Tampere residents participate in the development of a tool enabling a good and sustainable everyday life

In November, what has been the best part of your life? What has been the most challenging part? Why are you dreaming of a sustainable world?

These were among the questions that Tampere residents had to consider in Särkänniemi on one November morning, when Sitra and the City of Tampere organised a joint workshop on good and sustainable living. It was the fourth workshop that Sitra’s PSLifestyle project organised in Tampere.

What was it about? PSLifestyle is a project carried out in eight EU countries. A new planning tool based on the carbon footprint is being designed as a part of the project. The PSL tool released in spring 2023 is a sort of everyday assistant. It helps users identify their own climate impact and suggests actions that could reduce the user’s carbon footprint.

– Tampere residents have been very interested in the workshops. The workshops have been conversational, and we’ve had participants from all walks of life, just regular residents of Tampere, says Tiina Leinonen, Programme Manager of the city’s Carbon Neutral Action development programme.  

Leinonen has found it interesting that there are a variety of perspectives when it comes to sustainable living.

– Each workshop ran out of time. People really want to talk about this subject. It is also important that city provides Tampere residents with opportunities for debate, she says.

No sauna guides for the Portuguese

The tool now being developed is based on Sitra's earlier Lifestyle Test and the 100 smart actions presented by Sitra to reduce the carbon footprint. These are based on a study of lifestyles that would enable us to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.  

– There is a clear demand in different countries. People have an interest in a more sustainable life, but they lack the means or knowledge to make that a reality. We are providing individuals with the means to make a difference, says Ramona Pulli from Sitra’s Nature and Daily Life team.

In addition to Tampere, people from Helsinki, Turku and Raisio as well as Lappeenranta have participated in developing the tool. Pulli says that resident participation and opinions are very important.

– When we have a wide range of participants during the development stage, we are able to create a tool that serves as many Finns as possible. The more we can make our voices heard now, the more the end result will meet the needs that people have.

Participation is also important when it comes to the technical implementation and the design of the user interface.

– So far, we have received excellent feedback, especially on how to improve the intuitiveness of the operating system. Wording also matters, because we want to make sustainable living practices as accessible as possible, Pulli says.

The goal is for the tool to have four million users throughout Europe. The foundation is the same for everyone, but the service is localised for each country. There are cultural differences in the content.

– Suggestions telling people to only go to the sauna once per week or something related to summer cottages might not be practical to give to people in Portugal. In Italy, for example, issues related to wine consumption have been emphasised more, Pulli explains.

She praises the can-do attitude of Tampere residents.

– It has been great to see how excited and committed people in Tampere are. The autumn workshops have been organised on days when the weather was beautiful, but people still gathered indoors to discuss these topics. The 40-participant limit for the November workshop was reached in two days. That’s also a sign that there is genuine interest in this topic.

Two more PSL workshops will be organised in Tampere in spring 2023. Tiina Leinonen from the Carbon Neutral Action development programme says that including residents in the planning of sustainable everyday living is a key issue.

– Only the residents themselves know, what sort of changes to everyday life are required or what sort of changes can be made with the resources available. It is not possible to issue a one-size-fits-all guide. The form of housing, transportation needs – everything has an impact.