Kauhajoen Asunnot Oy provides affordable rental housing in the idyllic small town of Kauhajoki in South Ostrobothnia. The town is particularly known for its straightforward Ostrobothnian character and enterprising spirit. "In Kauhajoki, you can reach the world via fiber optics or find peace in nature via boardwalks," aptly describes the town's spirit.
The city-owned rental housing company operates on public benefit principles, with the goal of providing its residents with safe and affordable housing without commercial profit-seeking.
Realizing the Importance of Sustainability
CEO Tuomas Kuusinen became aware of the significance of sustainability through a survey conducted by Municipality Finance in the summer of 2024. It became clear that sustainability reporting will soon be a critical prerequisite for continuing customer relationships and credit decisions. Municipality Finance is a key financier for Kauhajoen Asunnot, so Tuomas decided to address the matter well in advance.
Starting Sustainability Reporting
Starting reporting without prior experience initially felt challenging, but expert support was found from esgResilience Oy. Together, they mapped the climate impacts and sustainability profiles of Kauhajoen Asunnot Oy's 20 separate properties. With the esgResilience service, property emissions were calculated easily and quickly, and analyses were made of individual properties' net-zero pathways and potential cost impacts of emissions.
Hopefully, financiers will recognize the potential of the esgResilience tool to meet financiers' and sustainability reporting requirements in the future.
— Tuomas Kuusinen, CEO
Results and Next Steps
The key findings from the reporting were presented to the Kauhajoki City Council. In his presentation, Tuomas emphasized the future significance of sustainability reporting not only for Kauhajoen Asunnot but also for other companies not directly covered by the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
The EU exercises its steering power through financial institution regulation, which broadly affects smaller companies as well.
— Tuomas Kuusinen
Overall, the process proved to be a positive experience. Although data collection required some time and combining data sources, sustainability reporting and its concepts became familiar in the process. The clarity and ease of use of electricity and district heating companies' consumption monitoring services was also a pleasant surprise in data collection.
In the future, Kauhajoen Asunnot plans to implement the reporting process annually and advance on the net-zero path by collaborating in new ways with its most significant heating energy suppliers.
Towards a More Sustainable Future
In the future, companies must take responsibility and sustainability factors into account in their own operations and be able to report on it reliably to be a viable option when consumers make their choices.
— Tuomas Kuusinen
Kauhajoen Asunnot's experience demonstrates that with the right partner and systematic approach, reporting and analyzing sustainability factors that initially seem challenging brings clarity and concrete benefits to operational management.