Sustainability

Sustainability at Santa’s Hotels

Santa’s Hotels is a Finnish family-owned hotel chain based in Rovaniemi. The chain’s hotels are located in the northern part of Finland, with the southernmost being in Kalajoki and the northernmost in Kilpisjärvi.

At Santa’s Hotels, our values include the power of positivity, responsibility and situational awareness. In addition, the core value of Santa’s Hotels and our entire staff is faith in Santa Claus.

On this page, we tell more about our sustainability measures and the sustainability certificates granted to us.

Economic sustainability and corporate responsibility

We are committed to complying with laws and regulations. All our employees, trainees and volunteers have accident insurance.

Work is done to ensure a safe working environment and risk management, as well as to prevent all forms of harassment and inappropriate treatment, and shortcomings are addressed. There is a common communication channel called Falcony for reporting minor misses. Whistleblower is used to report grievances.

Santa’s Hotels employs employees from several different countries, especially during high seasons, and they may not be aware of their rights. All our employees are openly informed about their status and rights at the beginning of the employment relationship and during it, as necessary.

We are committed to anti-corruption and responsible procurement and investments. In our restaurants, we favour organic and Fairtrade products as well as local food whenever possible. The food and drink menus of our restaurants are marked for organic, vegetarian, vegan and local food options with clear signs.

In our operations, we strive to strengthen the regional development of each site and favour local operators and contractors in cooperation. Our primary goal is to recruit local residents so that the well-being of each area remains in the area and grows.

We collect customer feedback systematically and develop our operations based on it.

Sociocultural sustainability

We participate in the regional planning and development of sustainable tourism in cooperation with the target market organisation of each destination.

We are committed to training our staff members in environmental and sustainability issues related to their own job, as well as arranging other training that is essential to their work assignments to be carried out alongside work, so that employees can improve their skills or qualify for certain tasks.

Inclusivity means that we consider the individual needs of all travellers, regardless of their physical ability, culture, gender, sexual orientation or financial situation. We strive to offer accessible and equal travel experiences for everyone. The principles of inclusivity are also strongly present in our recruitment culture.

We are committed to promoting local culture, for example by using artwork from local artists and local materials in interior design. The restaurants promote and respect the local food culture, and customers are informed about the local way of life in customer service situations. The hotels sell local handicrafts and other souvenirs from local authors.

Ecological sustainability

We are committed to climate change adaptation and action to promote climate change mitigation. We reduce our carbon footprint by using energy-efficient technologies, reducing waste and favouring renewable energy sources.

Green Key certificates and STF labels tell about the results of our sustainability work and reflect the fact that our properties continuously maintain the strict sustainability standards required by these parties. By favouring destinations with these certificates and badges, travellers know that they are making a more sustainable choice.

We work together with customers, suppliers, employees and other interest groups to mitigate climate change and promote adaptation measures. We train our employees and inform our customers and interest groups about our climate actions and responsibility.

We do not use meat, fish or shellfish products from endangered or protected stocks or species.

We monitor energy consumption at all sites and reduce water consumption by limiting flows. We encourage our guests to save energy and water with reminders in hotel rooms.

We use eco-labelled detergents and cleaning products in our daily cleaning. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste and food waste by means of common guidelines and by communicating this common goal in a way that suits both staff and guests.

Many of our properties are located right in the embrace of northern nature, and it is especially important for us to respect and conserve the surrounding nature and encourage sustainable exercise in nature through our own communications. We want to ensure that the unique and clean northern nature remains a sustainable living space also in the future.

Sustainability certificates and labels

Green Key

Green Key is an internationally well known tourism sustainability certificate whose criteria are based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The certificate contains requirements related to:

reducing the environmental load

increasing social benefits

supporting the local economy

Green Key is also a sustainability programme in which the participating companies commit to the continuous development of their operations. The quality of operations is verified through regular, on-site audits. The certificate is awarded by an external, independent Green Key jury.

Read more about the Green Key sustainability certificate: What is Green Key?

The following hotels have been granted the Green Key sustainability certificate:

Santa’s Hotel Tunturi, Saariselkä
Santa’s Hotel Aurora, Luosto
Santa’s Hotel Santa Claus, Rovaniemi
Santa’s Igloos Arctic Circle, Rovaniemi
Santa’s Resort & Spa Hotel Sani, Kalajoki
Santa’s Hotel Rakka, Kilpisjärvi

STF – Sustainable Travel Finland label

The STF label has been received by the following hotels:

Santa’s Hotel Tunturi, Saariselkä
Santa’s Hotel Aurora, Luosto
Santa’s Resort & Spa Hotel Sani, Kalajoki
Santa’s Hotel Santa Claus, Rovaniemi
Santa’s Igloos Arctic Circle, Rovaniemi
Santa’s Hotel Rakka, Kilpisjärvi

The STF-label is the Sustainable Travel Finland label awarded by Visit Finland, which is used to communicate sustainable activities to tourists. The label’s goal is to promote sustainable tourism in Finland and facilitate sustainable choices for tourists.

Read more about the STF-label: Sustainable Travel Finland – Visit Finland