The Carbon Neutral Actions development programme promotes sustainable choices in three of Tampere's residential areas. The goal of the programme is a fair and equitable transition to an ecologically sustainable society.
The survey, carried out in spring 2023, provided information on the current opportunities for sustainable everyday life and the potential of new solutions in the selected residential areas. At the same time, obstacles to mobility and sustainable consumption were studied. Residents were asked about issues related to services and lifestyles under the following themes: housing, mobility, food, energy and civic participation.
One interesting observation was that the residents of all three areas have a relatively positive attitude towards ecological action and sustainability. A clear majority find it important that ordinary citizens make ecologically sustainable choices.
The most common sustainable actions in all of the target areas are walking or cycling short distances, minimising energy consumption and the purchase of second-hand goods. Diet-related actions are excluded from the most common sustainable actions. However, half of the residents in the examined areas say that they eat seasonal foods, while over a third say that they have reduced their meat consumption or switched to a vegetarian diet.
– Everyone can do big or small things in their own lives – all actions matter. When a lot of people do something small, it has the same effect as one big action. Consumption-related emissions are caused by our everyday choices, so every action matters, says Programme Manager Tiina Leinonen.
Respondents believe that the biggest obstacles to a sustainable lifestyle are money and a lack thereof, haste and the hectic pace of life, health and personal resources.
The responses of those living in Tesoma, Rahola, Ikuri and Tohloppi highlight moderate consumption and even a modest lifestyle. Local services in the area are considered sufficient, and people living in the centre of Tesoma are very satisfied with public transport services. Almost a quarter can manage without their own car, and more than half report that they use public transport for recurring journeys. Up to 30 per cent of the car users in the area say they could consider giving up their own car.
Tesoma residents are more likely to live in apartment blocks heated through central heating. In Tohloppi, electrically heated houses are common, and in Ikuri, dominated by single-family houses, ground and air source heat pumps are highlighted. Nearly 70 per cent of respondents say that they are already reducing their energy consumption by lowering temperatures and saving warm water.
Of all future solutions, residents were most interested in well thought-out shared use solutions and food waste utilisation. For example, 34 per cent of the respondents find shared use tools, machines or supplies in the area or housing company a very interesting idea. 42 per cent are very interested in the opportunity to use food waste created in the area. The idea of a general workshop where goods could be serviced or repaired using shared tools also attracts widespread interest.
Many families with children live in Leinola and Vehmainen, most of them in single-family houses. Electric heating is emphasised as a form of heating, and in single-family houses, minimising energy consumption by lowering temperatures and saving warm water is a very common practice. Incentives for sustainable energy transition, such as joint geothermal projects and advisory services for adjacent plots, attract interest among residents.
The greatest potential is associated with eating local and seasonal foods. For example, the residents of Leinola and Vehmainen use the REKO local food circle more actively than residents of other areas examined. 60 per cent say they are prepared to pay more for locally produced food.
The idea of shared use goods and borrowing from neighbours is even more well-received than in the other examined areas. Residents see a lot of potential in shared use goods, as long as they are easy to use.
Many households have more than one car, and giving up the car is not often seen as an option. The sustainable living solutions that residents are most interested in are actions that make everyday life more efficient, more economical or slightly more enjoyable. For example, 34 per cent of the residents in Leinola and Vehmainen are very interested in the idea of driving children to their hobbies via carpooling.
When it comes to sustainable eating habits, the residents of Vuores are frontrunners. A significant number of them are eating less meat and have started replacing dairy products with plant-based alternatives. The greatest future potential for the residents of Vuores is clearly in increasing the amount of local food in their diets.
Sustainable mobility is hindered by the fact that more varied services and larger grocery stores are far away. 80 per cent of Vuores residents have at least one car in their household. Residents also see it as very necessary for living in the area. The attitude toward electric bikes and cars is very positive, and residents are already using a significant number of vehicles that do not have internal combustion engines. Shared electric cars for the area or housing company are also considered interesting – especially by carless and two-car households.
A clear majority already purchases used goods, but many find it rather laborious. 47 per cent of Vuores residents find local shared use tools, machines or supplies very interesting.
