City of Helsinki’s Sports Services renew EcoCompass certification  

The City of Helsinki’s Sports Services have fulfilled the criteria set for the EcoCompass environmental management system certificate. EcoCompass is an environmental management system focusing on practical and concrete measures that is based on ten criteria, which Sports Services are committed to complying with.  

For the EcoCompass certification, Sports Services’ environmental programme and associated reporting and other relevant documentation, such as the list of relevant legislation, initial assessment and waste management plans, were reviewed by an external auditor.  

The auditor also visited Sports Services’ locations in Pirkkola, Töölö Sports Hall, Rajasaari, Itäkeskus Swimming Hall and Käpylä Sports Park, where they also reviewed the operation of the artificial ice rinks. During the visits, the auditor reviewed the measures of the locations’ environmental programme and their practical implementation. 

The certification was renewed in March, as Sports Services’ environmental programme was previously certified in 2022. The new certification obtained in March 2025 will drive Sports Services to pursue environmental work even more ambitiously. 

Environmental work continues

The certification issued to Sports Services will remain valid for three years, but their environmental work will by no means stop in the interim. Sports Services report on the implementation of the environmental programme annually in order to ensure the continuity and continued improvement of the environmental programme. For example, in 2025 Sports Services will be updating the environmental programme for 2026–2028. 

New focus areas in the next environmental programme will include biodiversity and invasive alien species. 

This upcoming summer, Sports Services will be utilising a game built on the Seppo gamification platform to survey invasive alien species. The game offers an interactive and participatory way of collecting data on the occurrence of invasive alien species. The survey will be started with the help of the summer employees of the Siisti kesä! (Tidy summer!) project, who will learn about invasive alien species and how to recognise them through the game. 

The game features a few plant species, such as rugosa rose, which are known to occur at Sports Services locations. This approach promotes the prevention of invasive alien species while also increasing awareness and community participation. 

Furthermore, Sports Services will continue their work on chemical safety, which covers everything related to chemicals. 

Read more about EcoCompass: ekokompassi.fi