Every year we measure ourselves against the sustainability criteria for hotels and accommodation that GSTC gives us, which provides insight, and shows progress and shortcomings. In these times of climate change and war, we feel sustainable and conscious entrepreneurship is more urgent than ever. In the year 2021/22, we focussed on overcoming several shortcomings that surfaced during the 2020 measurement and took every opportunity to improve.
Our focus in 2021/2022:
Our primary focus was to be more transparent about how we think about sustainability and where we stand by including it in all our publications and showing it clearly and visibly in all our choices. This annual report is a measure in that regard. We also make it visibly explain the selection of products we offer our guests and the people we work with in all our publications. In our new concept, Nordic Forest eco-lodge sustainability plays a central part.
Decent work and economic growth
Start an economic association to simplify local cooperation in the village. That it should be a sustainable collaboration is evident. We’ve failed to be honest: it isn’t easy to make everyone see the great benefits and wages of working together. We have an excellent collaboration with those who DO see the benefits and have the same level of quality as we try to offer. We work together with people who deliver quality, and qualitative cooperation must pay off to continue to do so. This year we have visibly included this in our Nordic Forest eco-lodge concept and include it in our products. These products have increased by about 30 per cent.
Climate action
2021 was the year we decided to try Lync&Co, a hybrid car we pay monthly and get full access to – without the hassle- to share this car with our guests in the longer term. If you come to us by public transport, this environmentally friendly car stands ready for you to come to us and explore the area easily. Our village got its first electric charging station thanks to Oreda.
Reduce waste, separate it better and reuse more. This one we are still working on resolving. We haven’t found a perfect solution yet. We dream about a compost installation. Ideas are welcome
Good health and well-being
Human well-being is essential to us too. We can offer people recuperation by regaining energy, rest, fresh air and inspiration. Sometimes we give away a night to a local initiative, a contest or another good cause we like. Last year, we gave away a stay at our place to a local lottery. We had a collaboration with The Jaunt, which offered artists a place to be inspired and regain energy.
Peace, justice and strong institutions
We became more aware and learned about different groups in our society. This knowledge allows us to be more inclusive and understanding. We found it essential to include in our publications: What believe you have; if you are LGBTQ or vegan, it does not matter: we take time for our guests and allow experiencing our place and surroundings. This measure is not measurable, but our guests do not hesitate to indicate specific needs.
This insight was expressed in the project Poesistigen i Furudal. In collaboration with the music poet Anna Vild. We have created a path where we invite you into the poetic living room of the fäbod hills, decorated with small, ritual symbols and meditative oases. The purpose of the project is to think about questions: Can old carvings on trees and rocks tell us something that has been lost in Sweden? Can connections about what happened at the time of the disappearance of culture be drawn to today’s society? We believe the sequence of events is even an expression of the modern phenomenon of “gaslighting”, which gives “ everyone is welcome here” a deeper meaning.
Responsible consumption and production
Responsible consumption and production became even more critical. We offer only vegetarian and vegan food made by a local company in our village, which is visibly appreciated by the number of guests that ordered food which increased by 70 %. We try not to waste food by serving food per person, food with ingredients bought in our village. This minimizes wasted food by 90%.
Living and working in the countryside has its advantages and disadvantages. It is beautiful, and we are in our bubble, but we also have to do our best to maintain, improve and increase the product offering and services. We support this by purchasing products and services as locally as possible; of course, we do not compromise quality. We have not (yet) established an exact definition and kept a measurement, but our gut feeling says that we purchase 75% of local products and services with a local preference in the village.
Quality education
Finally, we believe in giving (young) people, students, starters and small creative companies a chance. In 2021, we worked with five students from the YrkesAkademin on new ideas. Solid win-win cooperation. We need facts and the latest developments based on plans by students with a unique view of the world to survive and realize projects, and they need a challenging assignments.
To give students from our village a broader and fresh view of their local environment, we invited the school to meet the artists of The Jaunt and the projects they were working on.
Finally, we must admit that working consciously sustainable is not as easy as it seems. We often get caught up in the delusion of the day, the day-to-day world problems that everyone has to deal with. As the title says, sustainable and conscious entrepreneurship is more important than ever, and we are aware of this. Note to ourselves: look back more often, have higher ambition and have more measurable goals!