Environmentally active home
Our responsibility is great
Humankind consumes too many natural resources. We must all change our ways so that future generations have opportunities for a good life. Stopping global warming and biodiversity loss requires major changes, especially in sectors with a large environmental impact, such as construction.
Housing accounts for about a fifth of the average carbon footprint of Finns – it is one of the largest sources of personal emissions. The factors that affect emissions from housing the most are the energy efficiency of the building, the type of heating and the building materials. All of these decisions are made by the builder, the individual tenant does not have an influence on them. We want to tell you about the choices we have made as a builder so that you can choose a home with minimal impact on the environment.
YIT is the largest and oldest housing developer in Finland. Our size and our experiences obligate us to act as a leader in sustainable construction that considers nature’s carrying capacity and biodiversity. Our stringent emission targets are clearly lower than the industry’s minimum requirements, and we are constantly developing new ways to reduce emissions during construction and housing.
Housing matters – your choice of a home can be your most significant environmental action.
Antti Inkilä Director, Housing Finland and CEE
In 2023, we were the first Finnish construction company to receive scientific approval for our emission reduction targets, when the independent Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) reviewed our calculation and the means to achieve the reduction targets.
Our stringent targets guide us towards greener construction
We are committed to the Paris Agreement and our targets, which we strive to achieve by 2030, are carbon neutrality in our own operations and emission reductions of over 30% in construction, using 2019 as the baseline. We have selected the most efficient emission reduction methods to achieve our targets.
Our methods to make housing construction more ecological:
We are constantly increasing the share of low-carbon building materials. We started with high-emission concrete and steel products in order to reduce emissions as quickly as possible.
We build homes with wind power. We are gradually moving to electronic machinery, equipment and vehicles and phasing out fossil fuels.
We reduce material waste through smart design and constantly increase the sorting and recycling rate of construction waste.
This is how we make living in a YIT Home more ecological:
All YIT Homes designed after January 2023 belong to energy class A. In addition to being energy efficient, they are usually powered by geothermal heat or solar panels.
We enable emission-free heating and hot water in homes by using geothermal heating in an increasing number of housing companies.
The parking spaces of new YIT Homes* have a reservation for building a charging station for electric cars. It is also easy to live without a private car in a YIT Home, as we build our houses close to good public transport connections, and more and more of our housing companies will have shared cars in the future.
*A new YIT Home refers to an apartment whose design started in 2021 or later.
An environmentally active home is created by the choices of the builder and the resident
We design and build homes where you can live in a way that respects the environment.
Our environmental actions
In an environmentally active home, nature is considered in the choices made at every stage of the design and construction. We take the environment into account, for example, in the energy efficiency of the house and in the choice of heating system and building materials. In other words, the things that can reduce emissions the most during the entire life cycle of the building. We call these choices environmental actions.
Your environmental actions
The most important thing you can do for the environment is to choose a home that takes the environment into account. A home that puts as little strain on nature as possible during construction and housing and that has been designed to make your more ecological lifestyle easy. In a YIT Home, you can easily make everyday choices that benefit the environment, such as saving water, sorting waste, using an electric vehicle and living without a car. An environmentally active home supports the ways in which you can reduce your own carbon footprint.
Design and construction are the areas that affect emissions the most
The decisions that have the greatest impact on your housing carbon footprint are made during the design and construction phase of your home. When you choose a YIT Home, you get a home filled with environmentally friendly choices and technology. Your home will enable you to live a more ecological everyday life with little effort.
Sustainable construction starts with design
We calculate the carbon footprint of a residential building over its entire life cycle and choose the best methods to reduce emissions separately for each housing company. For example, we choose the building materials and ensure their efficient and long-term use to minimise waste, decide on the form of heating and energy production of the house, and plan the functionality of the site, including recycling.
Low-carbon materials reduce emissions efficiently
Material emissions account for 40% of the carbon footprint of our residential buildings. We are constantly looking for alternatives, especially for concrete and steel products, which have the highest environmental impact. We use wood as the frame material for small houses.
An example of more environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional concrete products is low-carbon hollow-core slabs used in the intermediate floors of apartment buildings. In residential construction, the emission-reduction effect of hollow-core slabs is greater than any other individual building material. Using low-carbon hollow-core slabs cuts down the material emissions of the whole building by about 8%. In 2022, we switched to low-carbon hollow-core slabs in most of our residential buildings.
We are currently investigating the possibilities of utilising green steel in construction in cooperation with the Department of Production Economics at Aalto University.
These environmental actions are implemented in all our housing companies. Only the building materials differ.
EMISSION CALCULATION
Design is based on carbon footprint calculations, which are used in residential construction, for example, for choosing materials that place less strain on the environment.
RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY AT CONSTRUCTION SITES
Wind-generated electricity is the only source of energy used at construction sites.
RECYCLING AT CONSTRUCTION SITES
At least 75 % of the construction waste at a construction site is being sorted for recycling.
FRAMES FOR SMALL HOUSES are built from Finnish wood, which is the most ecological frame material.
