“Finland has lived in an era of peace for more than 70 years and the hope was that also our eastern neighbour would act peacefully and democratically. This hope was shattered in February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. War-like conditions were added along with other states of emergency to contingency plans for threat scenarios of government agencies and institutions and also of Senate Properties.
Senate Properties raised our level of preparedness already before the Russian invasion in February. We set up a preparedness group consisting of members of Senate Group’s Management Team to monitor the situation, identify preparedness development needs in our own activities and the premises of our clients, and to coordinate projects, of which there are already more than 60 completed or ongoing, to improve the level of preparedness. We have, for example, examined the readiness for use of the just under 300 civil population shelters for which we are responsible.
First, we identified how Senate Properties’ own ability to operate in a state of emergency needs to be developed. We ensured that we have adequate situational awareness and secured management connections. We increased the control and cyber security of our own IT systems as well as the security of the personnel. Development will continue, for example, with the preparation of preparedness agreements for property maintenance and management to be purchased from external providers in 2023.
In June, the Ministerial Working Group on Developing the Digital Transformation, Data Economy and Public Administration advocated the launch of an agency preparedness project, which aims to strengthen the capacity of government authorities to act. Together with agencies and institutions, Senate Properties surveyed in autumn 2022 the needs for preparedness in the most critical premises. During 2023, we will launch investment and maintenance projects to increase the level of preparedness. We will, for example, add alternative power sources to dozens of central government buildings.
The preparedness needs related to premises are part of the agencies’ and institutions’ own preparedness and continuity plans. Senate Properties supports agencies to develop the level of preparedness in their premises. This is why we made it a strategic objective to actively find our clients’ needs to prepare for states of emergency in the premises and to support clients to develop the level of preparedness in their premises.”
Tuomas Pusa
Chief Operating Officer