Sustainability Report of Lietsu
Our key sustainability actions during years 2019-2023
At Lietsu Boutique Aparthotel, we have aimed to act sustainably since the beginning of the business. Now, for the first time, our key actions of responsibility have also been gathered together in a form of a sustainability report. Of course, this is just the beginning - step by step we strive towards a more sustainable future! By now, Lietsu has been awarded the Regional Environmental Award 2021 of the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, North Karelia, and the Responsible Tourism Operator of the Year 2022 of the North Karelia Tourism Association.
Our Promise
We follow the EcoCompass environmental management system
Lietsu’s core values include responsibility from all its aspects as well as sustainable management of environmental issues. In hotel operations, we want to offer a responsible and experiential accommodation option for the guests arriving in Joensuu. In other sectors of our business, we follow the same principles of responsibility. By offering expert services, we also aim to increase the sustainability knowledge of other companies and organizations in line with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).
We are committed to reducing negative environmental and other operational impacts in accordance with the principles of continuous improvement. Our company invests in responsible products and services, sustainable methods of operation and local cooperation. We strive to reduce our footprint and increase our handprint from the perspectives of energy, water, materials, and for example, biodiversity.
Sustainability Goals
The following are the most important UN Sustainable Development Goals for us:
- Protect the Planet
- Responsible Consumption
- Good Jobs and Economic Growth.
In the climate partnership agreement with the city of Joensuu (Climate Joensuu), we are committed:
- To make our food, goods and service purchases favoring local production, local raw materials and suppliers, and using recycled products whenever safely possible.
- To guide our customers in sorting waste and saving energy and water, to upskill our personnel to be material and energy wise, and to minimize the amount of food waste.
- To share with our customers information about walking and cycling routes around the hotel, and the possibilities of using public transport.
- To offer our guests bicycles for shared use as well as charging points for electric cars.
- To minimize paper consumption by enabling paperless check-in and check-out processes for customers.
Carbon Footprint
Lowering year by year
Lietsu’s carbon footprint has now been calculated twice – first for 2021 (7.46 kg CO2eq/room night) and now for 2023 (5.90 kg CO2eq/room night)*. The calculation includes the entire operation of Lietsu Services Ltd., of which the effect of hotel operations is, however, almost 100%.
We have used an Excel-based tool for the calculation, which has been developed as part of the Climate Joensuu project work funded by the Ministry of the Environment (City of Joensuu 2021–2022). We have also received support for the calculation from the experts and students of the Karelia University of Applied Sciences.
The calculation has been made at the Scope 3 level, taking into account our own operations. The carbon footprint of customers’ transport is not included in the figures for now, but we will pay more attention to it in the coming years. In the spring of 2024, a thesis has been completed, in which a scenario tool has also been created for evaluating the carbon footprint of passengers.
*Comparison figures for the industry: Based on the available values, the carbon footprint of Finnish accommodation companies varies on average between 12–30 CO2eq/room night and in Central Europe between 40–50 CO2eq/room night.
Socio-economic impact
Keeping euros in the own region
By directing procurement actions to own region, even a small company can have a significant impact on the regional economy!
According to a calculation* by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland, the overall employment impact of Lietsu in the regional economy of North Karelia in 2023, taking into account the multiplier effects, was 6.5 person years, and the household income impact was ca. 350,000 euros.
Regional economic impact is generated by everyday choices: we purchase as close as possible and employ local people. In 2023, we procured products or services from 58 North Karelian companies, and employed 10 people full-time or part-time (8 person years in total). In addition, we offer on-the-job learning or internships for 4-8 students each year, and we act as a client for several theses and study projects.
*The calculation is based on the input-output calculation model for employment and income effects in the regional economy. Researchers Olli Lehtonen and Lasse Okkonen have described the model in more detail, e.g. in this publication.
Our Fellow People and Culture
Together, of course!
At Lietsu, we draw from the Karelian culture both in the hotel’s interior design, service attitude and at the breakfast table. For example, 1,600 second hand cups and 100 chairs have found a new purpose at Lietsu.
We cooperate with event organizers, pack experiences together with accommodation, and nurture both Karelian food and craft culture. From us you can get theater tickets as well as suggestions for finding Karelian food and delicacies, and in our lounge you may hear some sweet tunes of local music or the clink of knitting needles.
Our goal is to bring the Karelian cultural heritage to the fore, both for locals and the guests. Each of our rooms tells its unique story and our personnel always has time to introduce the sights of the region or discuss about the Finnish sauna tradition.
The most important is that everyone is welcome as they are! We believe that diversity is richness, and Lietsu’s door is open to all. The Lietsu team has participated in two inclusivity training events, which have provided additional knowledge about the path to equality.
Next Steps
Our action plan for years 2024-2025
- We will work harder towards safeguarding biodiversity
As we locate in the city center, nurturing biodiversity is a bit challenging, but we roll up our sleeves to embrace natural diversity
forward even more. The goal is supported by a new partnership with the North Karelia Biosphere Reserve. Since the summer of 2023, our balcony has housed herbs and summer flowers to the delight of bees and other pollinators, and in the autumn of 2024 we have planted flower bulbs at yard to wait for the first spring pollinators. - We will develop our work procedures to be more systematic
and improve the measurement of sustainability actions
By measuring, things become visible! As part of our everyday work, we measure more precisely not only energy and water consumption, but also e.g. waste fractions, purchases and customers’ ways of transport. We also invest even more in social responsibility aspects such as occupational well-being. - We aim to raise awareness of our sustainability
To that end, we will listen to our stakeholders and communicate even more actively. As part of Lietsu’s business, we also develop responsibility expert services – we aim to encourage fellow entrepreneurs to advance on their responsibility path. As part of Business Finland’s RRF project (2022-2024), we have also developed low-threshold tools to support the sustainability reporting of the micro-enterprises in the tourism sector.
