Promoting Social Responsibility in the construction sector through the Aware Worksite concept

Marika Nyyssönen is the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Sustainability Manager at Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region (Hoas). Hoas provides affordable rental housing for students in the capital region of Finland. In addition to developing new buildings, Hoas also renovates and maintains older properties. Hoas has over 10,000 apartments and nearly 19,000 tenants. It is a non-profit foundation working with student unions of major universities. In 2024, Hoas was the largest residential developer in Finland.

Hoas has developed the concept of “Aware Worksite”. Can you explain the concept and its underlying principles? 

The Aware worksite concept is a practical model developed by Hoas to support fairness and well-being on construction sites. It helps ensure that all HOAS worksites share the same practical social responsibility objectives and comply with labour rights - not just on paper, but in practice on construction sites throughout the contracting period. 

In our contracts, we require contractors to implement the concept. All parties participating in the tendering process must commit to bringing the concept’s materials to the worksite, conducting site surveys at regular intervals in collaboration with us (the frequency is specified in the contract), openly sharing the results with their workers, and addressing any identified concerns together with us. While we are not a public contracting authority in the formal sense, we apply the same principles of responsibility and transparency. This concept can also be applied to public procurement procedures through contractual requirements. Hoas is providing guidance and materials so that both public and private buyers can use the concept in their projects. 

The concept focuses on three key themes — work environment, interaction, and mental well-being — and is built around seven simple rules that everyone on site should experience every day:

• You’re always safe.
• You don’t have stress or too much to do.
• We treat each other with respect. No harassment.
• Everybody is heard
• Your boss supports you.
• Things are in order and not a dirty mess.
• You get the info you need easily and in time.

The concept guides collaboration between the project owner and the contractor during the procurement and contract stages, and it is visible in the day-to-day operations on-site in a clear and understandable way to workers.
It’s not just about isolated actions – it represents a comprehensive approach to cooperation.

How was the concept developed? Who was involved in the process?

Two years ago, as the person responsible for sustainability, I realised I couldn’t explain how our social responsibility goals were reflected in practice across all our construction sites. That was a clear gap — and one we needed to fix. We had already gained experience from the Lean construction projects, where one key insight stood out: well-being improves performance. But we lacked data. Could we prove that a well-supported worker is more productive?

So, we set out to develop a solution that would address both of these gaps – and that’s how 
The Aware Worksite concept — a practical model to make well-being visible and measurable- was developed. Our construction Manager, Laura Pääkkönen played a key role in developing the concept, working closely with our team responsible for construction and renovation.

The first pilot was launched in autumn 2024. By 2025, it was already in use across 10 sites and had expanded into maintenance contracts covering technical upkeep, cleaning, and facility services.

While individual contractors often run their own employee surveys, this concept is unique because it enables cross-site, comparable data collection by the client – something that had not been possible before. We can now track trends, identify outliers, and act proactively if any site shows signs of distress. Stakeholder feedback has helped to affirm that this is not just a technical tool – it is a cultural shift toward transparency, fairness, and responsibility on Finnish construction sites.

The Aware Worksite concept has generated a lot of interest in Finland. As far as we know, no other property owner or project client has taken such a strong and concrete role in advancing social responsibility in construction. We've received good feedback for being transparent and communicating things in a clear, down-to-earth manner.

You mentioned that you use surveys to collect information about working conditions on construction sites. Can you explain how these are implemented?

The active data collection through the surveys and the collaboration between the client and contractors benefit everyone involved. The concept is applied through anonymous, multilingual surveys conducted every three months on-site. Responses are collected via a QR code, and every worker — regardless of their employer — has a voice. Results are reviewed together with the site team, and any concerns are addressed transparently. We want to understand whether workers feel the concept’s principles are being fulfilled on-site. We also ask whether the respondent has experienced or witnessed inappropriate behaviour or harassment.   

Since the launch of the concept in autumn 2024, 363 responses have been collected from 16 surveys across various construction sites. The response rate averages 33% of the workers present onsite during the weeks the surveys are conducted. 

