Innovation capability at the heart of growth – new ideas are rewarded twice a year

“This year we will grow significantly. Sustainability requirements for companies are increasing and this will have a positive impact on our business. However, there are many areas where we do not yet have a ready-made service - these are exactly what we want to create,” says Pekka Vanne, CEO of Vastuu Group.

Vastuu Group was founded in 2012 to solve the problems of the grey economy in the construction industry. With Vastuu Group’s compliance services, companies were able to demonstrate that their operations, including their subcontracting chains, are legal and that the company meets the obligations of the Client Liability Act.

In just over ten years, the company has grown and diversified to serve all sectors. At the same time, the ownership base has also expanded. The company turned to strong double-digit growth two years ago and wants to continue on the same path in the coming years.

Vastuu Group’s starting point is still ensuring trust between the client company and stakeholders in an efficient data-driven manner.

“You could say that we are a compliance-as-a-service company. We offer digital services that make it as easy and automatic as possible to comply with the law and to fulfill your own responsibility commitments,” says Vanne, who has been CEO for two years.

“Our catchphrase is that we make responsible actions so easy that they actually happen,” he continues.

The largest and best-known service is the Trusted Partner, an extensive information package about the company and its legal compliance. The Trusted Partner is used by over 75,000 Finnish companies. The second largest service is the Valttikortti card for construction workers, which is a confirmation of the employee’s identity and employment relationship. These cards are used by over 300,000 people and over 30,000 companies.

Innovaations serve growth

More than half of Vastuu Group's employees work on the company's technology. They build new services and maintain the service offering.

Vastuu Group's experts, for example, monitor regulatory developments and anticipate customers' future needs. They don't just tell customers that this is how regulations are changing, but must have a product or service available that can quickly keep up with changes. They reflect on what responsibility means today and what it means tomorrow.

Vanne believes that the collaboration with Yellow Method was a good time to stop and think about Vastuu Group's innovation capability and discuss it in light of the survey results presented to the management team.

How does the present support the achievement of future goals?

Yellow Method's analysis confirmed the view that product development at Vastuu Group requires deep customer, authority and organizational cooperation. In innovation, the focus is kept on the customer.

Yellow Method also helped identify that for innovation you need curiosity and a certain bubblyness, something that is already build into the company. For example, the company rewards developers of new ideas or innovations financially twice a year. The best ideas usually come from deep customer understanding and knowledge of the operating environment, which means they are also in demand.

“We don’t innovate just for the sake of innovation, but to advance our mission of a more responsible society and create growth at the same time.”

“Growth is a self-feeding cycle”

In addition to its growth-oriented strategy, Vastuu Group renewed the group's corporate structure in late spring 2025. The changes were made so that the group structure would better serve the needs of business growth.

Vanne recognises the growth debate in Finland and also the role of the Growth Collective as a motivator for companies. Courage, which is also found in Vastuu Group's values, is key here.

"The discussion has called for the willingness of the owners, better management, risk-taking, and the ability to innovate. On the other hand, there has been criticism that we cannot protect the old and pay high dividends if there are no investment targets."

He sees that Finland has all the prerequisites for growth: expertise and the ability to innovate.

"Today, we are international, multilingual and networked people. The old truth about a Finnish engineer who can't sell is no longer true."

Vanne believes that creativity, innovation and risk-taking motivatethe entire organisation when it is realised that they bring success. There is also room for failure.

As CEO, Vanne wants to set an example for people. He keeps his eyes open, has conversations with different people, but focuses on getting to know Vastuu Group's business in depth.

"I get frustrated with running the old and I miss some new stimulus. That's usually where the key to growth comes from."