“We are a non-profit social enterprise. We act as a neutral party in environmental conflicts and an expert in multilateral negotiations. Building an ecologically sustainable future requires that stakeholders discuss the most complex issues together.

We have acted as mediator in around 100 processes concerning the environment and the use of natural resources. They range in scale from national policies to regional plans and local projects. A few examples: the preparation of the Iijoki river basin vision, natural resource planning for the Sámi homeland, the update of the management plan for the wolf population in Finland, facilitating a Nordic cormorant working group, and the resolution of forest disputes between the state and environmental organisations. At Puistokatu we want to learn from others and share what we have learned.”

“I am an independent arts manager, curator, festival programmer, entrepreneur, and public advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion. As its artistic director, I run MiklagårdArts, a facilitator and enabler for transnational and transcultural collaborations. I initiated collaborations with the established institutions of Finland, such as the National Museum of Finland, HAM, Amos Rex, Musica nova Helsinki, Aalto Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki, Helsinki Philharmonic etc., and curated projects abroad.

I like the whole idea behind Puistokatu 4 and its purpose to connect people from different practices and professional backgrounds. It’ll be wonderful to be surrounded by like-minded people and a part of a community.”

“Climate Move is a movement that provides low-threshold tools and community engagement to promote ambitious and socially just climate policies. We have around 20 active volunteers, with a few dozen more occasional participants. We share information on climate issues and influence climate policy by actively engaging with decision-makers. We also provide expertise and advocacy opportunities and work closely with other climate movements through marches, social media campaigns and concepts.

Our activists meet weekly to plan and carry out activities. At Puistokatu, we plan to organise activists’ meetings and low-threshold climate-related events, among other things.”

“We are an association for the development of creative circular economy. We are responsible for networking and communication in the LUOTO project of the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council, the University of the Arts Helsinki and Aalto University. The project aims to accelerate the sustainability transformation of the creative industries and the adoption of new, greener operating models in them. We aim to share knowledge and practices as openly as possible with different creative actors. We know the industry well and have a wide range of contacts from funders to artists and organisations.

In particular, we look forward to a strong sense of community and new and interesting contacts at Puistokatu 4. It is great to have under one roof actors who share a strong common goal of a more sustainable future, but strive for it by different means.”

“The aim of our project is to compile a programme that guides the entire creative sector’s sustainability work and to seek the most effective common ways to promote climate and circular economy goals. The project brings together the best sustainable solutions in the creative industries and accelerates the industry’s sustainability transition. In addition, we want to highlight the significant potential of art and culture to influence cultural change and the adoption of more sustainable lifestyles.

A big part of our project is networking with different actors in the creative sector, all of whom are united by the desire to find new, more sustainable operating models. Puistokatu 4 is the most natural platform for this work, a meeting place for the creation of new thoughts, ideas and networks.”

“We are a private foundation founded in 2020 and an advocate for Finland’s unique inland waters. We work to improve the state and diversity of Finnish aquatic nature and to preserve water-related cultural heritage. Our operations focus on increasing corporate social responsibility, raising water-related issues in the public debate and restoring bodies of water in practice.

Our five-person core group meets about once a week to work on Puistokatu. We hope that it will increase cooperation between like-minded actors.”

“I work as a consultant and designer for sustainable growth: I design operational models and services to support the sustainable growth of organizations. I work with clients who are inspired by responsibility and whose goal is to change their business model to a more sustainable direction.

I look forward to relaxed conversations with other Puistokatu 4 members at the coffee and lunch tables. I will also be happy to participate in the events of the house!”

“I am a consultant and private entrepreneur working with EU LIFE projects. LIFE is the only EU programme dedicated exclusively to nature conservation and climate action, and the projects it funds put this programme into practice. If successful, these projects will contribute to a more environmentally sustainable future for Europe. My job involves advising projects, visiting projects annually and reporting to the Commission on their progress.

Working at Nessling Nest in recent years, I’ve found that the most creative collaboration ideas and conversations come from meetings between people. I have been able to provide researchers with information on LIFE projects and pass on new ideas to the projects on the basis of the work of the researchers. If we want to generate new ideas and broaden people’s views, we can’t stress enough how important it is to have face-to-face dialogue and bring people together.”

“ANDx is a management consulting service with a focus on developing companies’ businesses in a more sustainable direction. We work with companies’ management teams and CEOs. By developing companies’ core business models in order to direct them on greener paths, we can achieve greater ecological impacts than sustainability projects alone.

