Caring for our employees and the community
Ravintolakolmio Group responsibility report 2021
We care for our employees and the environment
The values of the family-run Ravintolakolmio Group have always been centred around responsibility towards partners and society. Ensuring that our personnel is healthy and well is our top priority. We select our cooperation partners based on these same values. This has been true for our entire forty-year history, since 1979.
Environmental responsibility is under special scrutiny in the Ravintolakolmio Group at the moment, and we are doing our best to take responsibility in this area. The restaurant business consumes natural resources in many sectors. Energy consumption, chemicals, food waste and waste are the worst “vices” in our line of business.
Economic and ecological efficiency often support one another. By doing what’s right and sensible, we can save money and the environment.
The origin of food has become more important than ever for consumers. At Ravintolakolmio restaurants, nearly all of the beef, pork and poultry we serve is Finnish. We favour local producers and seasonal ingredients whenever possible, and we keep adding vegan dishes to our menus.
This report details what we have done to improve our responsibility. The report concerns all Ravintolakolmio Group restaurants.
Joonas Keskinen
Director of Operations, senior partner, second generation family entrepreneur
Ravintolakolmio Group
ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY
Environmental issues are a pressing concern for all of us at the moment. In a large company in the restaurant business like ours, this has resulted in many practical actions. Such as using carbon-free electricity, minimising food waste and replacing plastic whenever possible in terms of food shelf life.
Carbon-free electricity and the economical use of electricity
Our partner Kymenlaakson Sähkö, whose electricity production is more than 90% carbon-free, provides all the electricity for Ravintolakolmio restaurants. Any new investments the company makes are also targeted at low-emission production.
Read more: https://www.ksoy.fi/en/company/responsibility
We reduce energy consumption by using modern, energy-saving machines, devices and solutions. In general, electricity consumption is curbed by employing sensible, everyday processes, such as utilising the programming features of ovens and avoiding using devices unnecessarily.
Our kitchens are mainly equipped with induction plates that save up to 70% energy compared to traditional cast iron stoves.
Where possible, we try to connect our refrigeration devices remotely to avoid directing outgoing warm air into the kitchen. This allows us to keep the temperature in the working area under control and reduce the need for ventilation.
Modern equipment, such as self-stirring pots and programmable combination ovens, reduces the need for devices and also reduces cooking loss when used properly.
When devices age and break down, we focus on the energy efficiency and life expectancy of any new equipment.
Practical supervision of work and thorough familiarisation are key in the energy-efficient use of devices and machines.
What do restaurants consume electricity on?
Washing dishes 14%
Cooking 49%
Cold storage and other 37%
We use dishwashing liquids that have earned the Swan ecolabel
Washing dishes in the dishwasher consumes plenty of dishwashing liquid and rinse aid, which is not good for the environment. We use Finnish Kiilto Clean products that have been awarded the Nordic Ecolabel Swan and whose environmental impact has been minimised. Dispensers in our dishwashers are checked and adjusted twice a year to keep consumption as low as possible.
The modern dishwashers in our restaurants use water sparingly.
LED lights and electronic invoices
All light bulbs in our restaurants have been replaced with LED lights, when possible, and when acquiring new lighting fixtures, we will be making sure that they are compatible with LED bulbs.
In practice, all of our financial administration processes are electronic, minimising the need for paper. Our own accounting firm, Diafora Oy, has been and is a pioneer in utilising new processes and technologies in the field.
Professional kitchens keep food waste to a minimum
The combined food waste from all restaurants in Finland amounts to 75–85 million kilos each year. It is a staggering amount of food. Most of the waste is serving waste from lunch buffet restaurants and waste generated by preparing excess food that cannot be reused. In the restaurant sector, roughly a fifth of edible food winds up in the compost.
This waste can be prevented by ordering the right amount of ingredients, preparing food in appropriate temperatures and optimising the restocking of buffet tables.
Ravintolakolmio kitchens are highly professional, which is why the amount of food waste we generate only amounts to a few per cent. Our skilled cooks and chefs are proud of their ability to minimise food waste. A professionally run kitchen is the cornerstone of the economy of any restaurant.
