The Pirkanmaa Climate Action Lab (in Finnish Pirkanmaan Ilmastotoimintakeskus, PIK) is a joint operation between University of Helsinki and Tampere University, funded by The Council of Tampere Region and co-funded by the European Union. The Lab aims to help communities and businesses to find solutions for developing their practices towards increased environmental sustainability. The Lab physically locates in Hyytiälä Forest Station in Juupajoki.
The purpose of the PIK is to deliver scientific knowledge to practical activities and to maintain discussion on climate-related topics among the stakeholders (e.g. small and medium-sized enterprises, municipalities, parishes and associations) in Pirkanmaa. Practial activites include co-creation workshops on different topics related to carbon neutrality and biodiversity. These practical activities are centered in the SMEAR II -station in Hyytiälä. In addition, the PIK enables learning about new co-creation methods achieved from this practical work. The researchers of The Atmosphere and Climate Competence Center (ACCC) are invited to join as scientific experts to the workshops.
The PIK comprises 10-12 co-creation workshops, each on different subtopic. During the pre-survey phase, the participants have an opportunity to influence the selection of subtopics; in the implementation phase, they can participate those workshops that are relevant for their community or company. These subtopics include, for instance, carbon sinks, climate-related regulation, wood construction and fragility of global supply chains. The workshops include brief lectures by experts, group work and concluding discussion. The outcome of these workshops will be compiled and published online, and it will be the basis of an information bank which is accessible for everyone.
The information bank, which will be established on the basis of the workshops, is planned to contain general-level information on the most popular topics discussed in workshops. This information bank will be published online and therefore, it is expected to be beneficial also generally. In addition to the the content online, the co-operation between the stakeholders and the universities is expected to be continuous.
There will be four workshops in 2024: in February, April, September and November. The language of these workshops is mainly Finnish.