The age of impact economics has arrived and it is reshaping the business landscape. Customers expect companies to not just act ethically, but to take a role at the forefront of the challenges facing society, particularly climate change, social injustice and human rights. Investors are increasingly looking for impact in addition to financial gain. Instruments like the SDGs and the ten principles of the UN Global Compact provide a roadmap for what society needs from the business world if we are to solve the problems facing the world.
28.10.2020
Lawyers Supporting the Impact Revolution
Sakari Lukinmaa & Anna Kuusniemi-Laine
Tags
What does this mean for the legal profession? The rapid changes in business require a new mindset from lawyers.
The legal profession traditionally tends to look inwards, focusing on the problems and risks inherent in a business, but by shifting our perspective outwards and forwards, lawyers are ideally placed to find new legal solutions that can create genuine impact.
For example, impact investing and impact funds are already gaining a foothold, using private capital to not only pursue a profit, but also measurable benefits for society. In the energy sector, decarbonisation projects need new contractual structures.
As lawyers, we can make the biggest difference by helping our clients develop their own sustainability. To do that most effectively, we have to understand the demands that sustainability put on our clients inside and out. To us, that means that we can’t just talk the talk, we have to walk the walk.
At the beginning of 2020, Castrén & Snellman became the first Finnish law firm to join the UN Global Compact. We have also calculated our carbon footprint as the foundation for a significant reduction in our emissions. Our key sustainability goals are to promote equality, fight climate change and promote the rule of law.
Latest insights
Article published 16.12.2025 – Environment, Energy & Green Transition
Parliament approves substantial increases in tax on mined minerals
Article published 11.12.2025 – Venture Capital & Minority Investments
SAFE financing explained: Why it’s complicated under Finnish law
Article published 2.12.2025 – Competition & Procurement
Sustainable Procurement: Legislative requirements and practical challenges
Article published 25.11.2025 – Equity Capital Markets
The IPO window is open – How to identify the right time for listing?
Tarja Pirinen, Mikko Alakare & Noora Ahonen
Karlo Siirala & Vesa Rasinaho
Laura Vuorinen & Johanna Lähde
Karin Hentunen & Sakari Sedbom
Latest references
Puhdistamo – PK Consumer Health invests in Puhdistamo
We advised the shareholders in Puhdistamo – Real Foods Oy in the sale of all shares in Puhdistamo to PK Consumer Health. Puhdistamo is a leading Nordic wellbeing company, best known for its high-quality supplements, sports nutrition products and, functional beverages. Puhdistamo employs 120 employees in Finland and Sweden. PK Consumer Health is owned by Avista Healthcare Partners and Damier Group. The sellers will make a reinvestment into PK Consumer Health as part of the transaction. Completion is subject to customary closing conditions.
Case published 15.1.2026
Urban Partners – Financing of EUR 100 million construction project in Herttoniemi, Helsinki
We advised the real estate investor and developer Urban Partners in the financing of a EUR 100 million construction project in Helsinki, which combines build-to-rent housing and care homes within one scheme. A fund managed by Urban Partners (NSF V) purchased the plot of land in Herttoniemi, Helsinki and subsequently secured planning consent to deliver a hybrid living scheme. The modern complex will offer high-quality housing and care facilities for the elderly alongside rental accommodation. A total of 425 apartments and 108 care homes will be delivered across four buildings on the site. The project will be implemented in accordance with Urban Partners’ sustainability targets. All buildings will be constructed to energy class A, and the project will aim for the highest Platinum level of the international LEED environmental certification and will be implemented in accordance with the EU taxonomy criteria.
Case published 5.1.2026
Citycon – Sale of a 275-apartment residential portfolio
We assisted Citycon Oyj in the sale of the Lippulaiva residential assets in Espoo, Finland. The sold residential assets consist of 275 apartments totaling approximately 13,000 sqm, located in connection to Citycon’s Lippulaiva shopping centre. The assets were sold at their latest IFRS book value for a gross purchase price of EUR 61.5 million.
Case published 19.12.2025
S-Bank – Issuance of EUR 150 million SNP notes and tender offer for notes maturing in 2026
We advised S-Bank Plc in its issuance of a EUR 150 million Senior Non-Preferred Notes and on the tender offer of its EUR 150 million Senior Preferred MREL Eligible Notes maturing in 2026. The tender offer required prior approval from the Finnish Financial Stability Authority based on the Commission’s regulatory technical standards (EU) 2023/827. The Stability Authority granted S-Bank a permission for repurchases of the notes. Based on the permission, S-Bank replaced the notes with own funds or eligible liabilities instruments of equal or higher quality at terms that are sustainable for the income capacity of S-Bank. According to the final tender offer results published on 10 December 2025, S-Bank repurchased a total of EUR 97.9 million of the notes. The new notes will pay a floating interest rate, which is determined based on 3-month Euribor added with a margin of 1.35 per cent. The notes were issued on 11 December 2025 and listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. The maturity date of the notes is 11 December 2029. The purpose of the issue was to meet the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) and to finance the bank’s activities.
Case published 18.12.2025