Original Sokos Hotel Arina has been certified with the Sustainable Travel Finland label
Arina Cooperative Society's Original Sokos Hotel Arina in Oulu has been certified with the Sustainable Travel Finland label at the end of January as recognition of its valuable and long-term work for sustainable travel. The "Sustainable Travel Finland" programme developed by Visit Finland helps Finnish tourism companies adopt sustainable and responsible practices. Companies that complete the STF programme and fulfil their criteria are certified with the Sustainable Travel Finland label, and their operations are monitored and reviewed regularly. The STF label helps consumers identify responsible tourism companies.
The operations of Arina Cooperative Society and its locations such as Original Sokos Hotel Arina support the vitality of their local areas, promote cooperation between local companies and ensure the continuity of services in both growth centres and more sparsely populated areas. As part of the "Sustainable Travel Finland" programme, Original Sokos Hotel Arina's personnel have examined their practical operations through environmental, economic, sociocultural and ethical responsibility. The hotel has also examined its operations from the perspective of visitor experience development, the operational impact on the sustainability of the infrastructure used, the adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, and considering the local community as part of business operations.
"At Original Sokos Hotel Arina, sustainable travel and responsibility are essential ways of working for us in all sectors. We've been actively working on responsibility development for several years now," says Päivi Kaarlela, general manager of Original Sokos Hotel Arina.
"The STF programme has also brought up a lot of thoughts and ideas about our future development needs. These include creating indicators for the sustainability of travel, including customers more actively, and improving communications on our numerous impactful actions," says Kaarlela in naming a few examples of the label's requirements.
"The preparatory work for the "Sustainable Travel Finland" label has been ongoing for several years through the Green Key certificate, which our hotel has held since 2016. We will also continue the comprehensive sustainability development of our operations, both through our Green Key work and through the STF label's framework," says hotel manager Tiina Uusikartano.
"Each year, we draw up new development plans that guide our development work. We do comprehensive development work through measures such as promoting commuting exercise with the workplace bicycle maintenance point, preventing food waste with the Resq application, and by developing and engaging in various ways in cooperation with local communities and companies," says the hotel's shift manager Elina Muhonen