KOPPI: Regional home bases – supporting and piloting the green deal in circular economy

The regions of Helsinki-Uusimaa and Pirkanmaa will be focusing on assisting municipalities in setting and achieving objectives for circular economy. A circular economy is a method for the municipalities to reach climate goals and to save in materials and costs, also to create economic development and security of supply.

The Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council and The Council of Tampere Region are starting a project KOPPI: Regional home bases – supporting and piloting the green deal in circular economy. It means regional green deal home base activities with training and support to the municipal circular economy work in many sectors via learning from others and by piloting solutions. Both regions are implementing two pilot projects, focusing on construction. The project is a part of the Helsinki-Uusimaa Circular Hub.

National green deal process speeding up circular economy

Finland’s material footprint is the largest in Europe, it means Finns are number ones on the list of using natural resources pro person (DMC). Finland’s green deal process by the Ministry of the Environment, is trying to, among others, to intensify the reuse of materials and reduce the use of natural resources. Green deal commitments are voluntary between various societal actors trying to reach the national objectives.

The Council of Tampere Region and The Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council are working on green deal commitments, approved of in early summer 2025. Some municipalities have already expressed and made their green deal commitments. The intention of the project is to get a large part of the regional municipalities to participate in this work. Besides the regional councils, those implementing the projects are the Helsinki-Uusimaa Circular Hub, Tampere University Foundation and Circular Economy Pirkanmaa (development centre) operated by the company Ekokumppanit.

What kind of services offered to municipalities?

The regional home bases offer municipalities training to compile and implement the green deal commitments and share good practices from other municipalities. Other regions in the country will gain from getting tools used in the home base model and pilot project results via the open events and when the manual will be published at the end.

The project includes the implementation of four pilot projects in cooperation with municipalities and companies. The pilot projects will focus on circular economy activities, like the use of criteria when transferring pieces of land. The pilot projects start already during 2025.

An operation model has been benchmarked from Sweden as the base for planning the pilot projects, with many currently running marketplaces for reuse. The piloting of the project is an important phase, as one cannot expect it to be profitable within 1-2 years. To increase productivity, private actors should get committed with market dialogues and with different service deals in the implementation. During the project, the intention is to get over the demanding first phase in public and private cooperation. The business model develops and expands during the process – from storage to marketplace. The goal is to get profitable activities, with both the supply and demand on the market being long-time and support free. The marketplace is supposed to serve both public and private actors.

Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Climate Road Map

Helsinki-Uusimaa is aiming at climate neutrality by the year of 2030, in line with the forerunner municipalities of the region. The Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Climate Roadmap is the guideline for the climate work.