Sustainability at Haikko

Haikon Kartano Hotel received the first Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) label in Eastern Uusimaa as a travel company in 02/2022. The hotel, located amidst beautiful archipelago scenery and a 14-hectare seaside park, has a long tradition of sustainable development. At Haikko, there is a desire to influence the environment with its activities so that future generations will also have a clean living environment.    

Sustainable Travel Finland Label

The STF program is intended for Finnish travel companies and destinations to develop more sustainable practices. Participants who have completed the STF program and meet the criteria receive the Sustainable Travel Finland label. Companies and destinations that have received the label are regularly audited.

The Sustainable Travel Finland label is a guideline for companies to develop their operations in the field of sustainable tourism. Sustainable tourism is committed to having a positive impact on nature, society, and the economy, leaving a small ecological footprint and respecting local cultures. Everyone can influence this by acting as a responsible traveler domestically and abroad, such as keeping nature clean, choosing environmentally friendly travel options, recycling, reusing, and reducing overall consumption and waste. It is also important to choose locally produced and ethically manufactured food and products and to respect local communities and traditions. 

Haikon Kartano has had an environmental certificate for years. Applying for the Sustainable Travel Finland label was a natural continuation of our activities in the field of sustainable development. The label application process is versatile and simultaneously provides the company with instructions for managing the label's criteria.

Haikko is a Responsible Energy User

Over 60% of the heating energy for Haikko's properties comes from sea heat, and 35% of the heating energy is purely from natural gas. In the summer, a collection pipeline on the seabed provides cooling to the hotel's premises. All the electricity we use is produced in an environmentally friendly way.

Seasonal Domestic Ingredients in Restaurants

The à la carte menu changes three times a year, and food is sourced locally and organically when available. This allows us to use seasonal, domestic ingredients in our dishes. Our restaurants always offer vegetarian and vegan options. 

We Encourage Our Guests to Enjoy Nature

The Haikko manor park and the nearby nature area are ideal for enjoying nature. We rent walking poles and bicycles to customers, and our website guides the best places for independent movement in Haikko and Porvoo. In the summer, there is kayak and paddleboard rental available at the shore. A bus also runs directly from Porvoo to Haikko, and hotel guests are encouraged to use it. It is easy for customers to visit Haikko and Porvoo by bus.

We respect local history and culture by guiding customers to follow in the footsteps of Albert Edelfelt; to explore the artist's Studio Museum and the locations where his famous paintings were created.

More Environmentally Friendly Products and Reducing Detergent Load

When acquiring products, attention is paid to their environmental impact over their lifecycle. 
When acquiring new equipment with combustion engines, it is ensured that they are low-emission or environmentally labelled. For future acquisitions, a guideline has been made that no tropical woods will be purchased for hotel room furnishings. Haikko has mostly switched to electronic marketing, and the amount of printed materials has been consciously reduced for environmental reasons.

The textiles used in the hotel do not require dry cleaning, and the manor's old valuable carpets are cleaned with steam cleaning. The majority of the hotel's laundry is washed at the laundry service Comforta Oy, which adheres to the ISO-14001 environmental management system in its operations. 

Social Responsibility

Caring for customers, respecting human rights, non-discrimination, equality, good management, employee well-being and safety are essential to us. This means good and equal customer service at Haikko and, for instance, decades-long careers.

Social responsibility includes aspects related to the organization's personnel, but more broadly also impacts on society. Social responsibility also includes other indirect impacts on different groups of people in other countries. An important aspect is also the safety of the organization's products.

Social responsibility also means taking care of partners and responsibly developing tourism in the Porvoo area together with other actors. We are part of the HelsinkiEast tourism cooperation network.
At Haikko, every task is an important part of the company's operations, so everyone's opinions are valued, and the operations are developed together.

We are also a multicultural workplace, where employees in different departments are treated equally, and the use of many different languages in the work community is natural – not forgetting excellent customer service.

