Responsibility at Ruka Ski Resort

The Ruka Ski Resort environmental programme was launched in 2008. In 2019, we upgraded the environmental programme to a responsibility programme that, in addition to environmental matters, includes social and economic aspects as well. 

One of Ruka’s most important objectives of ensuring corporate responsibility is to make sure that future generations can also enjoy skiing and all the pleasures of snow. In 2018, Ruka Ski Resort was the second resort in Finland to become carbon neutral in terms of energy consumption after our sister resort on the Pyhä fell. All of our Ski-Inn accommodation options have been carbon neutral since 2008. We want to set an example and to be a pioneer of sustainable tourism. Ruka Ski Resort has held a key economic and social role in the development of tourism in the Ruka-Kuusamo region for decades and we provide many jobs and generate significant tax revenue in Kuusamo. We are also actively engaged in nationwide tourism organisations. Our intent to keep the domestic market as our most important market area is a key part of Ruka’s responsibility and efforts to promote domestic tourism.

We want to set an example of sustainable tourism for other companies in the tourism industry, both on a regional and national level. We also bear in mind that we are not perfect or complete, which is why we strive for constant improvement.

Carbon neutral ski resort since 2018

Ruka is a carbon neutral ski resort in terms of energy consumption. We began using renewable resources of energy in 2008. Nearly all our properties are heated with geothermal energy and district heating systems based on bio-heating solutions. Buildings equipped with an electric heating system use renewable energy resources and solutions that improve energy efficiency, such as air source heat pumps and the Optiwatt system. Our slope machinery uses Neste MY Non Road Diesel™ which is made from 100% waste and residues.  We offset all emissions caused by work-related travel, such as flights, on an annual basis in accordance with the recommendations of the WWF Gold Standard certification. 

Social responsibility

Social responsibility at Ruka Ski Resort is based on compliance with the applicable laws and regulations. The owners of the Ruka Ski Resort (Aho family) are committed to retaining the company under Finnish ownership and paying their taxes in Finland. In 2018, the Ruka Ski Resort paid the second-largest amount of taxes in Kuusamo.

A key aspect in our social responsibility is to provide children and young people with the opportunity to practice skiing. We will give out free season passes to the children of Kuusamo aged 10 from the 2019–2020 season onwards. Young people of different ages will be provided with a discount on the season passes. We also support local athletes to achieve their goals. 
We want to be a fair and reliable partner and to promote honest cooperation in the Ruka tourism region and Kuusamo through our operations.
 
Supporting the local community through using locally provided and produces services and goods and hiring local people are important values to us. Developing year-round business opportunities and providing jobs throughout the year also help us achieve our social responsibility goals. We are not afraid to take a stand and defend our values. We have voiced our opposition towards mining activities in the key tourism regions of Ruka and in particularly sensitive natural areas of the Arctic, such as the Juomasuo region in Kuusamo and in the vicinity of tourist centres. We see this as not only a matter of environmental responsibility, but also as an important aspect of social responsibility, as tourism creates a larger number of more stable jobs than mining operations. We welcome all renewable energy production projects that have a larger positive impact on the environment and local economics than their negative impact on the landscape is (for example, wind power farms).
 
For us, social responsibility also means transparency in decision-making processes and reports and accepting and treating people equally. We do not accept any forms of racism and we support unconditional non-discrimination and gender equality.

Economic responsibility

The economic responsibility efforts of Ruka Ski Resort are primarily based on profitable business that allows for paying the personnel’s salary, making investments, improving competitiveness, increasing the number of year-round jobs and paying dividends to the shareholders. By ensuring the profitability of our business, we are able to accomplish and comply with our environmental and social goals and obligations. On the other hand, sustainable development and anticipating and preparing for climate change are required in order to maintain financially sustainable business operations.

