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Finland is preparing for nationwide energy savings and winter consumption peaks in order to maintain sufficient energy for everyone. Sokos Hotels are taking part in these energy saving measures. By making small changes, we can accomplish a lot, while maintaining a pleasant hotel experience. These measures will save energy and reduce emissions from the hospitality trade.

Changes in conditions 

Sokos Hotels will lower the temperature of rooms and restaurants by a degree.
Ventilation will be reduced at peak times. We still guarantee clean and good indoor air quality.

Changes in our services

• Opening hours of guest saunas will be shortened, depending on hotel.

Preparing for possible power outages

• We make every effort to minimize the incidents caused to our guests and prioritize the safety of our guests and employees.
• We aim to communicate upcoming outages and their impact in good time.

You can contribute to energy savings during your visit

• Please don't change the pre-set room temperature
• Please avoid running water unnecessarily
• Keep the windows closed
• Please use the sauna with consideration
• Please only use adequate lighting
• Please always turn off the lights when leaving the room

Press release 22/11/2022

Sokos Hotels was the first hotel chain in Finland to join the emission offsetting programme offered to private customers. During the first year, the funds accumulated through the programme have been used to conserve and plant forests, create new carbon sinks, and develop innovations for carbon sequestration.

In November 2021, a change in the Money Collection Act entered into force, allowing consumers to offset the climate emissions they cause. The Sokos Hotels chain made this offsetting possible for its customers as soon as the change in the legislation entered into force.

"Our customers were requesting voluntary offsetting, and this possibility has clearly been received very positively. During the first year, we've already offset the emissions of thousands of hotel stays and breakfasts. Offering offsets is a natural continuation to our impactful and long-term sustainability work," says Jukka Kaartinen, Development Manager with SOK's travel and hospitality business chain management.

The offsets from the year's hotel guests have been used to sequester an amount of carbon equal to the emissions of driving more than a million kilometres in a car.

The price of offsetting at Sokos Hotels is currently only EUR 0.47 per night in Finland and EUR 1.22 in Tallinn. The prices are based on average emissions per room. The prices are low because the electricity used by all Sokos Hotels is produced with renewable sources, and the energy efficiency of the hotels has been steadily improved for years. In practice, the only things to offset are the emissions produced due to breakfasts and heating the property.

The offsetting programme makes the reduction of the customer's carbon footprint visible to them

The offset paid by customers for their emissions does not affect S Group's own climate work.

"The offsets are an additional service offered to customers by hotels so that customers can reduce their own daily carbon footprint themselves. The offsets paid by customers are not counted as part of S Group's own climate goals," Kaartinen emphasises.  

The climate goals S Group has set for its own operations are ambitious. In 2015–2020, the retail group reduced the carbon emissions of its operations by 70 per cent. In addition to its own climate action, S Group has challenged its suppliers to reduce their carbon emissions as well by a million tonnes in total. The Big Deal challenge has already been accepted by more than a hundred companies.

Support for climate projects

The funds collected through the offsetting programme are used to fund projects in which carbon already released into the atmosphere is sequestered in forests or the soil. The offsets of Sokos Hotel customers have been allocated to projects in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America.

"Emissions have been offset by measures such as developing innovations in new kinds of carbon sequestration with kelp, reforestation projects in Kenya, and protecting large wetlands on the southern coast of Borneo in Indonesia," says Kaartinen.

The efficiency of carbon sequestering is scientifically verified and certified. Sokos Hotels' partner in the offsetting is the Finnish Compensate foundation. Compensate is a Finnish operator with an offsetting model focusing on significant overcompensation, meaning that the amount of carbon sequestered from the atmosphere is always at least the amount of carbon emissions produced. Their projects are always additive, meaning that the offsetting operations must result in a verifiable increase in carbon sequestration.

Press release 4.11.2022

Sokos Hotels received the award Brand of the Year 2022 in the hotel category of the international World Branding Awards. This is the globally most recognised brand award.

This year's awards ceremonies were held on 3 November in the royal residence of London's Kensington Palace, where the Sokos Hotels award was accepted by Nina Nieminen, Director of revenue management and distribution at SOK Travel Industry Chain Management, and Jaana Matikainen, Vice President Development & Concepts.

The winners of the Brand of the Year title are selected based on a public vote, consumer market research and brand valuation. Awards are presented by country, continent and worldwide. This year, a total of 3500 brands from 45 countries were nominated, and 206 were awarded. Sokos Hotels was awarded at national level and is the only Finnish hotel brand to receive this recognition.

Creating happiness as core value in brand building

"We value this recognition highly. The Sokos Hotels brand is the result of almost 50 years of marketing, communications, service design and quality assurance. The Sokos Hotels brand is, however, best represented by our staff, as a brand identity is formed by the people who work there. Our staff carry out the Sokos Hotels mission of happiness by creating unforgettable customer experiences on a daily basis", says a proud Outi Vitie, Marketing Director.

