Responsibility
We are a tourism company Kaidan Kiho Villas and Tuukkala Tila B&B in the lake region of Saimaa. We have been awarded the Green Key certificate since 2018, which is a worldwide environmental label for sustainable operations in the tourism industry. The label says that we are committed to increasing the environmental awareness of staff and customers, increasing the efficiency of energy and water use, and reducing the environmental burden of accommodation operations. The Sustainable Travel Finland label developed by Visit Finland was awarded to us as the first in the our region on 10.06.2020.
At Kaidan Kiho, Green Key means that customers can enjoy the ecological luxury of our villas. Tuukkala’s Tila B&B has used old buildings in its operations.
Our villas are built from traditional Finnish material, logs from the nearby forests. The insulation between the logs is flax grown in the field, and the sound and heat insulation of the roof is ecowool made from recycled paper fibers. The villas are painted with natural Uula paints and the surface materials are chosen with durability and easy cleaning in mind. The yard environments have been left as natural as possible. Local labor and expertise have been used in the construction work.
The technology of the villas has also been chosen with ecology in mind. The newest villas do not have windows that can be opened and waste energy, but in the summer the cooling is controlled by an air heat pump, which also stops automatically if the door is open for a certain time. The ventilation is equipped with heat recovery. The showers are timed and the toilets work under negative pressure, saving up to 230,000 liters of potable water from the borehole per year. The heating of all the villas and the production of hot water are done by geothermal heat pumps from the lake.
B&B rooms are heated with air heat pumps. We do not use heating at all in summer-use granagy accommodations.
Waste is sorted and recycled and bio-waste is composted. There are also dry toilets near the beach saunas. Gray water is treated in real estate. The water from the borehole is drinkable. When the accommodations are empty, the temperature is lowered and the air conditioning is set to a lower setting. The electrical energy we use is all renewable.
The firewood is made from our own forest. All detergents are environmentally friendly. There are plenty of birdhouses in the yard, whose inhabitants are nice to watch, and the birdhouses also tax the mosquitoes.
As a socially responsible company, we commit to complying with laws, regulations and international agreements, and we understand the effects of our operations on the surrounding society. Responsible business operations include respect for human rights, opposition to all forms of discrimination, transparency and control of operations, and reporting on operations. An important part of social responsibility is also the agreements that protect the rights of employees and their extension to subcontracting chains and partners. We fight corruption and commercial, sexual or other exploitation of children, teenagers, women, minorities and other vulnerable groups, as well as all kinds of harassment. Our animals, cats and chickens, are doing well and are allowed to behave in accordance with their species. We have ongoing insurance for employees and trainees in case of a work accident. We do not sell, trade or display endangered plants and animals and/or historical and archaeological artefacts.
The staff has participated in inclusive training to improve understanding of equality.
By equality, we mean that we treat all people respectfully and equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnic or national origin, citizenship, language, religion or belief, opinion, disability, health condition, sexual orientation or other reason related to the person.
We commit to using local, organic, eco-labelled and seasonal products as much as possible. We do not use meat, fish or shellfish products that come from endangered or protected stocks or species. We have an action plan to reduce food waste.
Risk and crisis management is taken into account in our operations. Rescue plans have been made for our destinations. The staff participates in regional sustainable tourism planning and development in projects and meetings. Personnel are trained in environmental and responsibility issues.
Cleaning and linen services are part of our quality and safety. We put the linens on the beds and do a thorough cleaning between our guests. During the cleaning visit, we note and repair broken structures and furniture, leaking taps, light bulbs.
The surroundings provide opportunities for ecological hobbies, such as fishing, walking, picking berries, picking mushrooms and cycling. The boats have environmentally friendly electric outboard motors.
With responsible energy measures, we want to influence climate change and the use of natural resources towards a smaller carbon footprint. We have calculated the carbon footprint.
Leena Valkonen has been named as the environmental manager.