Our sustainability efforts are governed by SATO’s strategy and Sustainability Programme 2023–2026, the themes of which are sustainable housing, communities’ well-being and sustainably profitable business. Our programme is linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Homes to stand the test of time
SATO is one of Finland’s largest rental housing providers. We have been experts in housing for 85 years, and hundreds of thousands of Finns live in homes built by us.
We acquire and build rental apartments in growth centres near good public transport connections and services, with an eye on long-term ownership. We participate in developing entire neighborhoods together with cities, and our goal is to build pleasant homes and diverse living environments for decades to come.
Sustainability guides our operations
We ensure profitable business in the long term, sustainably. The foundation of our sustainable business is uniform and transparent ways of working, open communication and reporting, and co-operation with stakeholders.
We enable our residents to live sustainably, and as a long-term owner, we take care of the value of our homes. We pay taxes to Finland. We also expect our partners to operate responsibly.
SATO's Sustainability Report for 2025
Last year, we made significant investments in locally produced renewable energy, advanced our work on biodiversity, strengthened our safety culture, and defined sustainability criteria for procurement. In the autumn, we received international recognition when SATO’s sustainability management was ranked number one in Europe.
The ESRS standards material to SATO
The sustainability report is based on a double materiality assessment, as a result of which the ESRS standards material to SATO are: E1 Climate change, E3 Water and marine resources, E4 Biodiversity and ecosystems, E5 Resource use and circular economy, S1 Own workforce, S2 Workers in the value chain and S4 Consumers and end-users.
The report is SATO’s first report prepared in accordance with the ESRS standard, and it has been partially assured by Deloitte.
Carbon roadmap
Our carbon roadmap specifies the interim targets and actions that will help us achieve our goal of carbon neutrality for in-use energy consumption by the end of 2030.
Biodiversity
In addition to the climate, the built environment also has a significant impact on nature, and the construction supply chains also have identified nature impacts. Biodiversity is one of the environmental themes of SATO’s sustainability programme, and our goal is to slow down biodiversity loss and improve biodiversity in housing development and in the areas where our existing buildings are located.
In 2025, we continued our efforts to promote biodiversity and prevent nature loss in the built environment. We updated our property design and maintenance guidelines, continued staff training and shared best practices from pilot sites where we tested meadow areas and the planting of berry bushes in the courtyards of SATOhomes. The pilots have received positive feedback from residents, and we will continue and expand them in 2026.
SATO's Osta vastuullisesti homes
An independent sustainability panel has ranked 15 of SATO’s rental buildings among the most sustainable choices presented on Ostavastuullisesti.fi, a Finnish website providing guidance on sustainable consumer choices. The selected homes are i.a. energy efficient, and an excellent choice for residents looking for sustainable choices.
SATO's main office has WWF's Green Office Certificate
WWF Green Office is certification and environmental management system developed maintained by WWF, the world's leading environmental organisation. For SATO, Green Office serves as one of our environmental management tools. With the help of the WWF Green Office system, we have built an environmental programme tailored to the needs of our office to reduce our carbon footprint and to use natural resources sparingly.
Certification by WWF ensures that our organisation meets the Green Office criteria and is working towards the goals of the environmental programme.
In the future, Green Office work will be assessed annually and audits by WWF will take place every three years.
SATO ranked number one in Europe in an international sustainability management benchmark
In 2025, SATO ranked first in the Management section of the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), an international benchmark for sustainability in the real estate sector. SATO achieved full points for its sustainability management and rose to the top position among more than one thousand real estate participants assessed in Europe. SATO has participated in the GRESB assessment for 11 consecutive years.