Turku Student Village Foundation (TYS) has published their first responsibility report together with their annual report. The report covers the past TYS year of operation, 2020, as well as foundation-defined sustainability themes and objectives going forward.
The foundation’s CEO Risto Siilos states that the year went according to plan despite the challenges set by the coronavirus. ”Regardless of the pandemic, the foundation’s operational and financial result was quite close to what we expected. The apartments’ utilisation rate decreased slightly, but remained steady nevertheless, and last year we also launched the construction for our new housing location, Tyyssija”, Siilos sums up.
The aim of sustainability reporting is to discuss the foundation’s operations and objectives transparently and openly
During 2020, the foundation carried out a sustainability mapping that identifies the impact of TYS operations on society and interest groups and maps the current state of sustainability. Based on this mapping and taking the special features of the operational environment into account, four essential sustainability themes were identified: transparent and profitable operations, well-being work community, satisfied customers, and sustainable housing.
The sustainability themes cover the perspectives of financial responsibility and good administrative practices, social responsibility, and environmental responsibility. Indicators and objectives for each sustainability theme have been defined and their levels of realisation are reported annually. The aim of sustainability reporting is to discuss the foundation’s operations and objectives transparently and openly.
”It is important that all the identified sustainability themes and perspectives have been derived from the existing TYS operations, and that they can be found in the foundation’s strategy or other principles or operating modes that guide the foundation’s activities. The first TYS sustainability report is about making an existing operating mode visible”, says Siilos.
Aiming for lower energy consumption in housing
The strategic indicator for the theme of sustainable housing is the related carbon footprint that is based on the energy consumption of the foundation’s properties and carbon-offset waste management. The aim is to calculate the carbon footprint, make specifications and clarifications to the carbon neutrality goal, and create a roadmap for achieving carbon neutrality during 2021.
Housing constitutes the majority of households’ carbon footprint. The foundation has the aim of, for example, increasing the share of renewable energy regarding their locations’ total consumption yearly and providing the tenants with a chance to affect the carbon footprint of their own housing. Even the foundation’s strategy includes the goal of achieving carbon neutrality in 2029, and the sustainability programme supports reaching this aim.
”Even now the share of renewable energy of all the foundation-purchased electricity and heating comes to about 80 %. We also produce some of the renewable energy ourselves with the solar panels at Aitiopaikka, and we mean to get more of these panels in the future. For instance, the Tyyssija location will be completed this year, and it will have solar panels on the roof”, Siilos tells us.
You can read about other themes and objectives in the TYS sustainability report in the annual foundation report for 2020 that discusses the issues of sustainability or online at www.tys.fi/en/sustainability
In the future, TYS will publish a yearly report on sustainability issues. The sustainability report for 2021 is already under way.