Customers generate food waste, too, when the amount of food they want to eat is difficult to estimate. Thanks to our environmentally aware customers, there is only a small amount of plate waste at our restaurants serving buffet lunches.
You can always have seconds at a buffet, which is why you should only fill your plate with as much as you are able to eat. We are doing our part in minimising plate waste by selecting the right size of plate, for example.
Despite everything we do, food is wasted in our restaurants almost daily – this applies to both buffet lunches and catering for meetings. We sell excess food to our customers at cost through the ResQ app. (add ResQ link).
From deep fryer oil to fuel
Sorting waste and collecting waste oil from deep fryers for reuse, for example, is part of everyday operations at all of our restaurants.
The collected waste oil is refined and used as biodiesel. Biowaste, glass, cardboard, metal and plastic bottles comprise our largest waste components, which we recycle appropriately.
Our next task is to organise plastic recycling appropriately in all of our restaurants. Luckily, industrial kitchens only generate a small amount of packaging plastic waste.
Ecological disposable tableware
At our restaurants, disposable tableware and materials are as ecological and recyclable as possible. All plastic straws will be replaced with ecological drinking straws made from straw starting from 15 August 2019.
Enhanced logistics
Careful selection of business partners is probably the single greatest opportunity for individual restaurants to impact their eco-friendliness. We centralise our purchases to the same operators as much as possible to achieve logistics efficiency. We purchase approximately 65% of all of our products from our selected wholesaler Kespro: www.kespro.com/vastuullisuus
We require the highest responsibility from our suppliers in terms of the environment as well as other things.
Veggie food is good for the environment
The demand for vegetarian dishes is a growing trend due to climate concerns – and an important choice in terms of our environment.
Vegetarian and vegan diets are a growth sector in restaurants, as well. The menus at all Ravintolakolmio restaurants include plant-based and vegan options.
FOOD ORIGIN AND ETHICS
“The origin of food has become more important than ever for consumers. Informing customers clearly of the origin of meat served in restaurants became compulsory on 1 May 2019, but we will always tell our customers about the origin of everything we serve when asked.”
– Sami Hiltunen, chef, partner
The Ravintolakolmio Group supports Finnish meat production. Our restaurants mainly serve Finnish beef, pork and poultry.
90% of the meat we serve is Finnish
On 1 May 2019, it became compulsory to state the origin of fresh meat in restaurants in writing. This obligation applies to fresh, cooled or frozen beef, mutton, pork, goat meat and poultry.
Approximately 90% of the meat we serve is Finnish. Atria supplies our beef, pork and poultry. Finnish meat is of high quality and safe, and it promotes employment in Finland.
”The quality of Finnish meat is no accident, but the result of long-term, systematic work. The responsible methods of the meat production chain cover everything from raising cattle to the food industry and all the way to the supermarket counter. The conditions in Finland are ideal for raising beef cattle.” Source: Hyvää Suomesta
For more reasons to choose Finnish meat, click here: https://www.hyvaasuomesta.fi/suomalainen-ruoka/suomalaiset-ruokaketjut/liha (in Finnish)
We favour Finnish wild fish and farmed fish. On the whole, we ensure that the fish we serve is ASC or MSC (links) certified.
Our coffee and tea comes from Meira whose responsibility program is based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Our goal is to favour or incorporate seasonal delicacies and products as well as products from local or small producers in our dishes.
Producer story: Peltolan Juustola
Cheese from natural ingredients
Peltolan Juustola is a traditional family-owned business in Suonenjoki making only organic, preservative-free products. Ice creams, sorbets, churned butter and cheese are made with genuine natural ingredients.
The popular Peltolan Blue cheese gets its characteristic taste from red clover grown in Rautalampi and is handmade by the cheese masters. Peltolan churned butter is made with the traditional method of letting cream sour naturally and then churning it.
Ravintolakolmio restaurants have been serving Peltolan Juustola cheeses for more than 25 years.
FOOD SAFETY
Food allergies are commonplace in this day and age. If you are allergic to an ingredient, please don’t hesitate to discuss suitable dishes with the wait staff. There are options for everyone. Dishes can also be customised to a degree to suit your diet.
The most common allergies are sensitivities to gluten and grain products, shellfish, egg, fish and fish products, nuts, soy, milk and celery.
