Eerikkilä Sport & Outdoor Resort has been awarded the Sustainable Travel Finland label as a sign of long-term work for sustainable tourism. This is already the second recognition of sustainable tourism received by Eerikkilä, as in early summer Eerikkilä was awarded the world’s leading ecolabel Green Key. Eerikkilä is the first sports institute to have a Sustainable Travel Finland label or a Green Key certificate.
Located between two national parks, Eerikkilä Sport & Outdoor Resort is a meeting place of football and floorball as well as all everyone interested in their own well-being. Eerikkilä offers versatile and high-quality services for sports, studies, business events, and nature and exercise experiences in Kanta-Häme, Tammela, just one hour’s drive from the largest cities in Finland.
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN FINLAND
The aim of the Sustainable Travel Finland label and development programme is to promote sustainable tourism in Finland. The label can be obtained by a tourism company that participates in the Sustainable Travel Finland programme developed by Visit Finland and meets all criteria set for the label. Responsibility is now of interest to both domestic and foreign tourists, especially younger generations. Responsible tourism is ecologically, economically, and ethically sustainable.
“Eerikkilä is doing excellent and practical work on sustainability. Renewable energy, efficient recycling, ecological practices, favouring local food, avoiding food waste, improving water and electricity consumption, and co-operation with local producers are examples of normal everyday life for a responsible company such as Eerikkilä. In addition to environmental actions, sustainable tourism takes into account socio-cultural well-being, which can be seen, for example, as investing in personnel’s well-being,” says Liisa Mäkelä, an expert in responsible tourism from the Visit Finland unit of Business Finland.
FUTURE OBJECTIVES
Eerikkilä’s responsibility programme has already guided the operating methods of a company for several years. The latest measures in Eerikkilä include the introduction of its own solar park, changing shower taps into ones that reduce water consumption in the accommodation spaces, and giving up disposable containers in restaurants and cafés.
Laura Sirén, Marketing Manager at Eerikkilä, celebrates the fruits of the work done by the entire personnel.
“I am happy that we are recognised for what we have been working on for several years. Being a part of the programme has been very rewarding and through this we have received good new tools for our responsibility work, which will help us to promote sustainable tourism in the future as well.”
Eerikkilä has also set goals related to responsibility for its activities in the future. Among other things, the aim is to halve the carbon footprint by 2030 and to be emission-free from 2040. Green Key and Sustainable Travel Finland also set new targets for those who have received the label each year.
“I thank our personnel for both acknowledgements. They have, in accordance with our strategy, committed to developing our responsible operating methods,” says Petri Jakonen, CEO of Eerikkilä.
WHAT DOES RESPONSIBILITY MEAN IN EERIKKILÄ?
Our responsibility programme guides our way of doing things and helps us make the world a better place for people and nature to flourish. We take everyday environmental action and take care of the local nature. We are speaking on behalf of the local community. We promote the well-being of our personnel and our customers.
You can learn more about Eerikkilä’s responsibility themes here.
Article is originally published at www.visithame.fi webpage.
