Climate work is progressing well at state-owned companies, but more should be done to identify human rights risks
Total emissions from state-owned companies continued to fall in 2025, but many companies still lack adequate measures for identifying risks and impacts related to human rights.
The State monitors the fulfilment of its sustainability targets at the portfolio level. The Government Resolution on State Ownership Policy sets out the State’s expectations for the sustainability of its companies, including how the companies are expected to take climate, nature and social impacts and risks into account in their operations. The state-owner’s sustainability programme launched in 2024 is a tool for monitoring these expectations and putting them into practice.
The programme has six priorities based on the requirements set in the resolution:
- Climate friendliness and the green transition
- Biodiversity
- Sustainability of value chains and fulfilment of the due diligence obligation
- Respect for human rights throughout the value chain
- Sustainability as an employer and diversity
- Sustainability in remuneration
“These six priorities have a wide-ranging impact on companies’ competitiveness and shareholder value. They also represent significant opportunities and risks for the company portfolio. As such, the State has decided to focus especially on monitoring and advancing them,” says Maija Strandberg, Director General of the Ownership Steering Department at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Total emissions from company portfolio fell by 10 per cent last year
One of the State’s key objectives is to reduce the total emissions of its company portfolio. The State’s portfolio is strongly focused on the energy sector, so it is important that companies have ambitious targets and indicators for reducing emissions and monitoring their development. In 2025, the total absolute emissions of state-owned companies continued to decline for a third consecutive year. Total emissions amounted to 47 (52) million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which is ten per cent less than in 2024.
“The State’s expectations for companies are based on the idea that sustainability is good for both the environment and business – and thus for shareholder value. The way we see it, it is profitable for companies to develop low-emission business and seize the opportunities of the green transition,” says Ministerial Adviser Katariina Sillander, who is in charge of developing sustainability at the Ownership Steering Department of the Prime Minister’s Office.
At the end of 2025, 35 per cent of state-owned companies had set emission reduction targets based on climate science. It is also important for the State that emission-intensive companies include climate impact targets in their remuneration schemes. In 2025, 90 per cent of the state-owned companies with the highest emissions had management incentives linked to climate targets.
Still shortcomings in identifying human rights risks
The majority of companies still have room for improvement when it comes to the impacts of their activities on human rights. In 2025, 43 per cent of companies reported having carried out a human rights risk and impact assessment, which is around the same number as in the previous year.
“There is a common misconception that human rights violations are something that happens in complex supply chains far away from here, but harmful phenomena, such as poor occupational safety culture, discrimination and exploitation connected to labour migration and foreign subcontractors, also exist in Finland. Regardless of the size or sector of the company, it is important to identify potential risks and plan ways to mitigate them,” said Katariina Sillander.
In 2025, the Ownership Steering Department conducted a portfolio-level survey of potential adverse impacts and risks related to human rights in state-owned companies. The goal was to identify companies that, due to their sector, international activities, subcontracting chains or use of seasonal labour, have a higher risk of potential human rights violations.
“As part of the analysis, we not only looked at risks but also at companies’ ability to manage adverse human rights impacts along their value chains. In the survey, we identified those companies whose human rights work the State should monitor and, if necessary, discuss with management. It is also important for the State as an owner to act with due diligence,” said Katariina Sillander.
State engages in dialogue with company management
In addition to the portfolio-level overview, the State analyses the sustainability work of each company individually to determine how sustainability affects the company’s business and shareholder value. The conclusions of the analysis are discussed when officials from the Ownership Steering Department meet with the companies’ management.
More information about the state-owner’s sustainability programme and progress on its targets is provided in Annex 4 to the Report on State Annual Accounts.
Inquiries: Maija Strandberg, Director General, Ownership Steering Department, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 50 407 8423; Katariina Sillander, Ministerial Adviser, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 50 569 0902.
Email addresses at the Government are in the format firstname.lastname(at)gov.fi