The City of Helsinki’s work for sustainable tourism and events is not evident only in practice, but also through the international recognition gained.
There are several reasons for this success, and this recognition would not be possible without active cooperation with companies.
Helsinki is committed to sustainability in all its operations, which also applies to the events and tourism in the City.
The promotion of sustainable tourism and sustainable events has not remained an empty promise, which is also proven by the international recognitions received.
Out of all the sustainability acknowledgments received by Helsinki, Special Planning Officer Jukka Punamäki highlights the Global Destination Sustainability Index, which decrees Helsinki as the most sustainable travel destination in the world.
Helsinki was also the first metropolis in the world to receive the Global Destinations GSTC certification.
“This certificate is likely the strictest in the whole world. We are a definite forerunner among metropolises.”
Punamäki says that there is no single specific reason for why Helsinki was ranked at the top.
“We are good in sustainability, in all aspects of it. You have to be if you want to be the best in the world.”
Senior Producer Sanjaana Gavalas from the Helsinki Events Foundation shares an example on how responsibility and the work for sustainability are reflected in the events held by the Foundation.
“We only serve fish and vegetarian meal options for our audiences, performers and event personnel. Meat, such as game, is only sold in small quantities at the Helsinki Christmas Market.”
The Helsinki Events Foundation produces the City’s large public events, such as the Helsinki Festival, Lux Helsinki, Helsinki Day, Helsinki’s New Year’s Eve celebration, Helsinki Baltic Herring Market and Helsinki Christmas Market.
Gavalas continues: “The carbon footprint of waste at the Huvila venue of the Helsinki Festival was successfully and significantly reduced when we were able to conduct nearly all sludge from the portable toilets to the City’s own sewer network.”
The venue’s lighting is also energy-efficient, and only fossil-free energy is ordered for the events.
Event furniture is leased. Fixtures and furniture owned by the foundation, such as those of Huvila, have been designed to be used for multiple years. They are also utilised in the foundation’s other events.
“On the production side, we do everything we can to ensure that the visitors will have as sustainable an event experience as possible, whether they realise it themselves or not,” Gavalas states.
She is pleased that sustainability is not a separate aspect of event production, but rather something that is intertwined in it throughout the process. This is only possible because the foundation’s whole personnel is committed to sustainability. Sustainable actions are also required from cooperation partners.
We are good in sustainability, in all aspects of it. You have to be if you want to be the best in the world.
Similar to the City organisation itself, the Helsinki Events Foundation does a great deal of work behind the scenes. But others are also needed in the work to receive world-class recognition.
Punamäki highlights that great results have been achieved through exceptional cooperation, which has included partners such as hotels, events services and several attractions from museums to the Korkeasaari Zoo.
The event participants and tourists arriving at the city are also encouraged to contribute to sustainability. Guidelines for sustainable actions have been drawn up, which give tips on things such as packing lightly, doing walking tours and sorting waste.
“It is often forgotten that half of the visitors to the city are here because of work, such as conference guests.
The organisers of large international conferences nearly always require certificates on sustainability matters in their tendering processes. Helsinki has a strong position in these tenders. In other words, sustainability has become a great business for the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, and it will likely continue to grow.”
Punamäki refers to a report by Booking.com, according to which the demand for the most sustainable destinations is growing quickly. The EU’s Green claims criteria will create more pressure for sustainable operations, striking down hard on the phenomena of ‘greenwashing’ and misleading environmental promises.
“Our competitive advantage will continue to improve,” Punamäki summarises.
However, he points out that many people looking for travel destinations make their choice based on factors other than sustainability. And this will continue to be true.
“We don’t even want to attract everyone here. We want the people travelling to Helsinki to pay attention to sustainability. We can still fill up our hotels.”
There are enough examples in the world about cities where the local people are fed up with mass tourism.
“We carry out a survey every other year, asking the opinions of Helsinki residents on tourism in the city. We want to make sure we don’t end up like Barcelona or Amsterdam, for example.”
Punamäki is pleased with the results so far. The local residents have a very positive view of the tourists visiting Helsinki.
The title as the most sustainable destination in the world and the strictest possible sustainability certificate. Do we still need to achieve more?
“Sustainability is a journey, and developing it is a never-ending process. The requirements are constantly growing stricter, with goalposts pushed further away,” Punamäki says.
The certificates also need to be redeemed again and again.
Gavalas from the Helsinki Events Foundation also speaks about continuous development.
“The ‘easy solutions’ have mostly been implemented in our events, so the development of sustainability is transitioning more and more towards influencing, participatory operations and more detailed refinement of the different event areas.”
This development also needs to be measured. Gavalas says that some of the indicators are internal tools that show data such as how many grams of waste an event generates per one event visitor, on average. Other indicators are at a higher level, and the foundation uses these for its annual reporting to the City as part of group reporting.
There is no end in sight for climate work. The City of Helsinki, alongside the City of Tampere, was involved in creating a group called Urban Climate Leaders in Tourism, which bases its operations on the UN’s Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.
This group brings together large hotel chains and some of the major attractions from Suomenlinna Fortress to the amusement park Särkänniemi in Tampere.
“The group works together to figure out how to solve the climate issues of tourism. Climate questions are not even close to being answered. The work of this group is a great example of how seriously we take sustainability here in Finland,” Punamäki states.
Text: Kirsi Riipinen