Economic Responsibility

Haikon Kartano is a Finnish family business that pays its tax revenue to Finland. Haikon Kartano is also the largest hotel in Eastern Uusimaa and a significant employer in the area. 

Economic responsibility covers both the sustainability of the business and the economic impacts outside the organization. Transparency is important both locally and on a broader scale.

Economic responsibility also includes ensuring business profitability, competitiveness, and efficiency. It is clear that an organization can only take care of its social and environmental responsibilities if its financial performance is sufficiently good. Risk management is part of economic responsibility so that the company's operations can continue in the future. 

• We use water and energy as efficiently and sparingly as possible, sort and recycle waste, and educate our staff on environmental issues

• Our room cleaning service uses environmentally certified cleaning agents for daily cleaning

• Our restaurants offer a wide range of local and organic food

• We actively communicate about our environmental work throughout the entire staff and also encourage our customers to join in

• Increasing environmental awareness as part of everyday activities is the responsibility of the entire staff

• We are pioneers in Finland in utilizing sea heat. Over 60% of the heating energy we use is obtained cleanly from the sea. Only during the coldest frosts is oil needed.

• All the electricity we use is supplied by Porvoon Energia, environmentally friendly EKO energy certified by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. It is produced from local wood chips at the Tolkkisten bio power plant in Porvoo.

• The operating times of air conditioning units can be adjusted more precisely. Most air conditioning units are automated so that the operating speed of the units adjusts automatically according to the CO/2 concentration in the space. Heat recovery is included in all significant exhaust units.

• In the area of Manor & Spa Hotel Haikko, mainly LED or fluorescent tube lighting is used. Our customers are guided in many ways to save energy by turning off the lights when leaving a room/private space whenever possible.

• Water consumption is aimed to be minimized with water-saving fixtures and by adjusting, for example, the volume of toilet cisterns. Water consumption is monitored daily, and immediate action is taken during peak consumption periods. Hotel guests are instructed to leave towels to be washed on the floor to avoid unnecessary laundry, and changes of sheets have been reduced. Well water is used for watering lawns and plants. In addition, the restaurant's dishwashers are low-water usage.

• When acquiring products, we aim to pay attention to their environmental impact throughout their lifecycle. When purchasing new combustion engine-powered tools, we ensure that they are low-emission or environmentally certified. We avoid disposable products and packaging whenever possible.

• At Manor & Spa Hotel Haikko, furniture dating back to the 1800s is still in use, being restored and reupholstered as needed. The Spa Hotel side features furniture from various decades, starting from the 1960s. The hotel's practice is to acquire durable and easily restorable furniture, which is taken care of by the hotel staff themselves. Curtains, bedspreads, and other textiles are also sewn in-house. The newest bed linens are eco-labeled. When making new bedding purchases, environmentally certified options are chosen. Old items that are being phased out are sold at affordable prices at flea markets organized for the staff and residents of Porvoo.

• The textiles used in the hotel do not require chemical cleaning. The old valuable carpets of the manor are cleaned with steam washing. The majority of the hotel laundry is washed at the laundry service Comforta Ltd. Comforta follows the ISO-14001 environmental management system in its operations.

• The restaurant's à la carte menu changes three times a year, allowing the use of seasonal ingredients in the dishes. The restaurant always offers vegetarian and vegan options as well.

• There is a bus directly from Porvoo to Manor & Spa Hotel Haikko, and hotel guests are guided on how to use it. In the summer, you can also reach the pier by m/s J.L. Runeberg.

• The company encourages its employees to cycle by providing enough bike racks, shower facilities, and changing rooms at the workplace. During summers, customers can rent bicycles. The staff also has the opportunity to use the manor's bicycles.

• In Haikko, the focus has shifted mainly to digital marketing. The amount of printed materials has been intentionally reduced for environmental reasons. Customers are offered free wireless internet throughout the Manor & Spa Hotel Haikko area. The v's website provides extensive information about Haikko's services, booking system, and information about the hotel's environmental plan.