Doing business in Finland: Sustainability
26 March 2012by Ina Dimireva -- last modified 30 March 2012
Legislation in Finland requires businesses to take into consideration their effect on the environment and on society.
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Legal requirements
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility refers to a voluntary act where companies take into consideration social and ecological matters when conducting business.
Social and corporate responsibility
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy and Finnish Business & Society collect and share information and links on the subject.
Responsible entrepreneurship encourages businesses to go beyond statutory requirements, investing more in human resources and the environment. The area is regulated by, for example, the Act on Social Enterprises and the Act Amending the Act on Social Enterprises.
Standards
A standard is a uniform solution to a recurring event. Further information on standards is available from the Finnish Standards Association, where you can also buy them.
ISO 14 000 series standards relate to environmental matters.
Environmental systems and management
It is possible to certify systems under standard ISO 14 001. Certification may be awarded by a certification company.
Environmental management systems
The law requires businesses to comply with minimum social and environmental rules.
Administrative procedures
Certification of standards
Quality management standards
Quality management is handled by the ISO 9000 series of international standards and guidelines.
Environmental management standards
The ISO 14000 series of international standards, which deals with environmental management, is used worldwide as the basis for environmental management.
Occupational safety management standards
With a health and safety management system, an organisation can manage health and safety risks and improve the level of its health and safety activities. For the time being, there is no international ISO or European EN standard for health and safety systems.
Resources
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy has set up a website on responsible entrepreneurship which contains information on social responsibility and best practices.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The Employment and Economic Development Office can provide information about corporate social responsibility.
Companies' social responsibility
The website of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health provides information relating to occupational healthcare services. It gives access to various tools, useful documents, research results and related links.
There is information on environmental standards on the website of the Ministry of the Environment.
Environmental systems and management
FINAS maintains a list of companies eligible for certification. The FINAS accreditation service acts as the Finnish national accreditation body, and its task is to offer accreditation services according to international criteria.
The Finnish Standards Association has further information on standards, which may also be purchased there.
The environment section on EnterpriseFinland contains information on environmental standards.
Environmental management systems
Doing business in Finland: Environmental rules
Doing business in Finland: Staff welfare
Source: European Commission
