Sustainability

We here in Apukka Resort take great pride in being able to run our operations in these stunning surroundings, in the middle of the unspoilt Arctic nature. We take the responsibility of keeping the surrounding wilderness clean seriously and aim to do our part and more to ensure that the Lappish nature will continue to be amongst the cleanest in the entire world.

In Apukka Resort you’ll find easily find a trash container for your trash. No trash should find their way to our pure nature. Our staff is happy to help you any questions concerning waste sorting in the Resort.

We recycle plastic bottles and cans, metal, paper, glass and organic waste. Our goal throughout our operations is to minimize the waste created. We do not use plastic, disposable cutlery or single-use items unnecessarily and follow a plan to minimize the amount of food waste.

The log buildings on the premises, some of them hundreds of years old, have been moved to Apukka from other corners of Lapland and been put to new use and many old items have found a new place to tell their tales in Apukka.

We have a skilled staff that prefers fixing things when possible rather than replacing them with new items that would create waste and carbon emissions – every year we work on wood, sewing machines, ropes and many other tools to ensure that each item / building / equipment on the premises will live to the end of its life scale. This is never done on the cost of safety which is our first priority.

Our goal is to minimize the water usage throughout the line – in accommodation units, restaurant & kitchen operations and in housekeeping. More detailed info about water conservation in the accommodations below.

We use energy efficient lightning in all of our accommodation units and everywhere on the premises. Compared to normal light bulbs, these LED-lights last remarkably longer and use less energy.

In Apukka Resort, the lightning by the cabin entrances works on motion sensors. This way we save energy and keep the surrounding night skies clear from unnecessary light pollution. This way we give room to the very best lightning the night skies have to offer – the Northern Lights.

When building new structures in Apukka Resort, we do so with keeping the surrounding nature in mind. We want our surroundings to be green. We prefer natural surfaces over concrete and old log wall over modern materials. Our goal is to have the buildings on the premises in harmony with the surrounding nature.

Many old, hand-built log houses have found a new life on the premises of Apukka. Here these architectural masterpieces, all telling their own stories from the pages of history, will live on for decades to come.

In Apukka Resort we use wood as our main building material. Wood is a renewable building material. The energy consumption and the environmental impact of wood constructions are remarkable smaller than most of the other materials.

Single-use plastic water bottles are a big contributor to the growing problem of plastic pollution. In Finland we have the cleanest tap water in the world and we highly urge our guests to drink tap water instead of bottled water.

Instead of providing little individual shampoos every day, in order to decrease the amount of plastic waste our accommodation units are supplied with soap & shampoo dispensers.

Instead of using thousands of plastic key cards per year, we here in Apukka trust the old-fashioned metal keys. These keys last throughout the years, create less plastic waste and are easier to spot from the snow if dropped.

Our goal is to minimize the water usage throughout the line. We encourage our guests to limit their time in the shower and have dual-flush functions in all the bathrooms. The water pressures are adjusted to the comfort of both you and the nature and the accommodation units have specialized shower heads to minimize water consumption.

We aim to reduce our impact on the environment by saving water and energy in the laundry facilities used. We inform our guests to hang up the towels if they wish to reuse them, towels left on the floor will be replaced with fresh ones.

We aim not to use any disposable cutlery anywhere in our operations to minimize the amount of plastic waste.

Our staff possesses a wide range of knowledge of the Lappish nature, the history of Finland and extensive knowledge of the local culture. Every year we train the staff and urge our staff to work together and share their knowledge with each other.

By far most of our staff consist of local people. This way we have a positive impact on the employment figures of the region and will also be able to provide our guests with the most authentic experience of Lapland.

We aim to support the local community by using local suppliers when purchasing food, handicrafts or equipment to Apukka Resort.

The local people of the region have always been warmly welcomed to Apukka Resort and we welcome all the inhabitants of the area come and greet us here in Apukka any time.

We take great pride in looking after them on the best way possible and ensuring that they live the happiest of lives.

Our huskies, horses and reindeer are like professional athletes – the right kind of food is essential in order to guarantee the right nutrition for our beloved furry athletes. The diet of our animal friends is carefully planned to ensure their health and happiness.

The huskies, horses and reindeer live just a bit further from the main premises of the Resort to give them peace and privacy. Yet nothing is too far away, all the animals are within a walking distance from the Resort. In order to ensure the safety of our animals, our guests are only allowed to visit the animals when a member of our staff is present.

All the huskies have their own comfortable dog houses to provide them a soft, warm and comfortable rest in between the adventures. The horses have an indoor shelter they can wonder to on the cold, windy days. The reindeer love the great outdoors and prefer staying outside day and night.

