Environmental Standards
Minimising our footprint in one of Europe's largest, most pristine wilderness areas - from sustainable building and energy to recycling, local sourcing and waste management.
This Arctic region is one of the largest and most pristine wilderness areas in Europe, a reservoir of biological diversity and a spectacular natural landscape. Operating here carries a duty to minimise our footprint, help secure a sustainable Arctic future and show clients how to travel responsibly in Lapland.
- Everything, including dog waste from overnight camps, is carried back to base
- Around 70% of kennels bought from the Team Fix work-rehabilitation cooperative in Kiruna
- Leave No Trace Alliance partner since 2011
- Began Sustainable Tourism Finland accreditation in 2022
Setting a good example day by day
We operate to Enontekio municipality's environmental protection regulations and aim well beyond them. We build with well-insulated, durable materials, and every dog cage is an element that can be reassembled elsewhere. We use and monitor energy- and water-saving devices, collect rain water in barrels to clean floored cages, and heat the buildings with fires, using wood taken sustainably, mostly from our own lands.
Reuse, recycling and local sourcing
Everything, including the dog poop from overnight camps, comes back to base. We keep supply chains short, buy reused or recycled products whenever possible and recycle our own paper and plastics. Anna's 'dumpster diving' at the local landfill turns salvaged timber into agility obstacles and marsh boardwalks, extending the bike-accessible trails around the farm.
Around 70% of our kennels come from Team Fix in Kiruna, a municipality-run work-rehabilitation programme. We also cut waste by buying meat and left-over bones directly from local reindeer herders and taking unsold products from the local shop and hotel as treats for the dogs.
Baselining and accreditation
We keep improving through our social, environmental and ethical risk assessment process. An intern from Forum for the Future helped baseline our environmental standards, and in 2011 we became a Leave No Trace Alliance partner, committed to its 7 principles. In 2019-20 we joined the pilot for Sustainable Tourism Finland's new label and began accreditation in 2022. Our documents set out STF Finland's 10 principles and how we align with them.
Ready when you are
Real wilderness, 200+ huskies, eighteen winters in.