Sustainable Development in the Wellbeing Services County of Päijät-Häme

Caring Nature project 2024-2026

Responsible person(s) and contact information

Riitta-Maija Hämäläinen, Head of Sustainable Development, riitta-maija.hamalainen(a)paijatha.fi
Sara Ghazanfari, Project planner, sara.ghazanfari(a)paijatha,fi

Description of the project

Healthcare sector is responsible for 6,5 % of the total Global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in hospitals and in other healthcare entities. In Finland social and health services are responsible for 6.5% of the total GHG of which social services cover 2.3 % and health services 4.2 %. If no action is taken, the projected annual GHG emissions of the healthcare sector will dramatically increase by 2050. Therefore, health and care providers should pay more attention to the operational costs and energy saving without risking safety of the patient care.

Caring Nature (Climate Neutral Initiatives for Growing Health and Care Unmet Initiatives) is a three year project, which aims to validate a set of ten results to reduce environmental impact of building, waste, and patient travel and to increase governance capability and staff engagement to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Greener health and care systems can be obtained only if the solutions are environmentally effective, economically affordable and acceptable by patients, workers, and citizens. The objectives are to increase the governance capability of the health care providers, policy makers and investors for green transformation, to reduce the environmental impacts of construction and energy consumption of buildings with Artificial Intelligence-based software, to reduce the medical, food and water waste, to reduce the environmental impact of patient travel with telemedicine and to obtain staff engagement in the green transition.

The Wellbeing services county of Päijät-Häme will play the role of pilot testing, validator and end user in co-operation with five international social and health care services organizations, five in-novative companies, one standardization institute, two construction companies and five universities including LUT University (Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology). In the pilot project the Wellbeing services county of Päijät-Häme will co-develop a Decision Support System (DSS) for evaluating the environmental, social and economic return of investments and a reporting model (Knowledge Sharing System=KSS) compliant with EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Life Cycle Cost Analysis method (LCA, LCC, S-LCA).

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GoGreenNext project 2024-2026

Responsible person(s) and contact information

Riitta-Maija Hämäläinen, Head of Sustainable Development, riitta-maija.hamalainen(a)paijatha.fi

Description of the project

GoGreenNext will deliver a comprehensive evidence-based policy-oriented approach and model to com-municate how ecosystem wellbeing and human health are connected. The risks of climate change are currently predicted to escalate beyond planetary boundaries and pass critical tipping points with irreversi-ble changes to our climate with commensurate negative impacts on health, ecosystems, and land-scapes. Nature-based solutions (NBS) and actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural and modified ecosystems have emerged to reverse the degradation of nature, notably in urban areas where changes are amplified. Cities offer an opportunity to accelerate a just green transition in at-risk communities. GoGreenNext will address the biodiversity-climate-planetary health nexus, delivering posi-tive policy and city/region pilot outcomes in four biogeographic regions across Europe and with input from best practice globally.

Partners of cooperation

17 partners of cooperation. Maynooth University, Ireland leads the consortium. The Wellbeing services county of Päijät-Häme and the University of Helsinki are involved in the project.

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Systemic change towards sustainable commuting in Lahti (Sycla)

Responsible person(s) and contact information

Katja Ojala, project manager, katja.ojala(a)lahti.fi
Taru Pietilä, project planning officer, taru.pietila(a)paijatha.fi

Description of the project

Systemic change towards sustainable commuting in Lahti (Sycla) project aims to promote sustainable commuting in the city of Lahti. Sustainable commuting refers to work trips that are made mainly by walking, cycling, or public transport. The transition from transport in private cars to more sustainable modes of transportation not only reduces the environmental impact of commuting, but also promotes the health and well-being of employees.

The sustainable commuting project maps and develops structures and practices that support the means for sustainable commuting together with partners, employers, and employees. In the project, co-creation with employees encourages sustainable commuting. In addition, the project supports the transition to more sustainable forms of transport through means of communication within organisations and in the Päijät-Häme region.

The goals of the sustainable commuting project include:

1. reducing the environmental impact of traffic by enhancing mobility by walking, biking, and public transport,
2. improving the physical and psychological health and well-being of employees,
3. improved cooperation and information flow between different stakeholders, as well as
4. promoting the accessibility of workplaces

Partners of cooperation

The City of Lahti, the Wellbeing services county of Päijät-Häme, LUT University, LAB University of Applied Sciences, companies and organisations located in the City of Lahti

Smart commuting for health and social care personnel 2022 (Pyörällä, potkulaudalla ja bussilla Päijät-Hämeessä)

Responsible person(s) and contact information

Minna Aho, minna.aho(a)paijatha.fi
Riitta-Maija Hämäläinen, Sustainable Development, riitta-maija.hamalainen(a)paijatha.fi

Description of the project

In the project, five different ways of promoting the mobility of Päijät-Sote’s employees were tested:

• cycling in commuting on company bikes
• the use of commuter tickets in public transport
• work related commuting with shared city electric bikes (Mankeli), and
• work related commuting with electric scooters and
• leasing electric bikes for personnel in home care services

In addition, the project used different means of communication to influence the change of behaviour and the transition to environmentally friendly modes of transportation in Päijät-Sote. User experiences and information were collected from those who participated in the experiment to support further planning in order to strengthen work well-being, recovery, promotion of movement and sustainable commuting.

Partners of cooperation

LAB University of Applied Sciences, LUT University, the City of Lahti, the Wellbeing services county of Päijät-Häme, service providers