Sustainability

The responsibility theme covers themes related to financial viability, good governance and partnership. This is monitored in the strategy with housing occupancy rates. Rental income from apartments normally accounts for approximately 97% of the foundation’s income, and changes in the occupancy rate quickly affect the operating conditions and opportunities to implement other strategy objectives and aspects of the responsibility program.

In 2025, the economic occupancy rate of apartments was 98.1% (2024: 98.0%).

Economically efficient and profitable operation culminates in the break-even cost rents, the efficiency of the renting process and the active maintenance of the property and loan portfolio. Within its organizational form and area of operation, TYS already bears significant responsibility for the surrounding society by providing affordable housing for students.

A strategy objective is to keep rents 15% to 20% below market rents.

The realization of this objective is actively monitored.  The rental comparison is carried out by an external operator, the last of which was done in 2025. According to this, the Foundation’s rents are below market rents in accordance with the target.

Transparency of TYS’s administration refers to responsible use of TYS’s assets and operations in accordance with good governance. New construction and renovation are financed by ARA’s subsidized loans and investment grants, i.e. public funds. A significant part of the tenants receives housing allowance from Kela.

As the Foundation operates solely in Finland, all taxes are paid in Finland. In 2025, the Foundation paid approximately €5.95 million in taxes and tax-like payments and received approximately €0.04 million in grants, resulting in a total tax footprint of approximately €5.90 million (2024: approximately €5.85 million).

TYS adheres to the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out (1233/2006) and the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts (1397/2016) in its operations.

External services are procured for the maintenance and upkeep of properties and outdoor areas, cleaning, repairs, and new construction and renovations. In addition, many different expert services are procured, such as IT services.

In 2025, the Foundation acquired products and services from hundreds of different suppliers. Procurement exceeding the procurement limit is tendered in accordance with the Public Procurement Act. With regard to smaller product and service procurements below the procurement limits of the Act on Public Contracts, the aim is to invite tenders from more than one supplier.

During 2025, hundreds of individuals worked in Foundation-owned properties and related tasks, including maintenance, servicing, cleaning, and construction site work, employed by service providers, suppliers, and expert service companies.

The responsibility theme encompasses the organization and personnel: the development of personnel competence, well-being and equality. A prosperous work community contributes to enabling operational efficiency, good customer service experience, and realizing service promises and other responsibility themes. The strategy monitors this with an overall personnel rating of the workplace. The objective is that a commendable or good (4-5, scale 1-5) rating would be given by more than 85% of the personnel.

In the most recent personnel survey conducted at the beginning of 2026, in which employees assessed the foundation’s operations in 2025, 100% of respondents gave a good or excellent rating (89.5% in 2024). The average score was 4.5 (4.4 in 2024).

Different backgrounds, competence and abilities are taken into account in the operations. The development of the personnel expertise means investments in training and developing expertise as part of day-to-day work.

In 2025, employees participated in a total of 94 training days provided by external organisations, corresponding to an average of 4.1 training days per employee (95 days and 4.3 days per employee in 2024). The target of three training days per employee was exceeded in 2025. In addition, data protection training was provided to all employees during the year.

Employee well-being is monitored through several indicators in the survey.

In 2026 employees gave work ability and motivation a score of 4.3 (4.1).

Fostering equality and non-discrimination is an important part of TYS’s responsibility. There is zero tolerance for inappropriate behaviour, workplace bullying and all forms of discrimination.

Information on matters relevant to all employees is communicated through shared forums, such as common communication channels and monthly information sessions. In the employee survey of 2026, internal communication received a score of 4.1 (3.8).

The responsibility theme encompasses customer-related perspectives: customer service and service promises, communication, comfort and quality of housing, and community spirit. The strategy monitors this through service promises. The foundation’s service promises were announced in 2018. The goal is, for example, that at least 97% of tenants messages are answered during the next working day.

In 2025, the tenants gave high grades to areas such as TYS’s customer service (4.22), the quality of apartments (4.04) and communications (4.14). The target for all these grades is over 4.0 (on a scale of 1-5).

The objective is to reach potential tenants, know the needs of the customers, respond to demand with suitable apartments and be the number one choice of the students. Customer satisfaction has been monitored through both an annual extensive customer satisfaction survey and a monthly moving out survey.

Customers are served equally regardless of gender, age, nationality or other background. Tenant selection is based on ARA’s tenant selection guidelines.

