The EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) aims to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and reduce emissions across the entire building stock by 2050. The directive (2018/844) supports climate change mitigation through enhanced energy performance. Finland’s national goal is to reduce CO₂ emissions from building heating energy consumption by approximately 92% between 2020 and 2050.
Property managers play a key role in improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions in housing, as operational energy use accounts for 76% of emissions in the built environment. According to EU estimates, construction and housing represent 40% of energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Improving building energy efficiency requires that property management and maintenance professionals can effectively and practically utilize fragmented data—such as consumption data, maintenance history, and condition assessments. Currently, this information is scattered across various systems and lacks integration, making it difficult to use and increasing workload.
Project objective
The Saving Energy with Data in Real Estate and Property Management Services project aims to enhance the sector’s data capabilities and develop user-friendly digital solutions to support energy efficiency. This transformation introduces new digital tools and strengthens the skills of professionals in the field. Promoting collaboration between property managers, maintenance providers, service companies, and technology experts leads to more efficient operations and improved service quality—while supporting the green transition. The project is based on co-creation with industry companies, and its results will be scaled nationwide across Finland.
The project combines digitalization, service design, and sustainability goals, enabling the development of user-centric and impactful solutions. All tools and models are designed to support the daily work and well-being of real estate professionals. The goal is to integrate these solutions seamlessly into everyday processes without adding extra burden. This ensures that improving energy efficiency and managing energy savings becomes a natural part of operational property management and maintenance.
What does the project do?
The Saving Energy with Data project develops solutions that make data understandable and actionable. The goal is to empower property managers and maintenance professionals to make better decisions, save energy, and simplify their work.
The project consists of six work packages covering technology, skills, work processes, and communication:
- Technical pilot: Develop a simple yet impactful solution that integrates property data from various sources to improve energy efficiency.
- Work process development: The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health improves work processes in property management offices to ensure new solutions support daily work without adding strain.
- Skills development: TIEKE identifies skill needs and develops training models for data utilization.
- Business ecosystem building: KIRAHub builds an ecosystem that supports data sharing and utilization among industry stakeholders.
- Communication and knowledge sharing: Project results and insights are actively shared through blogs, events, and webinars.
- Coordination: TIEKE is responsible for overall project coordination.
Who is the project for?
The project is primarily aimed at companies in the property management and real estitate services sectors, but also welcomes technology providers, software developers, and other stakeholders. In Finland, there are approximately 850–900 real estitate management companies employing around 6,000 people, including 3,500 real estitate managers. Over half of these companies are small businesses with fewer than five employees. On average, a real estitate manager is responsible for managing real estate assets worth around €100 million.
Timeline and implementation
The project began in June 2025 and will continue until the end of 2027. The first pilot organizations have been selected. Workshops and training sessions will begin in autumn 2025. Updates on the project’s progress and pilot organizations will be shared on the websites and social media channels of the project partners.
Saving Energy with Data – Enhancing Energy Efficiency in Real Estitate and Property Management Services
Project duration:
June 1, 2025 – September 30, 2027
Project partners:
Main project coordinator: TIEKE
Sub-project implementers: KIRAHub, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
Funding:
Co-funded by the European Union.
Contact information:
TIEKE: Project Manager Marko Mikkonen
KIRAHub: CEO Teemu Lehtinen, teemu@kirahub.org
The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health: Development Manager Tiina Heusala, tiina.heusala@ttl.fi