Securing the adequate amount of snow and the operability of ski lifts in strong winds are key objectives in terms of ensuring the profitability of our business. Efforts to increase the amount of snow available at Ruka have been made for several decades. One of the most significant efforts has been the development of utilising stored snow. Stored snow allows Ruka to provide its customers with the longest skiing season in Finland, totalling more than 200 days every winter. In order to ensure the operability of ski lifts, we have equipped the Express lifts of Vuosseli with additional weights and acquired separate storm seats in the Village Express lift that allow for keeping the lift operable even in exceptionally strong winds. The upper terminals of the ski lifts are also designed in a way that protects the lifts from the effects of wind as efficiently as possible.
 
The Ruka Ski Resort is a second-generation family company owned by the Aho family, and the owners are looking to retain the companies’ status as a Finnish family companies and to transfer their ownership to the third generation in due course. The goal is to increase the value of the companies over a long period of time and various cyclical fluctuations in accordance with the following economic goals, for example:
-Operating profit of more than 10%
-Equity ratio of more than 50%
-75% of income is invested in the development of companies
 
Rukakeskus Oy was awarded a national entrepreneurship award in 2019. 

Ruka's energy efficiency

Did you know what can be measured in a ski resort?

Here at Ruka, we are well aware of energy consumption. Thanks to our high-quality measuring equipment, electricity, water and heat consumption of buildings and slopes can be accurately monitored 24 hours a day. A precise measurement system helps us achieve our energy saving goals. Our goal is to achieve a 7.5% energy savings between 2017-2025 under the energy efficiency agreement of the European Union.

The energy use of a ski resort is relative

Examples of Ruka's measures

Snow preservation and snowmaking

Ruka was experimenting a new method of snow preservation over summer for the first time in summer 2016, and as the technology turned out to be functional and developable, the preservation of snow has become an essential part of Ruka's snow certainty. The energy saving of snow preservation is based on the use of snow made in January under optimum conditions, which reduces the need for snowmaking during warm and humid conditions of early season. Learn more about snow preservation and Ruka’s snow certainty >

The automated snowmaking system is already existing in the slopes Vuosseli 24, Superpipe, Eturinteet, FIS slope and Saarua slopes 12, 13 and 16. Automated snow guns for example react to weather conditions to optimize energy efficiency and water use of snow production.

Machinery and equipment

Rinnehuollon käyttämät moottorikelkat on vaihdettu 2-tahtisista 4-tahtisiin, mikä on saanut niiden polttoaineenkulutuksen putoamaan noin puoleen. Rinnehuollon polttoaineenkulutuksessa on saatu aikaan myös merkittäviä säästöjä henkilökunnan kannustinohjelmalla ja lisäksi käytössä on muuta tekniikkaa, joka optimoi rinnekoneiden työnkentelyä. Esimerkiksi PistenBullyn -lumikissojen SNOWSAT-systeemi, jonka avulla kuljettaja näkee reaaliajassa lumivaipan paksuuden sentilleen, helpottaa lumen levittämistä ja tasoittamista rinnekoneessa, mutta myös työskentelyn suunnittelua saman datan ollessa käytössä myös Vuosselin huoltohallin työnjohdolla.

Our slope machines use renewable fuel oil

In November 2021, we introduced Neste MY Non Road Diesel™ which is made from 100% waste and residues. Switching to renewable fuel oil will have a significant impact on the climate, as it will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the Ruka and Pyhä slope machines by up to 90 percent compared to the use of fossil fuels. This means that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by more than 600 tonnes per year, which is equivalent to removing 230 cars from Finnish road traffic per year (The methodology for calculating life cycle emissions and emissions reduction is in line with the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28/EC).
In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, switching to renewable fuel oil will reduce local emissions, as Neste MY Non Road Diesel™ burns cleaner than fossil fuels.

Slope lighting

The slope illumination system, active in the polar night and dark evenings, is automated in order to optimise its energy efficiency, and the technology behind the system is replaced with new solutions whenever the equipment reaches the end of its service life. New lighting fixtures can be seen in the Saarua slopes and the Front slopes. We are also constantly monitoring the latest innovations in illumination technology in order to ensure that we have the best lighting fixtures suitable for arctic conditions.aamosaikaan ja iltamäessä valaiseva rinnevalaistus on automatisoitu mahdollisimman energiatehokkaaksi ja rinnevalojen tekniikkaa päivitetään uuteen kaluston käyttöiän tullessa loppuun. Uudenlaisia valaisimia voit nähdä Saaruassa ja Eturinteillä. Lisäksi tutkimme jatkuvasti kehittyvää valaistustekniikkaa löytääksemme parhaat mahdolliset arktisiin oloihin sopivat valaisimet.

