Environmental measures at the library

Recycled furniture in the library.
Photo: Espoo City Library

Eco shelves

The eco shelf highlights fiction and non-fiction books on the environment, nature and climate. The objective of eco shelves is to promote environmental awareness and literacy. Nearly all libraries in Helsinki have eco shelves.

Activist Diploma

The ‘Library Encourages Activism’ campaign by Helmet libraries and associations encourages people to take action for the environment with the help of the Activist Diploma. You can complete the challenges of the Activist Diploma at your own pace. You can also follow the Activist Diploma on Instagram.

Items available for loan

Borrowing things is eco-friendly. In addition to books, magazines, music and games, you can also borrow items from libraries. Libraries stock items that are rarely needed in daily life, such as sports equipment, gauges and tools.

Different libraries have different items available. You cannot reserve items, and you must always return items to the same library where you borrowed them from. You can read more about the items on the page Premises and equipment.

Making saving energy easier

The Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority’s Climateinfo energy expert bag for housing companies is available for borrowing in nine Helmet libraries. The gauges in the bag will help you save energy.

The bag contains five gauges that can be used to determine the energy consumption of devices, ambient temperatures, water flow rates and CO2 levels.

Gauges contained in the bag:

  • thermometer
  • electricity meter
  • infrared thermometer
  • flow meter cup
  • room condition meter.

Environment-themed events

Libraries host many events connected to nature and the environment. If you would like to host an environment-themed event, contact the library of your choice.

Furniture recycling

Furniture for Espoo City Library is currently primarily sourced second-hand. The furniture for Lippulaiva Library, for example, was bought from the Kierrätyskeskus recycling centre. Furniture can also be shared between libraries: a piece of furniture that is no longer needed at one library can be put to new use at another library. In Vantaa, furniture can also be recycled.

Removed books

Libraries donate or sell books removed from their collections to customers and daycare centres and schools, for example. Vantaa City Library has started cooperation with the Finlandia-kirja bookstore to streamline the recycling of removed books.

EcoCompass

EcoCompass is a tool that companies and City organisations can use to map and monitor their own environmental measures.

Helsinki City Library has been using EcoCompass since 2010. Vantaa City Library was awarded the EcoCompass certificate in 2024.

EcoCompass monitors the progress of the environmental programme of the library.

Fairtrade

All Helmet cities are Fairtrade Cities, meaning that they are committed to ethical and sustainable consumption in accordance with the Fairtrade criteria.

Green library

You can read more about environmental work at all Finnish libraries on the Green library page on Libraries.fi.