Haikko received Sustainable Travel Finland Certificate

Hotel Haikko Manor & Spa has received Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) certificate as the first travel service company in Porvoo. Haikko is located in the middle of a beautiful archipelago landscape and surrounded by 14 hectares park and sustainability has been one of its key values for long now. Haikko is committed to environmental responsibility to save our planet for the future generations. 

Haikko received Sustainable Travel Finland Certification 

The Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) programme and label are designed to promote responsible tourism in Finland. The companies that received their labels have fulfilled the programme criteria and will be audited regularly also in the future. 

”Hotel Haikko Manor is the first travel business in Porvoo to receive the Sustainable Travel Finland certification. Responsible and sustainable operations are increasingly important for the recovering international travel business, but they are also appreciated values  domestically”, says  Liisa Mäkelä, Sustainable Travel Development Manager at Business Finland.

Sustainable Travel Finland certification is a guideline to help travel businesses to develop their sustainable practises. Sustainable travel means commitment to having positive impacts on nature, society and economy, having the smallest possible ecological footprint and respecting our culture. Everyone can act as a responsible traveller at home and abroad by keeping nature clean, choosing environment-friendly travel, recycling and re-using and by diminishing consumption and waste. It is also important to choose locally and ethically produced food and products, and respect the local cultures and traditions.  

”We all have to stop at some point to evaluate our choices and their impacts as travellers and as travel businesses. Hotel Haikko Manor & Spa received, as the first Porvoo based company, the Sustainable Travel Finland certificate. This clearly indicates Haikko's  aim to develop its operations responsibly and provide their guests sustainable choices according to their own values”, says Sari Myllynen, Head of Tourism and Marketing at City of Porvoo. ”City of Porvoo wants to support all Porvoo based companies' efforts in sustainability and we participate Carbon Neutral Experience project together with other 14 municipalities in the Uusimaa region”, says Myllynen.

Haikko has had an environmental certificate for several years. Haikko is also a certified member of international Green Key programme since 2018. Sustainable Travel Finland certificate is a natural continuum in our sustainability programme. Undergoing the Sustainable Travel Finland programme is a versatile process creating good guidelines for managing the programme criteria. ”The certificate encourages us to  go through our operations annually and consider how to improve it in the future”, says Juha Mähönen, Managing Director of Hotel Haikko Manor & Spa. 

”We follow our water and energy consumption and amount of waste very closely. It gives us valuable data on our consumption rates and helps us to make better choices. We have environmental action plans in several departments in 2022 and we have nominated contact persons to  ensure that the objectives will be met. The contact persons will communicate with the Green team members and follow the development", continues Juha Mähönen.

Haikko is Pioneering in Utilisation of Sea Water 

More than 60% of Haikko's heating energy is derived from the sea and 35% is produced by non-polluting natural gas. The piping underwater installed collects energy and provides air conditioning in the summer. We only use locally produced, environment friendly electricity that is EKO-certified by The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Regular monitoring of the products we use also helps us in making sustainable and environment friendly choices.

Seasonal, Domestic Raw Materials

Haikko's à la carte menus are changed three times a year and local, organic raw materials are preferred. This enables our kitchen to use seasonal, domestic ingredients. Also vegetarian and vegan options are always available. 

We Encourage our Guests to Outdoor Activities

Haikko offers great possibilities for outdoor activities: the Manor Park and nature nearby are within very easy access. We have nordic walking sticks and bicycle rentals and you will find online instructions and routes for hiking and bicycling in Haikko and Porvoo. We even rent SUP boards and kayaks in the summer.  We will also be pleased to instruct you how to take a bus to and from Porvoo or Helsinki

We respect our local history and culture, and we will be pleased to guide you to follow the footsteps of artist Albert Edelfelt, take a nice walk to visit his Studio and to the places where he painted many of his famous works.

Environmentally Friendly Products and Reducing Detergent Load

Environmental impacts are important criteria in Haikko's purchasing principles. New combustion engine driven appliances should be low-emission ones and have environmental certification. No tropical trees will be used in the future to decorate hotel rooms. Haikko's marketing operations are mainly carried out online, and the amount of printed matters has been reduced for environmental reasons. 

Hotel textiles do not require chemical wash and the valuable old carpets in the Manor are steam washed. Hotel laundry is mainly washed by Comforta Oy who follows the ISO-14001 environmental certification programme. 

Social and Financial Responsibility

Hotel Haikko Manor & Spa is a Finnish family business, whose tax revenues remain in Finland. Exceptionally long lasting employments and small employee turnover are characteristic at Haikko - we value long working experience. We are a multicultural work place where equality and multilinguality are natural aspects of our working environment.  Excellent customer service is always our top priority.