Procura+ participant City of Helsinki has recognised the importance of circular and sharing economy for solving major sustainability challenges. To this end, the City has published a Roadmap for Circular and Sharing Economy. The roadmap identifies four focus areas, namely construction, procurement, green waste, and the new possibilities opened up by sharing economy.

The road map provides important signposts towards a more sustainable management of climate, natural resources and business. The City of Helsinki wants to build a future where goods aren’t produced from new raw materials just to be consumed and thrown away, but where, instead, diminishing natural resources are saved when materials circulate efficiently.

The City of Helsinki makes procurements worth more than two billion euros every year. This equals approximately 40 per cent of the City’s expenses. When criteria that promote circular economy are added to procurements, it can substantially reduce the consumption of materials, waste production, and transport-related emissions.

A goal of the Circular and Sharing Economy Roadmap is to apply, phase by phase, the criteria of circular economy on all purchases made by the City. Relevant commodity procurement instructions are made for the City administration and its administrative sectors, with the objective of optimising purchase volumes and making the use of materials and commodities more efficient. The idea is also to find out for what kind of commodities it is more favourable in terms of lifecycle effects to purchase services rather than goods. The criteria for the procurements of the City are supplemented by criteria that make products last longer. Procurements of furniture for the City’s premises will, in future, primarily be made via the City’s own recycling website.

You can learn more about Helsinki's roadmap here.