TYS monitors the satisfaction of its tenants at a monthly basis through customer satisfaction surveys sent to different housing locations, as well as with moving-in and moving-out surveys. The customer satisfaction survey reached the tenants of all housing locations over the year.

Comfortable and high-quality apartments requires supervision of maintenance quality, investments in repairs and taking tenants’ suggestions into account in repairs. The resolution time of housing problem situations, i.e. the resolution time of fault reports, is monitored.

In addition to renovations, the apartments are repaired and refurbished as needed, for example when tenants change. Proposals for renovations are collected annually from the tenant committees when preparing the budget.

In 2025, the average cost of completed renovations and repairs in housing properties amounted to €1.53 per residential square metre per month (€1.49 in 2024). 

TYS communicates with its customers in a proactive and timely manner. Successful communication requires commitment to customer communications from all staff, along with a shared understanding of the importance of timely communication.

Communication is done in multiple channels, multilingually, and considering accessibility requirements, so that information would reach customers in the best way possible.

Tenants are asked to provide feedback on the Foundation’s communications through monthly tenant satisfaction surveys conducted in different housing locations and through an annual communications survey. In these surveys, tenants assess the functionality and content of the Foundation’s communication channels. In 2025, TYS received an overall communication score of 4.14 (4.03) from tenants, exceeding the target of 4.0.

Communality is an integral part of student housing. TYS supports communality, for example, by offering tenants different kinds of common use spaces along with tenant and stakeholder events.

The majority of the Foundation’s housing locations have an operational tenant committee. Tenant activities are executed in close collaboration with tenant committees and the Tenant Committees’ Advisory Board. In 2025, student committees organized, e.g., different kinds of events and took care of lending items belonging to the housing locations.

Tenants receive an annual survey in which they can evaluate the activities of the tenant committees and provide suggestions for improvement.

The 2025 responses particularly highlighted increased activity and the perceived importance of tenant participation. Tenants rated the importance of tenant activities at 3.43 (3.54). A growing number of respondents had also participated in tenant committee activities compared to 2024.

This responsibility theme includes issues related to environmental aspects: emissions from energy and water consumption and energy consumption in housing, investments in waste management, sustainable development, and comfort and safety aspects of housing. The strategic indicator for sustainable living is the carbon footprint of housing, which is based on the energy consumption of the Foundation’s properties and carbon-compensated waste management.

TYS aims to reduce carbon emissions and has set a target of achieving at least a 70% reduction in emissions by 2029 compared with 2020. The Foundation also seeks to increase its impact by developing climate actions together with value chain partners. In addition to reducing emissions, TYS aims to create positive climate impacts.

The carbon footprint of the Foundation’s own operations in 2025 was approximately 29% lower than in the baseline year 2020 (3,677 tCO₂e) but around 8% higher than in 2024 (2,414 tCO₂e). The increase was mainly due to higher emissions from waste transportation and treatment. Emissions from waste handling increased by 54% between 2024 and 2025.

Climate change mitigation is one of TYS’s key responsibility objectives. Much of the emissions from properties are due to energy consumption and waste. TYS aims to reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the apartments and increase the use of renewable energy. Guiding tenants is important in the responsible actions of day-to-day living. Encouraging energy and water saving as well as waste sorting is part of TYS’s ongoing communication.

The Foundation purchases both district heating and electricity from Turku Energia. According to the company, 100% (100%) of electricity and 95% (89%) of district heating were produced from renewable energy sources in 2025.

Sustainable development solutions mean for example, investments in solar panels and taking sustainable development into account in renovation and new construction.

In 2025, the 516 solar panels at Aitiopaikka, 454 at Nummenranta, 252 in Student Village Block 5, and 448 at Tyyssija generated 449 MWh of electricity (383 MWh in 2024), of which 434 MWh was used within the Foundation’s properties. This amount corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 23 electrically heated detached houses. As there is currently limited capacity to store all generated electricity, the surplus 15 MWh was sold to the electricity grid.

An important part of living is the safety of the apartments and neighbourhoods. The locking systems will be modernized gradually in all housing locations. With regard to living environments, TYS contributes to safety by purchasing security guarding services.

Electronic locking systems are now in use in 87% of the Foundation’s apartments (79% in 2024). The renewal of locking systems will continue in accordance with the long-term repair programme.

TYS invests in architecturally distinctive new buildings and gives appropriate attention to culturally and historically significant protected sites. Properties located in nationally significant built cultural heritage areas (RKY sites) include the western side of Student Village, Yo-talot and Auranhelmi.