BUILDING MATERIALS
Using low-carbon hollow-core slabs cuts down the material emissions of the whole building by about 8 %.
Energy-smart environmental actions vary from housing company to housing company. Check the information of each housing company on our website.
ENERGY CLASS A
Good energy efficiency reduces the need for heating energy and reduces the carbon footprint.
GEOTHERMAL HEAT
Apartments and household water are heated with geothermal heat, which is a superior alternative in terms of emissions.
SOLAR PANELS
Zero-emission energy helps to cover the electricity consumption of the building’s technology, such as the ventilation system and common areas, and often also part of the residents’ electricity consumption.
MONITORING OF TECHNICAL BUILDING SYSTEMS
YIT’s Valvomo (Control room) service takes care of, for example, the energyefficient use of ventilation and heating.
A building in energy class A is more climate-friendly
Not all environmental actions are equal. A building’s energy requirements and heating system have the greatest impact on the carbon footprint of housing. Energy class A is a guarantee of low energy consumption in the house and usually also of the house’s own energy production. These houses almost always use either geothermal heat or solar panels.
Energy class A saves climate and money
All YIT Homes designed after January 2023 belong to the highest energy class A. The houses consume little energy and most of them also have their own energy production. Particular attention has been paid to the building’s insulation, tightness and windows, as well as heating and ventilation systems. An A-class building saves heating costs and reduces your carbon footprint of housing. Energy-saving home appliances are standard equipment in the kitchen.
Clean heating and cooling from the ground and electricity from the roof
Increasing the use of geothermal heat is the most efficient way to reduce the emissions of housing, as geothermal heat is a clean and affordable way to heat both the house and the domestic water. If the electricity required by the geothermal heating system is green, geothermal heat is completely emission-free. Almost one in five new YIT Homes* are heated by geothermal heat.
It is also possible to use the geothermal system to cool the house in an environmentally friendly way. Geothermal cooling is not yet installed in all YIT Homes that use geothermal heating.
Solar panels are becoming increasingly common in our buildings, and emission-free solar energy helps to cover the electricity consumption of, for example, common spaces.
*A new YIT Home refers to an apartment whose design started in 2021 or later.
YIT Homes combine consideration for the environment with smooth daily living
Energy consumption during housing is the largest cause of emissions in a residential building. The resident’s own consumption of electricity and hot water as well as the use of ventilation account for well over half of the energy consumption. The housing company’s heating, lighting and electricity consumption make up for the rest. In other words, each of us can significantly influence the carbon footprint of our housing through our everyday choices. Smart use of electricity and water also saves money.
Effortless water saving
Each new YIT Home* has an apartment-specific water meter, so you only pay for water according to your consumption. As a resident, you can monitor your water consumption in the YIT Plus service at an accuracy of one day, which helps you to use water more wisely. Water-saving taps, shower and toilet are standard equipment.
Easy recycling
Sorting waste can reduce both emissions and the charge for common expenses – you should make it part of your daily routines. The modern collection points at our housing companies make waste sorting clean and effortless. Kitchens are equipped with a waste sorting system to help with recycling.
*A new YIT Home refers to an apartment whose design started in 2021 or later.
You do not have to own everything!
As a resident of a YIT Home, you have access to shared spaces where you can dry and wash laundry, move around, organise parties or work remotely. Tool borrowing and car sharing are also becoming increasingly common.
These environmental actions are implemented in all our housing companies.
WATER CONSUMPTION
Apartment-specific monitoring of water consumption in YIT’s own service channel (YIT Plus) helps in water-saving.
WATER FIXTURES
Water-saving fixtures such as taps are installed in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet.
WASTE SORTING SYSTEM AT HOME
Kitchens are equipped with a waste sorting system to help with recycling.
RECYCLING AT THE HOUSING COMPANY
The process of sorting waste for recycling is tidy and efficient thanks to modern recycling points in housing companies.
Convenient car-free everyday life and electric vehicles
We build houses near good public transport connections, which means that you can often live easily without your own car. Modern bicycle storage rooms make cycling easier.
Some housing companies have shared cars that are convenient, safe and affordable to rent.
If you want to use your own car, we encourage you to drive an electric vehicle by making at least a reservation for charging stations in all parking spaces, so that you can easily install a charger, as needed. Parking garage spaces and chargers increase the value of your home and parking space.
In housing companies with solar panels, part of the energy needed to charge vehicles can be covered with electricity produced by the housing company’s own solar panels.
Electric vehicle charging stations and shared cars are housing company-specific features, and you can check their availability in the environmental actions of each housing company.
ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING POINTS
All parking spaces have at least a reservation for charging stations, so that you can easily install a charger, as needed.
CARSHARING
Being able to rent the housing company’s leasing car easily and affordably reduces the need for a private car.
*A new YIT Home refers to an apartment whose design started in 2021 or later.
Help us do more
Would you like to do things for nature that require updating your home with new features? Tell us your wishes and help us develop more environmentally active homes!
yit.fi/kerro-ideasi
Read more about environmental actions in YIT Homes: