Kaarna is our family company’s legacy

Compliance with laws, rules and regulations

Kokkolan Nahka conducts its business in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.

Human rights

We treat all our employees with respect and dignity and ensure that they have equal opportunities in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We do not accept the use of child labour, any form of forced labour or any other violation of human rights.

We respect the dignity, privacy and rights of each individual and do not tolerate any kind of discrimination, threats, harassment or abuse.

Labour

We respect our employees’ freedom of association and the right of all workers to form and join a trade union of their choice without fear of intimidation or reprisal.

We comply with applicable collective agreements.

We ensure that our employees work in a safe environment.

We offer our employees appropriate training and human resources development opportunities.

Anti-corruption and the integrity of business operations

At Kokkolan Nahka, we are committed to open communications and fair competition. The company is not complicit in any illegal or restrictive business transactions.

Environment

Kokkolan Nahka’s business strategy is based on the principles of corporate environmental responsibility and sustainable development.

We are committed to implementing all measures and methods that reduce or eliminate the harmful environmental effects of our business operations.

We adhere to the EU’s sustainable hunting agreement.

We comply with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Community relations

We want to play an active role in our local community.

Kokkolan Nahka requires all of its business partners to comply with this code of ethics, and reserves the right to require from its business partners a written account of how they implement this code, and – where necessary – will demand corrective measures to be taken if such partners are to continue collaborating with the company.

We protect the environment and promote sustainable development in line with the following principles:

We are firm believers in maximising resource efficiency in all our work.

We use energy, water and raw materials as efficiently and ecologically as possible in all our production.

We invest in new technology for our machinery and implement the principles of continuous improvement in our production design.

We do not use coal or heavy oil. We only use green electricity in our production and endeavour to minimise energy consumption in all our activities; we even recently switched to LED lighting in our factory.

We collect and treat all water used in our production process in our own water treatment plant. Our work is subject to an environmental permit and is supervised by the local Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, a governmental entity tasked with promoting regional competitiveness, well-being and sustainable development, along with curbing climate change.

We use only water-soluble finishing chemicals, and all the chemical substances we use are REACH compliant.

We use eco-labelled and biodegradable packing materials whenever possible.

We collect all our organic sludge and solid waste, both of which are converted into biogas in a nearby facility. The biogas from our waste powers biogas-fuelled vehicles for almost 200,000 greener kilometres, reducing the use of fossil fuel. The carbon dioxide emissions of biogas as a traffic fuel are calculated to be zero, just like those of other renewable fuels.

We make purchases from local businesses whenever possible.

We make full use of our raw materials. Very little from a culled elk goes to waste even before that, because the hunters keep the meat. We collect all hides from hunting clubs and sort them at our factory. We then tan all hides suitable for leather production and use everything else to make chew bones and treats for dogs. This means we use 100% of the raw material. You can read more about our dog chew production *here.

We compensate for our environmental impact with our own carbon sink: the forest land that we own. Forests are Finland’s most significant renewable resource and an important part of our national wealth. How we manage the forest land we own is one of our contributions to preserving the environment.

We own land that includes vast pine forests where lingonberries grow in bright red clusters in the autumn as well as thick spruce woods where elk and other forest animals can wander unseen and enjoy their salt licks in peace. A sure sign of pure, unpolluted forest air is the pale greyish-green beard moss that grows on our trees: it only grows in woodlands where the air is clean and fresh.