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Sitra is organising the Fiksu arki (“Smart everyday living”) competition and development programme in order to promote the development of sustainable Finnish solutions for everyday living. The business partners in the competition jury are Fazer, IKEA, the K Group, OP, Paulig, Realia Group, SATO, Tori.fi, Valio, Viking Line and YIT. These corporations are also taking part in the subsequent programme to support the development of the winning small businesses’ products and services.
“The Fiksu arki competition’s objective is to encourage companies to develop competitive products and services that provide Finnish people with an opportunity to make sustainable everyday choices,” according to the Director of Sitra’s Carbon-neutral circular economy theme, Mari Pantsar. “For companies, the environmental perspective is a new business opportunity. Smart everyday life is smart business.”
Almost 70% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Finland are generated by our everyday actions: the way we live, the way we move around, the way we eat and the things we buy. The Fiksu arki competition for businesses highlights commercial solutions for improving the ecological sustainability of consumers’ everyday life. The solutions may, for example, help people reduce their carbon footprint or save natural resources.
“The transition to a new model of sustainable consumption in accordance with the principles of the circular economy requires innovations and the ability to renew oneself,” says Pantsar. “We believe that the best solutions can be found through a joint development effort. The Fiksu arki competition offers small businesses a unique opportunity to develop their sustainable solutions together with a larger company.”
The competition is searching for smart solutions for living, transport, food, products, services and other aspects of everyday life. As many as 10 of the best entries will have the opportunity to participate in the development programme, in which the concepts will be fine-tuned and made even better. With the support of one of the large companies that form the jury, the development programme provides small businesses with support for the development and commercialisation of their sustainable idea and experiments with consumers.
The development programme focuses particularly on the development of businesses’ understanding of consumers and the commercialisation of solutions, which, according to Pantsar, “have traditionally been the Achilles heel of Finnish consumer products and services. At the same time, we will create an ecosystem of sustainable consumer choices by involving both small and large companies in the co-operation.”
The Fiksu arki competition’s website is open at www.sitra.fi/en/projects/smart-everyday-living-competition-companies/. The competition is open to small businesses between 23 October and 4 December 2017. The list of winners will be published in January 2018 and the best solutions will have an opportunity to participate in the development programme starting in February.
The K Group is a leading supplier of construction and building technology products and services: “We work daily for a smarter and more sustainable everyday life and I hope the Fiksu arki competition helps us find new solutions for the way we live, build and renovate,” says Jesse Mether, Sustainability Manager for K Group’s building and technical trade division, who participated in the Fiksu arki jury for the living category.
“These solutions may be connected to the circular or sharing economy, or perhaps energy efficiency, and would ease pressure on the environment and on Finnish people in their everyday lives.”
Eeva Tiainen is Senior Manager for New Business and Open Innovation at Fazer and was also a member of the food category jury in the Fiksu arki competition: “We believe that new cross-sectoral growth opportunities for the entire food industry can be created through more open innovation co-operation. Fazer is continuously looking for commercially and ecologically sustainable innovations in products and services. To us, the most important factor in the competition entries is a swift piloting opportunity, commercial potential and ideas that inspire consumers to make sustainable choices.”
Additional information
Mari Pantsar, Director, Carbon-neutral circular economy, Sitra, tel. +358 50 382 0755
Saara Rimon, Specialist, Sitra, tel. +358 50 502 7881
Sanna Autere, Specialist, Communications, Sitra, tel. +358 050 331 7510