The most sustainable hotel chain in Finland

"Our customers consider the Finnish hotel chain reliable, responsible and safe. Values that are particularly appreciated in the current global situation and in the aftermath of the pandemic," Outi Vitie confirms.

Sustainability work is continuous at Sokos Hotels. Efforts to reduce food waste have been in place for years and energy efficiency is constantly improved. Since 2021, the chain has offered its customers the possibility to offset the carbon footprint of their stay. It is committed to the S Group's goal to achieve carbon negativity by the end of 2025. All Sokos Hotels are eco label Green Key-certified.

"The Brand of the Year award and the many domestic recognitions we have received over the years serve as encouragement as we continue our important and responsible work for the good of our staff and customers," Vitie adds.

Sokos Hotels has been named Finland's most respected hotel chain, Finland's most trusted and Finland's most sustainable hotel chain for several consecutive years.

12.10.2022

Upscale Solo Sokos Hotel Pier 4 will open by the seaside pier at Helsinki's Katajanokka in summer 2024. The hotel will offer a glimpse of hotel stays of the future, with emphasis on multi-sensory experiences, individuality and sustainability. The new hotel forms part of the S Group's strong investment in the central Helsinki hotel scene.

Solo Sokos Hotel Pier 4 will be located in a new building owned by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company. The property named Katajanokan Laituri will, in addition to a hotel, house the new head office of Stora Enso, conference facilities and café and restaurant facilities open to the public on the street level and rooftop terrace. 

The hotel will have 164 rooms. The rooms will overlook the Baltic Sea, the Katajanokka area or the hotel courtyard with a Finnish meadow. The proximity to nature and the natural materials used throughout the hotel create a unique atmosphere that speaks to all senses. 

A masterpiece of Finnish expertise – responsibility through cooperation

The building, designed by Anttinen Oiva Arkkitehdit Oy, will be the flagship of Finnish wood architecture, and an attraction in itself.

A LEED Platinum environmental certificate will be applied for the building aiming for carbon neutrality and using energy solely from renewable sources. The electricity used by the hotel will mainly be generated by the S Group itself. The ambitious goal is to create Finland's most environmentally responsible hotel, taken into consideration throughout planning and operations. 

"The new Solo Sokos Hotel Pier 4, located in the city's most luminous location, will act as a showcase of Finnish know-how, where responsibility and sustainability will steer hotel operations, from choices of raw materials to services. We appreciate being able to bring a highly valued Finnish hotel brand into this unique property, which will also be of interest to international tourists," says Jari Annala, CEO at Sokotel Oy. 

One example of sustainability during construction was the demolition of the city's old office and warehouse building which earlier occupied the plot, where most of the demolition waste was recovered as recycled material. 

"We are happy to have Sokotel as a tenant and to continue our excellent cooperation. Sokotel is, among others, also our tenant in the Hotel Torni property in Helsinki. As a responsible real estate investor, with climate change mitigation as a key sustainability goal, we particularly appreciate the hotel's ambitious climate responsibility," says Sari Raunio, Property Development Director at Varma. 

In addition to the hotel, the building will house the new head office of Stora Enso. "Sustainability is at the core of Stora Enso business. We are pleased to work with Finland's most responsible hotel brand in a wooden building erected in one of Helsinki's prime locations," says Antto Kauhanen, Business Development Manager at Stora Enso and heading the project.

The Helsinki hotel scene is undergoing an unprecedented change

Helsinki's attractiveness as a tourist destination is on the rise. Approximately half of Helsinki's overnight stays consist of business travel, and Helsinki is already the 13th most popular congress city in the world (Source: UIA Union of International Associations)

"The new hotel complements the already growing hotel capacity, complementing it with large conference and banquet facilities. Larger facilities in the city centre are needed when competing for international congresses and corporate events. The location and the interesting design will attract tourists interested in architecture," says Leena Lassila, Visitor Attraction Director at Helsinki Partners.

The advantage the S Group holds in the accelerating hotel competition in Helsinki is the comprehensive offer of hotels that are of interest to both domestic and international tourists. They support the growth of tourism in Helsinki and revitalize the city image. 

Two completely renovated iconic Helsinki hotels, Solo Sokos Hotels Torni and Helsinki, have already been opened this year. Next summer, Sokotel will open high-quality Radisson RED hotel, the first of its kind in Finland, on the corner of the Kaisaniemi Park and Vuorikatu.

"Our goal is to create the most interesting hotel portfolio in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Hotels are increasingly expected to offer memorable and high-quality experiences, both for business and leisure purposes. This is the reason for the quality investment in the heart of Helsinki, where competition is intensive. We want to take the lead in this competition," Annala emphasizes.

Solo Sokos Hotel Pier 4
Katajanokanlaituri 4, Helsinki
164 rooms
Event venue, conference rooms, restaurant, café and rooftop terrace with sea views
Opens in 2024