Castrén & Snellman continues as a sustainability forerunner in business law. Our newly published sustainability report for 2023 is our fourth. The report offers an overview of our sustainability work thus far, covering three areas: advice for clients, responsible business and impact on society.
7.5.2024
Castrén & Snellman published its sustainability report for 2023
Our sustainability report for 2023 highlights diversity work and ESG-related client assignments
We take ESG considerations into account in all the services we offer to our clients. Increasingly, we carry out ESG due diligence reviews and provide training on the developing regulatory framework of corporate sustainability.
Here are some ways in which we promoted sustainability in 2023:
- We focused on diversity work and have had success. Fewer employees disagree with the statement that our work community supports employees expressing their membership in minorities. In our first equality survey in 2021, 13.5% of the respondents disagreed with the statement while in 2023 only 4.4% disagreed.
- We organised our sustainability work more efficiently. We established an ESG steering group consisting of partners to focus on corporate sustainability. Our Head of Sustainability, Partner Anna Kuusniemi-Laine joined the Management Group. ESG Counsel Lia Heasman was recruited to strengthen our client work. These decisions made in 2023 will be reflected in our work this year.
- We met our first climate targets as our direct emissions and the emissions from the energy we use decreased over 99% compared to 2019. The decrease is largely due to a switch to renewable district heating in our premises in the autumn of 2022. There is still room for improvement in reducing our indirect emissions in the value chain.
Read our sustainability report.
Our sustainability work in 2024 is spurred on by the regulatory framework of corporate sustainability as we help our clients meet the requirements of new ESG laws, such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. We are also preparing for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ourselves, since it will apply to us as of 2025.
You can read the reports for the years 2020–2022 here.
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Latest references
Suominen Corporation – Rights Issue
We advised Suominen Corporation in connection with its rights issue. The offering was oversubscribed, and the company raised gross proceeds of approximately EUR 28 million. We also advised Suominen in connection with the renegotiation of the terms of the company’s three-year EUR 100 million syndicated credit facility, under which the maturity was extended and headroom was added to the financial covenants. “I would like to thank our shareholders for their support and confidence in Suominen’s future. The completion of the Offering will enable us to accelerate the implementation of our Full Potential Program while strengthening our capital structure. Our transformation particularly focuses on enhancing the reliability and efficiency of our production and supply, and on reinforcing our commercial capabilities, allowing us to better meet the expectations of our customers and shareholders”, comments Charles Héaulmé, President and CEO of Suominen. Suominen is a nonwovens manufacturer operating in global markets. Suominen creates value by taking fiber raw materials and turning them into nonwovens that the company’s customers convert into both consumer and professional end products. Suominen’s vision is to be the frontrunner for nonwovens innovation and sustainability. Suominen’s net sales in 2025 were EUR 412.4 million and the company has almost 700 professionals working in Europe and in the Americas. Suominen’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
Case published 6.7.2026
Nordea Bank Abp and Avain Yhtiöt – A financing arrangement of a real estate portfolio
We acted as joint legal advisor for Nordea Bank Abp and Avain Yhtiöt in an approximately EUR 48 million financing arrangement which included facilities for refinancing of an existing real estate portfolio and also for acquisition and property development purposes. The financing arrangement strengthens Avain Yhtiöt’s objective to build and maintain a functional, safe and environmentally friendly living environment, as well as to develop the overall quality of housing and construction. Avain Yhtiöt is a Finnish group specialising in housing and housing-related services, construction contracting and new construction. Its goal is to build 1,000 new apartments per year in key growth areas in Finland.
Case published 2.7.2026
Shareholders – Sale of the Suomen Autohuolto Group
We advised the shareholders of Suomen Autohuolto Oy in connection with the sale of the company’s entire share capital, to SAKA Finland Group Oy. Suomen Autohuolto Group is one of Finland’s largest companies specializing in brand-specific automotive maintenance and has locations in Oulu, Tampere, and from July, also in Järvenpää. The transaction is subject to final approval by the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (KKV).
Case published 26.6.2026
Natural Resources Institute Finland – AI training
We delivered two tailor-made AI workshops for the lawyers at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). We discussed the AI revolution and its impact on lawyers’ ways of thinking and working, and left the participants with practical solutions for enhancing and streamlining their work with Legora. Our AI-specialist lawyers prepared use cases tailored to Luke and the needs of public administration, which Luke received for its own use following the workshops. These use cases covered topics such as: utilising legal sources and the organisation’s own data to maximise AI results building and leveraging AI workflows AI-enhanced contract drafting based on a large volume of documents. The workshops sparked wide-ranging discussion on the role and benefits of AI in legal work. Participants appreciated how clearly and comprehensively our experts were able to present the nature and benefits of AI specifically within a legal context. ‘The workshops provided excellent support for Luke’s goal of leveraging AI responsibly and gave us concrete and ready-to-use practical takeaways,’ says Hannu Laitinen, Luke’s Senior Vice President, Administrative Affairs.
Case published 26.6.2026