Amersfoort City Profile (Twin City)

External projects

City involvement in related European initiatives