Organisational responsibility

At Kela, we promote social sustainability by supporting equity among our customers and employees, safeguarding human rights, encouraging participation and welcoming a diverse range of voices. As a provider of social protection and public authority, Kela has a particular responsibility when it comes to promoting equity and human rights. By engaging in these efforts, we also strengthen trust in our shared system.

The promotion of equity is at the core of our operations

• We work to improve our understanding of the diversity of our customer base and their various needs and develop cost-effective services that are easy to use and promote equity among our customers.
• We make certain that all voices are heard, focusing particularly on the inclusion of our more vulnerable customer segments, who may be at risk of social inequality.
• We make conscious efforts to remove barriers to equity.
• We create conditions where everyone is seen and where everyone has equal opportunities to participate.

Human rights as a fundamental value and right

• We identify and evaluate the direct and indirect risks that our operations pose in terms of the implementation of human rights.
• In our operations, we strive to promote human rights and to identify risks that may prevent their implementation.

Sustainable wellbeing requires us to honour the limits of environmental sustainability. The ongoing environmental crisis gives rise to escalating inequality and health risks, while making subsistence more difficult. These detrimental effects often hit the hardest against those who are already in the most vulnerable position. By participating in the fight against environmental challenges, we can create a basis for economic security and health for all – both now and in the future.

Our sustainability agenda is based on environmental responsibility

• We make conscious and determined efforts to reduce our impact on the climate.
• We strive to improve the sustainability of our procurements.
• We promote digitalisation, where technological solutions promote sustainability.
• We make more efficient use of our premises and make decisions that help us use our resources wisely.
• We employ the ekotuki model (ekotuki.fi, in Finnish) to ensure a more ecologically sustainable working environment.

Sustainable governance is an operating principle that ensures that ecological, social and long-term impacts are taken into account in the organisation’s operations.

By ensuring that our operations comply with the criteria of sustainable governance, we strengthen trust in our shared system and contribute to social stability – both key prerequisites for achieving sustainable wellbeing.

Sustainable governance as a guiding principle

• We promote ethical practices.
• We improve transparency and the efficiency of our administration.
• We ensure that public resources will be available for future generations.
• We ensure data security.
• We use new technologies responsibly.
• When we make decisions, we assess their ecological and social aspects and their impacts in the long term.

• We remove barriers to equity in accordance with our non-discrimination plans that apply to both our customers and employees.
• Kela has an active Rainbow Alliance with over 200 members. The Rainbow Alliance is a supportive community for Kela’s LGBTQ+ employees that also advocates for continuous improvement in the ways in which Kela as an employer takes sexual and gender minorities into consideration.
• We improve our understanding of our customers’ needs and give them more say in the development of our services.
• We regularly assess and develop our ethical guidelines with regard to operating procedures such as the use of artificial intelligence.
• We monitor our climate emissions in accordance with the GHG protocol and reduce them through measures such as using our premises more efficiently and by improving our resource efficiency.
• We constantly strive to improve how we assess and manage the impact of our procurements.
• We educate our employees on themes related to sustainability by, for instance, organising regular information sessions (vastuullisuusvartti).