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SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Kalajoki’s famous Hiekkasärkät sand dunes and the surrounding unique marine nature offer a wonderful setting for a vacation and plenty to do for tourists and locals alike. In order to maintain the attractiveness of our region in the future as well, we must incorporate responsible practices, services, and sustainable choices into our everyday actions. We want to promote sustainable, high-quality tourism and serve all our customers equally and in an environmentally-friendly manner, so that each of them can experience a memorable adventure in Kalajoki.

The Kalajoki Booking Centre is committed to promoting sustainable tourism and we are part of Visit Finland’s Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) programme, we`ve been certificated by company-specific responsibility STF-quality label. Through the programme, we commit to continuous development work and our own sustainable tourism action plan. Along with the STF programme, we have developed our own environmental programme. As a proof of this, we have been awarded the EcoCompass environmental certificate. We have identified the environmental impacts of our company and have committed to act responsibly and take environmental issues into account in our operations.

CERTIFIED ENVIRONMENTAL WORK

The EcoCompass is an industry-independent environmental management system based on the international ISO140001 standard. The system is owned by Finland’s oldest and most influential environmental organisation, the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. The EcoCompass certificate is awarded to organisations that have identified their most significant environmental impacts through an environmental impact assessment and established an environmental programme with objectives, measures, and indicators for continuous improvement of environmental performance. An independent auditor assesses whether the organisation’s environmental responsibility work meets the 10 criteria set by the EcoCompass certificate. The organisation reports annually on the programme measures and indicators, and the fulfilment of the criteria is monitored through re-audits every three years.

EXAMPLES OF CONCRETE MEASURES INCLUDED IN OUR ENVIROMENTAL PROGRAMME

  • We have reduced the amount of cleaning agents used in the cleaning of holiday homes and, where possible, replaced the agents with domestic eco-labelled alternatives.
  • We always plan the routes of our cleaning trucks to be as efficient as possible in order to avoid unnecessary driving, save fuel, and reduce emissions.
  • We favour local products, services, subcontractors, and workforce.
  • Our work clothes use eco-labelled textiles made from recycled materials purchased from a local operator.
  • We are moving towards a paperless office.
  • We minimise our purchases and we are switching to more environmentally-friendly advertising products.
  • We immediately recycle the waste generated in our operations and we instruct local tourists and vacation home owners in sorting and recycling waste.
  • We provide information on how to get around by public transport, on foot or by bike, and if necessary, we organise connecting transport from stations to events.
  • We act as an information provider in environmental issues between tourists and various stakeholders.

OUR ENVIROMENTAL PROMISE

At the Kalajoki Booking Centre, we promise to promote more economically, socio-culturally and environmentally sustainable tourism. With the environmental management system, we are committed to taking into account our environmental responsibility and the values and practices of sustainable development. We promote the principles of sustainable tourism as part of our everyday operations and encourage our customers and partners to do the same. We train our staff to act in accordance with our company values and environmental promise.

We favour local products and service providers, and we are committed to responsible procurement and operating methods. We minimise our waste and recycle as much as possible. We instruct the owners of the holiday homes we provide to ensure proper waste management at the properties. We also instruct and inform local customers and tourists to act in an environmentally-friendly manner. We act as an information provider in environmental issues between tourists, local operators, and the city.

ENERGY SAVING TIPS FOR RESPONSIBLE ACCOMMODATION

  • Avoid changing preset room temperatures. Keep the windows and balcony door closed to keep the heat in. Air out the rooms quickly with cross ventilation.
  • Use water sparingly: take short showers and avoid running water unnecessarily.
  • Only wash full loads in the dishwasher and washing machine and use quick and economy programmes and lower washing temperatures. Use the tumble dryer/drying cabinet only when necessary.
  • Use the electric stove and oven efficiently, make use of pre- and post-heating. Keep the cooker hood on only when necessary. Use the microwave oven to heat and cook small portions of food.
  • Consider heating up the sauna only when needed.
  • Keep the lighting to a minimum and turn off the lights when you leave the room.
  • Use the fireplace to warm up the space and enjoy the atmosphere.
  • In the summer, cool the rooms efficiently: keep doors, windows and curtains closed during the day, take advantage of cool night air for ventilation, and avoid using heat-producing devices.