Green, fair, clean and humane – sustainable Helsinki
What does a sustainable city mean, like, really?
Let’s break it down the Helsinkian way: it means 70 percent green and blue, free education and summer park meals, cleanest tap water, and amazing public transport (from forests to the city centre and the islands!). It means thousands of kilometres of cycling routes and rentable city bikes at every corner of the city.
It means equality, community and sauna. Sauna? Yes, sauna! (Read why below).
It means a city that sustains life through everyday action. A city that understands the building blocks for good life and prioritizes them in practice. It means a city that does not burn out nature, or human nature. After all, we – humans and nature – are as entangled as one can be. We are one.
You can feel what sustainability in Helsinki means in the…
Air you breath
…is some of the cleanest in the world. For a capital city, we think it’s pretty impressive!
Air quality in Helsinki Water you drink
Finland has been ranked as having the cleanest tap water in the world and Helsinki as one with the best taste! So fill your reusable bottle!
Sounds you hear
Helsinki is made up of green spaces and water: parks, forests, beaches – and the Baltic sea. It is easy to find soothing sounds – and silence – in the city.
People you meet
Helsinki is the capital of one of the most equal countries in the world. You can feel this as a sense of safety and trust running through the city’s communities and culture.
The most sustainable destination in the world
Helsinki is the world’s most sustainable destination in 2024, according to the Global Destination Sustainability Index. That is not by coincidence. Sustainability is coded in the DNA of life in Helsinki, and forms the core of the Helsinki City strategy. As a result Helsinki is not only green, blue and clean, but also fair, safe and humane. That’s how ecological, economic and social sustainability foster each other. Experience it for yourself!
Sustain good life when travelling:
Sustainability is not a force of nature, even if it can have an impact like one. It’s choices. Your choices. Our choices.
Yes, it’s a never-ready, continuous commitment to making choices that either sustain life on this planet – or don’t. Sounds easy, right? Why is it so hard for us then? Here are some top tips to make it easier when traveling:
Travel light, travel slow
Trains and public transport rule!
Slow down and stay longer
Travel outside of peak seasons – try November, we dare you!
Eat local, eat seasonal
Ethical and fresh also tastes the best!
Shop local, shop quality
Try Helsinki design and antique shops!
Take part in local community
Have a sauna! Try volunteering! Respect the local ways.
Sustain connection to Earth: Feel Helsinkian nature
With 23,000 acres of parks and forests per 100,000 residents, Helsinki blends urban life with nature in a way few cities can. Add the sea, the archipelago of 300+ islands, and the change of seasons, and it is easy to understand why this is a city destination where you can remember that you – we, all of us – are in fact nature.
As you listen to the silence (yes, here you can!), or watch the starry skies (yes, that too!), or ski on the ice, or spot birds in the forest, or celebrate the summer solstice, you can feel the Earth.
When it comes to sustainability, making choices that actually sustain the prerequisites for life, experiencing the connection to nature, really feeling it, is far more impactful than just knowing what should be done on the level of information.
Sustain human connection: Get to know people!
Travelling broadens horizons. It enhances human connection and understanding. It creates real life encounters that can change lives and make us understand each other and our differences, while also reminding us of our sameness, the very core of what it is like to be a human everywhere. Yes, at best, traveling can sustain peace.
So when here, in Helsinki, go local, shop local, eat local. Get to know people, neighbourhoods and communities, the Helsinkians. Here are some tips about how and where!
Sustain yourself: Don’t burn out, get hot instead!
Sauna is the solid core that sustains Helsinkian happiness and wellbeing. Its health benefits are manyfold: social, psychological, spiritual and physical.
Sit on the laude and feel the löyly, close your eyes and breath. That’s all there is. There is no hurry, no matter what you’re wearing (well, pretty much nothing…), no matter what you do for a living, no symbols of status. Whether mild or burning hot, sauna is an antidote to the burn out culture of our time. It sustains life: you. Us. All of us.
