Sustainability

Sustainability is part of our everyday life

We do our best to ensure that sustainability is reflected in everything we do. We monitor our environmental impact, measure our carbon footprint and communicate openly about our activities. We have carried out major energy efficiency renovations – but we recognise that there is still work to be done to reduce the carbon footprint of our procurement. In the Sustainability Report, we compile our sustainability activities, their metrics and results.

Educating for a sustainable future

Our most important task is to train people who understand the importance of responsibility in working life. We want them to have the expertise and courage to promote sustainable solutions – and to challenge old ways of doing things when necessary.

Sustainability is reflected in education in all areas. We also make sure that our staff have the right skills. We regularly train all our staff on current sustainability topics.

Accountability together

At Perho, we work together on sustainability. This work is coordinated by a working group on a sustainable future, which includes staff from different functions and students. The working group is chaired by the Sustainability Manager.

Well-being as part of responsibility

Wellbeing is an integral part of responsibility – for us it means security, community and the opportunity to learn and grow as ourselves.

We develop learning environments where everyone can feel comfortable, participate and learn. In the 2024-2025 academic year, we will put a special emphasis on the well-being impacts of nature. For example, learning outdoors and strengthening emotional skills are part of our everyday life.

Green City Farm – learning in the field

Located on the Malmi campus, Green City Farm is an ecological horticultural plantation and learning field where theory meets practice. It serves as an experiential learning environment for all our educational disciplines.

In procurement, we look at the big picture

For us, responsible sourcing is more than just a price tag. We strive to consider how products and services affect the environment, people and the economy. We assess suppliers’ backgrounds and favour solutions that are necessary, sustainable and ethically produced. Our aim is to ensure that our sourcing supports localism, reduces emissions and promotes fairness in the supply chain – whether through competitive tendering or micro-procurement.

Cooperation for impact

We actively cooperate both domestically and internationally. We were involved in building a national sustainability map for vocational education and training and are active in many networks. We are currently involved in the VET Kartalla network, which brings together sustainability practitioners from educational institutions across Finland.

We are developing sustainability themes that are central to our education and training sectors through a range of projects. Important themes include regenerative tourism, sustainable food production and responsible business, but also social responsibility such as diversity, equality and inclusion in the educational community.