The solutions range from technical developments – such as traffic management and building control systems – to organizational approaches, such as municipal energy management. Some are immediately actionable while others will require research, consultation and funding. Next steps include promoting the city’s existing, substantial action as well as putting the most promising ideas into effect.

These conclusions emerged from a series of workshops held in Turku City Hall in March 2011. UII members and city officials had previously identified an issues landscape with three key areas for action, based on the city’s Climate and Energy Program and the Sustainable Energy Action Plan. In the workshops, UII experts presented six ideas for each theme. Following discussion, the city representatives prioritized the ideas based on their impact on the city and applicability to Turku.

The week-long engagement demonstrated the value of providing business input to city thinking early in the planning process. It allowed city officials to consider a variety of ideas and to engage with businesses collectively in a broad context rather than in relation to specific tenders.