Four minutes. That is the maximum time Niina Turri, Manager, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability for Lumo homes, spends in the shower. She knows the time exactly, because in her home, shower times are measured.

“Quick showers are both economically sensible and good for the environment,” she says.

Sustainability is an important topic for Turri, both at work and in her personal life. For her, sustainability means that her own actions have an impact on the environment as well as on other people.

Turri has been working in the field of sustainable development for twelve years. During her career, she has learned how to make her own everyday life more sustainable.

“Sustainability does not require miracles, but small, everyday choices. We all have the chance to make a difference.”

What, then, are Turri's own sustainable choices?

Turri says that she pays particular attention to ensuring that the energy for her home is produced from renewable sources. As the family home has direct electric heating, electricity consumption is high.

“I have noticed that these days, green electricity is not necessarily much more expensive than that produced in other ways – sometimes it can even be cheaper.” Comparisons between electricity suppliers are indeed worthwhile.

Turri also regularly monitors the temperature of her home. If the thermometer reading rises above 20 degrees, she will automatically turn down the underfloor heating.

“Many people have realised the importance of heating costs, at least now that the price of electricity is what it is. By controlling the indoor temperature, you can not only save the environment, but also a lot of money.

Favouring public transport and recycling waste as much as possible have been part of Turri’s lifestyle for years. A vegetarian diet is also important.

“It hasn't been hard for me to give up meat. When my daughter moves away some time in the future, I will probably go vegan.

“Sustainability does not require miracles, but small, everyday choices. We all have the chance to make a difference.”

Turri favours food of domestic origin, and organic food. Seasonal thinking is also close to her heart.

“I try to eat mainly food produced in Finland. If a food product is not available as a domestic alternative, I try to consider whether it can be replaced by something else or not buy it at all.

Over the years, Turri has almost accidentally become a critical consumer. Most of the furniture in her home comes from relatives or was bought second-hand.

“You do not need to buy that many clothes when you introduce so-called personal uniform style to dressing for work. It also saves time in the morning.”

Turri took up the position of Manager, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Lumo homes at the beginning of March 2022. Questions about her new job make her smile.

“I get to work with sustainability and responsibility issues in concrete terms now. In my earlier work, I did not have the chance to be involved in the implementation phase that much,” Turri says, referring to her long career as a consultant.

“It's a big deal for me that I can make a real difference with my work.”

The genuine desire of Lumo homes to develop and implement sustainability and responsibility in all operations was a decisive factor when Turri considered whether to apply for the position.

“I knew that at Lumo homes, these things are taken seriously and they really want to invest in them. In the end, that made me send an application.”

These are big issues, because housing produces on average 25–30 per cent of the carbon footprint of a person living in Finland. The goal of Lumo homes is to be on the front lines in reducing that figure.

Turri says that the aim is to minimise environmental impacts by building long-lasting, low-carbon, material- and energy-efficient buildings. She also mentions that the construction industry is working hard to make the materials more sustainable and to reduce the emissions from construction.

“For example, as green concrete and zero-emission steel become more common in the future, this will have a significant impact on emissions from construction.

The property electricity used by Lumo homes is 100% carbon-neutral. There is also an AI-based solution in use that controls the indoor temperature of homes. It automatically adjusts the heating according to the actual temperature inside the apartments, taking the weather forecast into account as well, to prevent excessive heating.

There are also shared cars and bikes available for residents, as well as a wide range of possibilities for recycling waste.

“In addition, some of the houses have been equipped with parcel lockers so that there is no need to travel a long distance to pick up parcels ordered from online shops.”

But what is the next step?

Turri says that Lumo homes have long been doing a good job in ensuring that sustainability issues are in order in the properties. The work continues, but the focus will now be also on how residents are encouraged and supported in concrete terms to make sustainable choices in their daily lives.

The carbon footprint test, a new addition to Lumo homes' website, allows residents to examine the sustainability of one’s personal choices and lifestyles in concrete terms. The test can be taken both at lumo.fi and in the My Lumo service available to residents. When you take the carbon footprint test via the My Lumo service, the basic information, such as the year of construction of the house, the form of heating, the type and surface area of the apartment, is already taken into account in the test. There is also a new service available for Lumo residents which allows them to compensate for the emissions caused by heating.

“The test consists of sections on living, moving, consumption and dietary habits. It quantifies the size of the carbon footprint in figures and compares it to the Finnish average,” Turri says.

“It is also important that the person who has taken the test gets tips on how to start reducing their carbon footprint. We hope that this will make the respondent think about these things and make more sustainable choices.”

“It is also important that the person who has taken the test gets tips on how to start reducing their carbon footprint. We hope that this will make the respondent think about these things and make more sustainable choices.”

Turri knows that lecturing cannot make anyone change their lifestyle toward a more sustainable direction. The only way forward is to take a positive approach and increase knowledge and awareness.

“Our goal is to make sustainable choices as easy and attractive as possible for our residents.”