All of our animals are well taken care of by professionals that adore them. We ensure that all the animals get an adequate amount of rest every day and week. All the animals are vaccinated and a vet is available to meet the animals whenever needed.

All the equipment used on the animal activities is chosen based on the safety of the animals and maintained regularly. All the equipment is checked prior to each departure.

Together with their safety, the most important thing when working with our animals is to give them the love and attention they deserve. These amazing animals love pulling sleds and venturing in the woods, but they love cuddling and attention equally as much.

All of our animals have a name and a unique personality and after you’ve met them, it’s impossible not to fall in love with them. Our staff working with the animals knows them and therefore is able to attend to their needs the best way possible with genuine love and attention.

When the time comes for one of our furry friends to retire, we work hard to find a good, caring home for them. Many of the staff members of Apukka Resort have found themselves to provide a retirement home for one of our huskies.

The surrounding forests and lakes are a treasure chest of berries, mushroom and herbs, not to forget fish and game. We here at Apukka Resort bring these Finnish ingredients to the dinner tables of our guests as often as possible. We aim to maximize the use of local ingredients such as potato, root veggies, meat and fish instead of using imported ingredients.

We want to share our rich culinary heritage with our guests and often bring traditional Finnish treats such as Karelian pies, cinnamon rolls, berry pies, meat stews and local fish dishes to the dinner tables. As our ancestors, we also love cooking food outdoors by an open fire and welcome you to join this authentic experience with us on our excursions.

Locally produced food often contains less preservatives and is fresher, more nutritious and tastier. Local procurement provides an opportunity to increase domestic food self-sufficiency, as well as to strengthen communities by increasing the accountability and transparency between consumers and producers.

In Apukka Resort we also recognize the value of local procurement as an effective way of protecting the traditional food culture. Our kitchen takes great pride in aiming to use as much of seasonal, local ingredients as possible.

Cutting down on meat consumption helps to reduce the carbon footprint. We in Apukka Resort want to make this easy and will always have a vegetarian and/or vegan option to choose.

With careful planning and skilled, professional staff we aim to minimize the amount of food waste from our kitchen.

Security is one of the keys to sustainability. Though Apukka Resort is located in one of the safest corners of the world, we have security cameras on the premises to ensure the security of our guests.

In order to provide the safest experiences possible, we have carefully made safety evaluations covering each aspect, building and service operated on the premises of Apukka Resort.

All the accommodation units have safety instructions of what to do and where to gather in case of a fire or and emergency.

The premises of Apukka Resort are equipped with sufficient amount of fire extinguishers. There is a fire alarm in every accommodation unit.

The safety of our guests is our priority and we take it very seriously. Our staff is first-aid trained and we organize first aid courses for the new staff every year. We have first-aid kits throughout the premises and a defibrillator in the reception.

We value our staff and want to provide a safe working environment to all of our employees. We make sure that all of our staff get their voices heard and that they find Apukka Resort to be a safe and reliable employer.

All of our guides are skilled professionals, trained to the Arctic conditions of Lapland. All guides possess the survival and orienteering skills needed and are able to take care of our guests even in the most challenging conditions.

On all of our activities we follow the principles of “leave no trace” guidelines. All the trash is carried out from the woods and recycled accordingly. Only designated wood is used to build fires and the fires are always built to a fireplace meant for the purpose to avoid leaving tracks to the soil. No live trees are cut down for firewood. Snowmobiles, snowtrains, dogsleds, reindeer sleds and horses operate only on the permitted tracks.

All of our guides are first-aid certified, some possessing more advanced wilderness first-aid trainings such as WAFA (Wilderness Advanced First Aid). The guides carry a first aid kit, laminated safety instructions and a phone with them on all the excursions.

When driving snowmobiles, speed limits and traffic laws are followed. Extreme precautions are taken when operating around an open fire or with sharp tools (axes and knives are used by guides only, not guests).

In Apukka Resort we use Kupilka-dishware (combination of wood & recycled plastic, Finnish product) when serving food outdoors. We do not use any disposable cutlery and collect all the trash with us from the nature.

We aim to use local producers when purchasing equipment. Most of the equipment used on our activities is made in Finland and as sustainable operator we maintain all the equipment with expertise to ensure both the safety and a long life of the equipments used.

We here in Apukka Resort understand the power of the social media and the words spoken through it. Our goal is to promote sustainability in all of our PR and to encourage people to make sustainable choices.

In Apukka Resort our staff is trained to follow our sustainability guidelines. Each of our staff members recognizes the importance and responsibility of each individual in achieving our sustainability goals.

We require the same sustainable operations that we follow in Apukka Resort from all of our co-operatives. When choosing co-operatives we put weight on their sustainability levels practised.