ANDx founding members’ backgrounds include innovative companies such as Patagonia, SpaceX and McKinsey. Currently, our main markets are the United States and the United Kingdom. The aim of our work at Puistokatu is to share our best practices with others, while learning about the Finnish business environment and management thinking.”

“I have been exploring interaction, radical empathy and questions of consumerism in my artistic work for almost 20 years. I am currently creating a new work dealing with interspecies communication. In addition, I am writing and preparing a participatory audio essay that continues the theme of my work at the Helsinki Biennial, ‘It Occurred to Me, But a Bit Too Late’. In this work, the human species is released into the wild to test and imagine the bodies of bird species.

In addition, I restore biodiversity on my farm in the middle reaches of the River Ii, which is also home to five lively and therapeutic sheep. At Puistokatu, I expect to find not only an important set of values and an incredibly beautiful and inspiring milieu, but also many interesting people with diverse and stimulating ideas.”

“I work with the Uusimaa Regional Concil in the SILTA project, the purpose of which is to speed up the climate work of municipalities, especially small and medium-sized ones. With our help, municipalities have, for example, included carbon neutrality goals in their strategies, launched climate programs and received project funding to promote the ecological transition. As a province, Uusimaa is committed to being carbon neutral in 2030.

I try to be a low-threshold contact for all users of Puistokatu 4, through which they can find information and contacts from the public side. Through me, they can meet with municipal and regional actors promoting ecological sustainability. I also want new stimuli for both myself and my employer, with which we can find new ways to promote the acceleration of the ecological transition of the public sector. The public sector needs new ideas, while researchers and social actors need partners, test platforms and funding.”

“Ecofoundation, which turned 30 last year, was established in memory of Pekka Kuusi, a social and humanitarian politician. The purpose of the Foundation is to support scientific research and other activities that improve the conditions for ecologically sustainable development. This work draws on and develops the ideological and scientific legacy of Kuusi’s books This World of Man and Ihmisen eloonjäämisoppi, pieni alkeiskirja.

We are preparing an update of Pekka Kuusi’s books on the politics of humanity, a new textbook and a primer for the next decades of the Anthropocene. We promote an intergenerational dialogue on sustainability and planetary policy. We need to abandon the old and invent entirely new, sustainable ways of working and caring for those who are affected by change. Our lecture and discussion series at Puistokatu, The Human Survival Doctrine, encourages big changes.”

“Planeetan rajat is a journalistic “pop-up office” that acts as a collaboration platform for dialogic projects promoting ecological and social justice. In our journalistic projects, we have dealt with nature loss and the Finnish mire relationship. Our premises at Puistokatu 4 are used by science journalist and nonfiction author Mikko Pelttari (pictured) and forest researcher Samuli Junttila, both working on our own environmental communication projects.

Our main reason for coming to Puistokatu is its community. We share with the people of Puistokatu a concern for the future of nature and humanity, and we want to learn more together.”

“Established in 2019, Timeout is an independent, non-profit foundation that aims to strengthen democracy, trust and social resilience. We organise dialogues that aim to discuss social issues in a constructive and equal way. It is important for us to involve especially those who do not normally participate. The importance of discussing a socially, ecologically and economically sustainable future is reflected in our themes for debate and in our partnerships. Currently, our partners include organisations such as the Finnish Broadcasting Corporation Yle, the Guides and Scouts of Finland, the Finnish Lifelong Learning Foundation, the Nordic Council of Ministers and several municipalities.

Our aim is for Puistokatu 4 to become the home base of the Timeout Foundation. In the future, Puistokatu 4 could be the place where our staff works and where trainings, meetings and dialogues aimed at supporting the social debate could take place. We are happy to work with other agent members at Puistokatu 4 and support the development of Puistokatu’s culture of interaction.”

“Aimed at children and young people, teachers and educators, the Futures School combines futures literacy, learning that can change your worldview, and artistic exploration with interdisciplinary environmental research. Education plays an important role in ecological reconstruction by raising people’s awareness of the planetary limits of our lives, renewing our worldview and way of life, and strengthening our skills to participate and contribute to building a sustainable future.

The solution to the ecological crisis is not only up to engineers and scientists, but requires a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. I believe that Puistokatu’s multidisciplinary and diverse community of agents and researchers together can open up new horizons and bring about solutions that we could not have seen or invented otherwise.”