Senate aims for carbon neutrality in government buildings by 2035. This is also one of the main goals in Senate’s new strategy. Carbon neutrality is being pursued on two fronts: the use of carbon-neutral properties and carbon-neutral construction and repair.
Two years ago, the Finnish Government announced an ambitious goal: Finland will be the first fossil-free welfare society in 2035. Senate is moving towards this goal through concrete actions.
“Government premises can be carbon neutral in 2035. This is how we can do our bit to combat climate change. We aim to be a cost-effective frontrunner,” says Juha Lemström, Director of Quality and Corporate Social Responsibility and head of the Carbon-neutral Senate programme at Senate Properties.
“We have long worked for emissions reductions and the results speak for themselves: an 80% reduction in emissions in the use of central government premises during 2012–2020.”
Emissions arise in central government from countless different sources: premises, mobility, procurements and services account for most of the emissions. Senate is pursuing carbon neutrality on two fronts: the use of carbon-neutral properties and carbon-neutral construction and repair.
Juha Lemström says that Senate will reset the emissions arising from the use of central government properties to zero by 2035 and approach zero already this decade.
“Emissions in properties will be reduced in a concrete way by improving space and energy efficiency, reducing energy consumption and by switching to emission-free energy. We will increase the use of solar power: we will build around 60 solar power plants in government properties by 2025. On top of this, we will phase out oil heating and switch to emission-free district heating and cooling,” Lemström says.
There are already good examples of improvement in the energy efficiency of buildings. These include heat pumps using the latest technology acquired for the ten-year-old Musiikkitalo in Helsinki.
“Heat pumps will provide half of the energy required for cooling, while heating saves 25%. Investment in the pumps will be recouped in two or three years. It’s a win-win situation for the environment and economy,” Lemström says.
However, Lemström says that 2035 will come too quickly to reset to zero emissions in construction, repairs and maintenance. Senate’s aim is to halve these emissions.
“The construction industry is a global industrial sector. Components in Finnish buildings come from China, for example. It will take time before all construction components, production and transport chains are carbon-neutral,” Lemström explains.
The real estate and construction sector is a major global contributor of emissions, which means the sector also has a major role to play in combatting climate change. Professor Hannele Korhonen at the Finnish Meteorological Institute raised the matter in her talk in Senate and WWF Green Office’s client seminar.
“The real estate and construction sector is really important regarding climate goals. Globally, the sector uses around a third of all final energy and is responsible for more than a half of final energy demand. The actions of the real estate and construction sector really matter in combatting climate change.”
Because buildings are long-term, energy- and carbon-intensive ways of construction and use should be quickly phased out according to Korhonen. The three key ways in which property emissions can be reduced are: a reduction in energy demand, improved energy efficiency and increased electrification. Korhonen says that in Finland, for example, oil heating should be replaced with lower-emission heating methods as soon as possible.
“The speed of climate change challenges society and ecosystems and their ability to adapt to the change. Every single tenth of a degree that we manage to limit climate change is relevant.”
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