Public affairs

Cooperation between decision-makers, public officials, companies, organisations and citizens constitutes the foundation of a functional society. As a company, we participate in the energy and climate policy debate and influence the preparation and implementation of legislation.

Through our advocacy activities, we aim to ensure that energy and climate policies serve customers, businesses, the environment and society in the best possible way.

Helen’s advocacy principles

Our advocacy is open and transparent and decision-makers can trust in our expertise.
We are a prominent and active energy company that represents the interests of our customers.
Advocacy seamlessly supports our business operations.

We have regular discussions with political decision-makers and officials on the political themes and legislative projects that are most significant for Helen. We are committed to openness and transparency in all our communications and we are registered in the Finnish and EU transparency registers.

We are building a new era of energy

The energy markets are in a period of transformation as Europe phases out fossil fuels and moves toward a carbon-neutral future. The aim of Helen’s public affairs is to build a new era of energy together with decision-makers and customers.

In our public affairs work, we anticipate and manage political risks and create preconditions for growth and new business operations. The most important social themes for our business are low-emission energy production, taxation, energy system regulation and the acceptability of different forms of energy.

Helen’s perspectives on regulatory development

Legislation and taxation must be as predictable as possible to enable investments in cost-efficient and sustainable energy production and services.
New technology is rapidly being turned into commercial applications, but public support is needed for piloting new solutions and investing in major projects. Technological neutrality must be a guiding principle in supporting low-emission solutions.
The impacts of legislation must be carefully assessed during the legislative drafting process. Impact assessments must take into account the price of energy, supply reliability and sustainability.

Memberships in organisations

We influence the development of the energy sector through various organisations in Helsinki, other parts of Finland and the entire Europe. Our primary advocacy organisation is Finnish Energy. In 2023, we paid a total of approximately EUR 351,000 in membership fees to the following organisations:

Adato Energia Oy
Finnish Magazine Media Association
Energy from the Sun coalition
Bioenergy Association of Finland
Climate Leadership Council ry
Directors’ Institute Finland
Finnish Energy
Finnish Business & Society ry
Finnish Data Center Forum ry
Finnsecurity ry
GeoForum Finland ry
Green Building Council Finland ry
Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce
Hydrogen Cluster Finland
International Flame Research Foundation, Finnish Flame Research Committee
IT Service Management Forum Finland ry
Kemesta ry
Finnish Maintenance Society Promaint
Mechanical Engineering and Metals Industry Standardization in Finland METSTA
Association of Project Professionals Finland
PSK Standards Association
Finnish Venture Capital Association
Finnish Property Owners Rakli
Scandinavian Clean Technologies Group AB
SIAPWS Finland
Finnish Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate
Smart City Innovation Cluster
Data & Marketing Association of Finland
Finnish Society of Automation
HVAC Association of Finland
Finnish Heat Pump Association SULPU
Finnish Association of Purchasing and Logistics LOGY
Finnish Risk Management Association SRHY
Finnish Wind Power Association
Finnish Power Plant Association
E-mobility
Finnish Society for Knowledge Management
World Energy Council Finland ry

Stakeholder engagement

It is important for us to know our stakeholders and their expectations. Our goal is to communicate our activities and openly discuss their impact on society and the environment with all of our key stakeholders. We want local residents, customers, partners and our other stakeholders to join us in creating a carbon-neutral future.

Stakeholder	Stakeholder expectations	Actions	Metrics and progress in 2023
Customers	Supply reliability Sustainability Fair price Transparency Carbon neutrality Efficient and functional services Good customer experience Interaction Utilisation of waste heat Innovative solutions Energy-saving tips	Enabling people to manage their electricity-related affairs and monitor consumption via the Oma Helen service Developing new products and services Developing the pricing of electricity Diverse energy education	Number of Oma Helen users: 500,000 Average outage time per customer: electricity 3.7 minutes, heat 2.2 hours and cooling 3.8 hours Nepa survey: the best-known, most often considered and best-liked energy company in Finland EPSI Rating: electricity retail to private customers 66.3
Owner (City of Helsinki)	Stable net sales Good financial performance Carbon neutrality Good governance Sustainable operating model Achieving the targets laid out in Helen’s ownership strategy	Profitable business Close cooperation with the City of Helsinki to promote carbon neutrality projects Open decision-maker events and decision-maker newsletter twice a year Interactive communication with various council groups The work of the Board of Directors	Positive result and payment of dividends to the City of Helsinki: result EUR 93 million and dividends EUR 62 million Progress towards carbon neutrality targets and communicating them, particularly in the Sustainability Report We met the City of Helsinki’s council groups in spring 2023 and sent two decision-maker newsletters in 2023
Local residents and neighbours	Carbon neutrality Open communication Supply reliability Infrastructure for electric vehicles, for example Fishways at hydropower plants Efficient and well-organised construction sites Acceptability in the cityscape	Events Communications Joint projects Art distribution cabinets as part of the cityscape	Investments in infrastructure as well as research and development Investments in carbon neutral energy production: EUR 421 million
Central government and EU	Active dialogue Compliance	Influencing the operating preconditions of future energy solutions Monitoring, responding to and influencing energy industry trends	Statements: 14 statements at the national level and 2 at the EU level
Authorities	Compliance Smooth permit processes	Active dialogue Development of cooperation	Deviations: 4 environmental deviations at the Salmisaari, Hanasaari, Vuosaari and Katri Vala plants
Employees	Occupational wellbeing and safety Development and training Equality Non-discrimination Sustainability	Policies Good leadership Training Development of occupational safety	360-degree evaluation of supervisors: 1.37 eNPS: 33
Industry organisations	Active dialogue Continuous development Promoting common themes	Active participation in energy industry committees and working groups	A list of memberships in organisations is published on the website Membership fees: EUR 351,000
NGOs	Carbon neutrality Biodiversity Sustainability Open communication Fishways at hydropower plants Cooperation and engaging the participation of NGOs in the development of operations	Meetings and webinars Blog	We organised a stakeholder event on biodiversity and sustainable bioenergy in spring 2023
Partners	Strategic partnerships Cooperation projects Investments in startups Shared sustainability themes Research and development	Building a carbon-neutral energy future together	Investments in startups Investments in research and development Shared targets and performance indicators with partners
Supply chain	Liquidity Well-planned projects Compliance Partnership Safety and security Sustainability	Supplier Code of Conduct (PDF)	Sustainability survey respondents and the implementation of corrective measures A total of 73 suppliers responded to the sustainability survey We conducted 4 audits on suppliers of solar panels and biofuels, for example, and utilised 9 HSEQ cluster audits.
Media	Open and reliable communication Availability for dialogue	Active dialogue Clear and timely releases

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Public affairs

Helen’s advocacy principles

We are building a new era of energy

Helen’s perspectives on regulatory development

Memberships in organisations

Stakeholder engagement

See also

Organisation

Helen Group

Board of directors

Corporate governance