Mission and vision
The Finnish expert panel for sustainable development is an independent body which helps to lead Finland towards sustainable development by adding scientific and ethical views to decision-making processes and societal dialogue. The ten expert members of the panel represent a broad range of scientific fields, universities, and research institutions. They bring together the cultural, ecological, social, political, technical, and financial, as well as health- and climate-related, views of sustainability. The panel helps to identify systemic problems associated with sustainability and potential ways to solve them. Furthermore, the panel aims to accelerate and predict societal changes that will enhance human wellbeing, while safeguarding the environment. The panel has defined their misson as follows:
We take Finland to sustainable development.
- We provide scientific knowledge and viewpoints to decision-making and bring complicated but critical issues to the public debate.
- Our mission is to promote societal change that takes into account both the environment and human wellbeing. In particular, we try to identify issues where contradictory goals complement and support each other. We aim at foreseeing development and strengthening long-term decision-making.
- We want to be in the focus of sustainability debate.
Please, do contact and challenge us in sustainability issues!
From experimenting to a fixed model
The first panel was set up and coordinated by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra in December 2013. The Panel found its place as an independent and critical scientific voice in the Finnish sustainable development policy. It collaborated with the National Commission on Sustainable Development and particularly focused on economic and wellbeing issues. The Panel sought co-operation with other Finnish expert panels and with the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils (EEAC). The new Panel will continue this work but in different institutional frames and with new experts who widely represent different sustainability dimensions and the Finnish universities and research institutes.
New hosts
In the beginning of 2019, the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) started to host the panel. The work of these organisations extensively covers the fields of the Agenda 2030, including poverty, equality, climate change, health and wellbeing, technological innovations, and collaboration. These organisations have offices and activities across Finland, which supports nationwide collaboration in sustainability issues.