The responses to the survey are presented as a snapshot of the working conditions on-site. Each worksite receives a visual which includes both the quantitative data, as well as anonymised open-ended responses highlighting both the challenges and the positive experiences shared by the workers. 

By enabling comparable data collection across multiple sites, the Aware Worksite concept allows public and private buyers of construction works to use the concept and to benchmark performance, identify good practices, and respond proactively to risks — all with minimal burden to the worksite.

How do you apply the Aware Worksite concept in your procurement procedures? 

The Aware Worksite concept is directly integrated into our procurement processes. The use of the concept is now a requirement on all our construction sites and is reflected in our contract programmes. We have designed our procurement framework to ensure that social responsibility is implemented, not just stated.

The additional key procurement features that support the Aware Worksite concept in practice include, for example:

• Clauses prohibiting subcontractor chaining without Hoa's approval;
• A ban on the use of light entrepreneurship or freelance-like arrangements and illegal deductions from wages;
• Requirement to apply the collective labour agreement (CLA) to all workers, including foreign and posted staff;
• Strict access control and mandatory use of personal ID cards to monitor site attendance.

The concept also provides us with standardised data that strengthens oversight and improves comparability across projects. Having comparable data ensures that contractors are held accountable to the same labour and working conditions standards. We have not yet set threshold-based requirements, but as more data accumulates, we aim to define realistic benchmarks.

How does such a concept help to support SRPP and compliance with labour rights in the construction sector? Do you have an example of a success story? 

The Aware worksite concept is an enabler of Socially Responsible Public Procurement (SRPP) and compliance with labour rights. It supports the ILO and UN principles by ensuring that worker voices are heard and conditions on-site are monitored in real-time.

In practical terms, the concept helps detect risks early on. For instance, if a survey reveals cases of inappropriate behaviour or harassment, we intervene immediately. While the surveys haven’t raised any major concerns so far, we’ve had a case where the site manager repeatedly violated safety procedures and contractual terms regarding subcontracting. As a result, we replaced the site manager. Our contract structure allows us to intervene in such cases.

In addition, Hoas operates a whistleblowing notification channel on sites through which workers can report serious violations or issues on the site, either anonymously or using their name. The purpose of this channel is to receive reports on unlawful activities and misconduct.

We are also launching a new campaign in September 2025 focused on detecting improper pay practices, aiming to ensure that no one on our sites is underpaid or mistreated, regardless of their background.

A good example of implementation is the Infrastructure Programme Helsinki, which consists of three projects aimed at designing and building the future urban environment in the areas of West, Northeast, and North Helsinki, as well as in the city centre. With thousands of workers expected to be involved over the coming years, it is truly remarkable that the Aware Worksite concept has already been included as a core part of the project framework. The concept is also in use across our maintenance contracts.

While we don’t claim that the Aware Worksite concept solves every issue, it gives us a replicable, scalable, and human-centred approach to labour rights in a complex sector. It fosters trust, accountability, and above all, a safer and fairer working environment.

In the context of the Big Buyers Working Together Social Procurement Community of Practice, a study visit to Hoas was organised earlier this year. How do you think that the Aware Worksite concept can be used and replicated by other contracting authorities? 

The Aware worksite concept has been intentionally designed to be simple to adopt. Based on our experience, implementation does not increase costs and requires minimal effort from the worksite. We want to encourage others to use it — and provide clear guidance for doing so. It can be used within public procurement procedures as long as the requirements are clearly defined, non-discriminatory, and proportionate to the subject of the contract. 

Currently, Hoas offers other stakeholders:

• A step-by-step guide for adopting the concept.
• Access to visual materials (posters, stickers) under agreed conditions.
• The standard survey content and guidance on interpreting the results.

We do not charge for the implementation of the concept, but we hope that any organisation using the concept commits to keeping the core principles unchanged, co-developing improvements in partnership with us, and using the model fairly and in good faith. This ensures the collected data remains comparable and useful for all.

With wider use, we’ll be able to benchmark more sites, share insights, and improve working conditions across the sector. The Aware worksite concept isn’t a silver bullet — but it is a powerful tool for building systemic responsibility into everyday construction practice.