Cities worldwide face a common challenge when implementing climate action plans. How do you move beyond having a small team of environmental experts to engaging entire organisations and communities in meaningful climate work? The answer isn't just about better reporting or stricter mandates. It's about building networks that make people want to participate.
Sonja-Maria Ignatius, CEO & Co-founder at Kausal, learned this firsthand during her time as a climate coordinator in Helsinki. Sonja built a Green Team that transformed how the city approached climate action. Now a founder at Kausal, she shares the strategies that helped Helsinki engage staff across departments and create lasting momentum for climate and sustainability initiatives.
Getting buy-In through positive storytelling
Before Helsinki could implement concrete climate action plans, the city needed internal support. The first major task in 2014 was creating what the team called a "vision paper". This was a roadmap that painted a compelling picture of Helsinki as a carbon-neutral city by 2050.
"I think it was important to show how it can bring new jobs and we had to play smart there. We focused on not just telling about how to avoid threats but how to actually benefit from the opportunities that climate mitigation can bring."
This positive approach proved crucial for securing political support. Rather than focusing solely on the challenges of climate change, the vision paper highlighted opportunities. These included a greener city with better air quality, less noise, easier mobility, and healthier food systems.
The strategy worked. Helsinki's climate targets became progressively more ambitious. The city moved from a 2050 vision paper to an action plan for 2035, then to an even more aggressive 2030 plan. This progression shows how early stakeholder engagement and positive framing can build momentum for stronger climate commitments over time.
💡 Political support often comes not from fear-based messaging about climate threats, but from demonstrating the tangible benefits and opportunities that climate action can create for cities and citizens.
Creating cross-departmental Green Teams that work
One of the biggest challenges cities face is getting different departments to work together on climate and sustainability initiatives. In most organisations, climate work remains isolated within environmental or technical departments. Helsinki addressed this by building what they called a "Green Team” for city staff.
The goal was simple but powerful: bring together people whose work is relevant to climate goals and help them understand their role in the bigger picture.
"My goal was to bring the people whose work is relevant for the climate goals of Helsinki together and help them feel empowered. I wanted them to feel like 'Hey, I have an important piece in this big puzzle and now I see how I fit in."
The team deliberately included people from diverse departments. This meant procurement staff, teachers, road planners, engineers, and energy company employees. This wasn't just about environmental experts. It was about recognising that effective climate action requires expertise from across the city.
💡Effective Green Teams include people from all departments whose work touches climate goals, not just environmental experts. Recognition and flexibility are more important than formal structures.
Making participation appealing
Getting busy city employees to join yet another team required more than good intentions. Cities can make participation appealing by focusing on three key elements:
1. Recognition and empowerment
"I wanted everyone to feel like they were not alone. If needed they could get the support and knowledge from all the amazing people from other departments."
2. Fun and educational experiences
Regular excursions, nice food at meetings, facilitation of new activities, and hands-on projects like making Helsinki's zoo carbon neutral.
3. Flexibility and ownership
"It was very open and people themselves could also define what they wanted to get out of it. If we forced people to be part of the network, I don’t think it would have been as successful.”
The launch event set the tone of the team. It was held at a trendy cafe with an exciting atmosphere. Each invitee received personal recognition showing how their specific work contributed to the city's climate and sustainability goals.
💡Busy city employees will join climate teams when they feel personally valued, have fun experiences, and can participate flexibly on their own terms rather than through rigid requirements.
Keeping Green Teams active over time
Building a team is one thing. Keeping it active is another. Helsinki’s Green Team remained vital for several years through a combination of regular activities:
"Don't focus only on reporting but do something fun together." This approach distinguished the team from typical environmental working groups that focused primarily on compliance, data collection and reporting.
However, maintaining momentum requires dedicated coordination. When the original coordinator left the city, the team gradually became less active. This highlights the importance of planning for continuity.
💡Green teams thrive on shared experiences and concrete projects, not just meetings about reporting. Dedicated coordination is essential for long-term success.
Getting external stakeholders to actively participate
While internal networks are crucial, cities also need to engage external stakeholders. Helsinki worked on building similar networks with businesses in the city and the broader region through "climate partnerships."
