Eco-coordinator starts at IHME Helsinki

Environmental issues are more than just empty words at IHME Helsinki. Addressing climate change was important before, but now its status is being further reinforced. IHME Helsinki has now taken the concrete climate action of employing an eco-coordinator.

The eco-coordinator’s role on the IHME Helsinki team is to be responsible for designing, implementing, evaluating and communicating ecologically sustainable practices. The eco-coordinator will identify the composition of IHME Helsinki’s atmospheric emissions and seek less-impactful alternatives. Issues going under the magnifying glass will include heat and electricity consumption, travel and commuting, and food choices. What obstacles will be encountered along the way and how can they be resolved? – You can follow these and other issues during 2020 in IHME ecoblog on IHME Helsinki’s website.

Saara Korpela becomes IHME Helsinki’s eco-coordinator

Starting on January 7, 2020, IHME Helsinki’s eco-coordinator will be Saara Korpela, MA. She has studied environmental protection, water and waste management, and sustainable development. Her previous jobs include marketing communications for Ekolo Wholesale and piloting the Finnish Customs’ environmental programme.

“Being IHME Helsinki’s eco-coordinator is just what I have been dreaming of for a long time: concrete development work to reduce the carbon footprint and creating ecologically sustainable practices,” Korpela says happily.

“The climate crisis is also an opportunity”

“A crisis is a moment when change is possible – for better or for worse. The climate crisis is an enormous challenge, but also an opportunity to create a totally new and even improved culture and ways of being. IHME Helsinki’s operations fruitfully combine art, science and climate. Detailed technical information is needed to support its goals. But the crucial requirement is a change in thinking and ways of doing things. Let’s see what develops during the year,” Korpela says.

“Climate change and the crisis of sustainability will radically change our lives. More and more people are looking for information, shared experiences and creative thinking for facing these major changes. Art gives us a chance to look at the world through alternative pasts, presents and futures. We want to be involved in thinking about and testing out how art and knowledge can be produced in sustainable ways. Employing an eco-coordinator is one way of investing in the future,” says IHME Helsinki’s Executive Director Paula Toppila.