Village-2-Valley scenic gondola

Ski-Inn accommodation is a green choice

Ski-Inn accommodation is the most environmentally friendly mode of ski resort accommodation in Finland, as they have been carbon neutral since 2008. Sites equipped with an electric heating system use renewable energy resources and solutions that improve energy efficiency, such as air source heat pumps and the Optiwatt system. Wind power and hydropower are used as resources of renewable energy to produce the electricity consumed at Ruka, and our heating system is based on the use of woodchips. In addition, the apartments are within walking distance from the lifts, which makes it unnecessary to use a car.

The Ski-Inn apartment ownership model is based on renting the holiday apartments owned by private persons throughout the year, making it an ecologically responsible alternative by eliminating the need to construct additional apartments for renting operations.

All Ski-Inn apartments are equipped with waste sorting bins and instructions. Customers staying in Ruka’s Ski-Inn apartments can recycle biowaste, plastic, glass, cardboard, paper and small metal items. The recycling stations are located in the waste rooms of each accommodation site. Waste sorting instructions in Ski-Inn accommodation >

• The rental linen and towels used in the Ski-Inn apartment have Nordic Ecolabel. Read more>
• Cleaning in Ski-Inn accommodation is made by SOL. Get to know their responsibility programme>

Waste management

Appropriate waste recycling can turn trash into an ingredient or energy source

The recycling station of the Ruka tourist region is located on the parking lot of the Sale grocery store on Rukanriutta. The station has separate recycling bins for glass, small metal items, cardboard, carton and paper. NOTE! Biowaste and plastic waste can currently be recycled at Ruka only in locations where companies have made such recycling arrangements with Kuusamon Jätehuolto, including Ruka’s Ski-Inn apartments, for example. 

Burning waste to create energy

Instead of mixed waste, Ruka’s waste recycling stations are equipped with combustible waste containers. Combustible waste is transported to an eco power plant in Oulu, where the energy created by burning the waste is used to generate power and for district heating purposes. Burning waste decreases the environmental impact of landfills and allows for utilising the energy of the waste. Almost all types of mixed waste can be disposed of as disposable waste, such as plastic packaging and dirty cardboard packaging items. Biowaste is also disposed of as combustible waste at Ruka. Metal or glass items should not be disposed of as combustible waste, however. Learn more >

Wastewater treatment plant

Ruka’s new water treatment plant began its operations in 2016, and the strictest permit conditions in Finland are applied in the plant. The treatment process selected according to these conditions is ideal in Ruka, where the volume of sewage varies significantly and the temperature of sewage in the treatment plant is low. Explore Ruka wastewater treatment plant >

Sustainable travel Finland

Ruka Ski Resort together with Pyhä Ski Resort are the first ski resorts in Finland that were granted with Sustainable Travel Finland -label in July 2020. Sustainable Travel Finland -programme is designed for tourism companies and destinations in Finland.  The idea of Sustainable Travel Finland programme is to provide companies and destinations with a sustainable development path; a concrete toolkit for sustainable tourism that makes it easier to adopt sustainable practices and choices in the everyday business. The label is only awarded for those companies and destinations that have undergone the entire Sustainable Travel Finland programme and fulfilled the criteria.

Protect our winters Finland

Climate change is a significant threat to the future of winter sports. Winters become shorter and the amount of snow is reduced. Protect Our Winters Finland is a part of the international POW movement that brings together winter sport enthusiasts and companies involved with winter sports to combat climate change. In practice, POW’s operations include raising awareness of climate change and its impact on winter sports, arranging campaigns and events and lobbying key decision-makers and companies in the industry.

Ruka is one of the main partners of POW Finland.