These partnerships involved businesses making voluntary commitments that they signed with the mayor of Helsinki. This approach has since become common across Nordic cities, but was innovative when Helsinki pioneered it.
The key to external stakeholder engagement was making participation feel special and important, not just another bureaucratic requirement. High-level political endorsement helped achieve this. Having the mayor personally sign invitations and commitments signalled that this work was a priority for city leadership.
💡External stakeholders respond to high-level political endorsement and personal recognition. Having the mayor sign invitations signals that participation is a genuine priority, not just another administrative task.
The three pillars of effective climate engagement
Based on Helsinki's experience, there are three essential elements for getting people to actively participate in green teams:
1. Authority and mandate
"You need an internal champion high enough in the organisation to demonstrate that climate work is an institutional priority. This way, you're not positioning initiatives as your personal passion project, but as something the mayor or senior leadership genuinely supports."
Having the mayor sign personal invitations sends a clear message that climate work is an organisational priority, not just the pet project of environmental staff.
2. Network effect and community
Creating a sense of being part of something bigger involves making people feel like "climate heroes." This includes:
3. Individual benefit
While authority and community are important, people also need to see personal value in participation:
💡Successful climate engagement requires authority from leadership, community connection with peers, and individual benefits. All three elements are necessary, not just one or two.
Practical lessons for climate action plan implementation
Helsinki's experience offers several practical insights for cities working to implement climate action plans:
1. Start with engagement, not just targets
Before focusing on metrics and reporting, invest time in building relationships and understanding across departments.
2. Make it voluntary when possible
"It defeats its purpose a bit if you are there because you have been told to join." While some situations may require mandates, voluntary participation creates much stronger engagement.
3. Balance big and small actions
While major initiatives like stopping coal burning obviously have greater impact than building bee homes, both can be valuable for building engagement and momentum.
4. Plan for continuity
Networks need ongoing coordination and support. Build this into organisational structures rather than relying on individual champions.
5. Focus on opportunities, not just problems
Positive messaging about co-benefits (better air quality, green jobs, healthier communities) often generates more support than focusing solely on climate risks.
💡Start with relationship building and engagement before focusing on targets and reporting. Voluntary participation creates stronger commitment than mandates.
How technology can support climate networks
While Helsinki built its Green Team without software tools, they eventually needed technology to manage growing participation and track progress. This led to the development of what became Kausal's climate action platform.
"I needed a tool that could support the network I was building, rather than trying to force a network around a tool that wasn't designed for community building.” This experience highlights the importance of choosing technology that's designed specifically for building and maintaining climate communities.
The right platform can help cities build engaged networks from the start by making participation easier and more rewarding. Modern climate action platforms can both create and sustain networks through features like:
💡The right technology can help build communities by making participation more engaging and showing people the value of their contributions to climate and sustainability goals.
Making climate networks work in your city
As cities worldwide work to implement increasingly ambitious climate action plans, the need for effective cross-departmental and stakeholder engagement will only grow. Helsinki's experience demonstrates that building strong Green Team isn't just nice to have. It's essential for turning plans into action.
"Building connections across departments and creating social ties is crucial for sharing knowledge, helping people feel supported, and ensuring everyone understands how they fit into the bigger picture."
The key elements for success include:
1. Starting with a positive vision
Secure political support by focusing on opportunities and benefits rather than just threats and challenges.
2. Making climate everyone's business
Build networks that include staff from all relevant departments, not just environmental experts.
3. Keep it engaging
Combine recognition, flexibility, and fun experiences to maintain long-term participation.
4. Secure high-level backing
Having mayor or senior leadership support gives climate work institutional weight and credibility.
5. Planning for continuity
Ensure networks have dedicated coordination and succession planning to maintain momentum over time.
6. Use technology empower your network
Use platforms designed for community building that enhance relationships, recognise contributions, and make climate work more collaborative and rewarding.
Cities that invest in building strong internal and external climate networks will be far better positioned to implement their climate action plans successfully. As climate targets become more ambitious, the human side of climate action becomes even more important in achieving real results.
Ready to build a climate network that actually engages your whole organisation? Contact us and discover how Kausal can help your city get every department pulling in the same direction.