Lactose-free (L), gluten-free (G) and non-dairy (D) products are clearly marked on our menus.
The staff will provide you with further information on our dishes and ingredients.
Own-checks and product safety in restaurants
Restaurants are required by law to conduct in-house control. The Finnish Food Authority oversees companies in the food sector. Reports on inspections carried out by health inspectors are stored in the Authority’s Oiva system: www.oivahymy.fi.
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
”We pay every cent of our employers’ contributions.” – Heimo Keskinen, founder of the Ravintolakolmio Group, chair of the board
Any financially accountable company must ensure it is profitable, pay wages in accordance with the laws and on time to all of its employees as well as ensure that suppliers receive their payments on time.
An accountable company also contributes to society in the form of paying taxes. Here at Ravintolakolmio, we have always done everything by the book, and we have participated in numerous working groups to fix the problems within the industry.
The founder of Ravintolakolmio, Heimo Keskinen, has been fighting to bring awareness to the branch as an accountable company within the industry. Tackling the shadow economy is a key theme in the restaurant business. Heimo has been the first of his kind to work to eradicate the shadow economy, in particular, in the restaurant business in cooperation with the Finnish Hospitality Association MaRa, the tax authority and other parties. We will continue this work on various forums.
Owner’s story: Heimo Keskinen
The fight against the shadow economy
The founder of the Ravintolakolmio Group, chair of the board Heimo Keskinen is known in the restaurant business as an active opponent of the shadow economy. In the early 2000s, for example, Keskinen trained more than 700 tax inspectors in fighting the shadow economy. He covered the ins and outs of cash registers and taught the inspectors to interpret key figures in restaurant books. He was also an active lobbyist, spreading his message to high police command and members of parliament.
Keskinen was at the forefront when authorities started to tour restaurants all over Finland. ”I asked for these special inspections myself, because the problem was substantial, and it distorted competition. And it still does. The problem has gotten even worse, because there have been no systematic efforts to stop it in years,” Heimo Keskinen says.
Failures to ring up products and neglecting social security payments are both part of the shadow economy. In the first example, the state loses on taxes, and in the second, the state ends up paying for expenses that should have been paid by the employer. The Finnish tax payer loses in both cases.
”The customers will start to have an unrealistic perception of what things cost, because restauranteurs in the shadow economy are able to price their offering significantly lower. Those engaged in the shadow economy could be easily identified, if authorities examined the key figures of restaurants,” Keskinen states. ”The lack of resources is the issue.”
”Restaurants often have certified tills, but they are of no use if they are not used,” Keskinen says. ”Small restaurants with no alcohol licences are the biggest problem, because there is hardly any oversight there. I would develop a way of allowing the tax authority to have direct access to a restauranteur’s tills.”
Customers can help fight the shadow economy by demanding a receipt. Keskinen’s message to young people starting out in the business is to make sure that all of their social security and pension contributions are paid by the employer.
At Ravintolakolmio, employees have never had to worry about these things.
Our own accounting firm Diafora Oy is specialised in bookkeeping in the restaurant branch. An in-depth knowledge of the industry benefits our own subsidiaries as well as numerous other restaurants and helps them to avoid financial pitfalls and abide by the law.
Ravintolakolmio Group
14 unique restaurants in the Helsinki region, the accounting firm Diafora Oy as well as three partner restaurants.
Employs approximately 200 people
The total turnover was EUR 24.5 million in 2018.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
”The service industry can only thrive if people thrive. To us, the well-being of our staff has always been the number one priority.” – Joonas Keskinen, Senior Partner, Ravintolakolmio Group
For the Ravintolakolmio Group, social responsibility means a relationship with and an attitude towards the customers, personnel and partners. Well-being at work, equality, non-discrimination and a safe work environment are key factors in this entity.
Fair leadership is a basic right
Good and fair leadership is a “basic right” for our employees. We measure well-being at work in each of our units. In addition to this, our staff assess their supervisors’ leadership annually. We demand a lot, and when the limiting values are not met, we take corrective and guiding action.
Our average score for well-being at work in 2019 was 4.1 (on a scale of 1–5), and the average was the same in the leadership gauge concerning our key personnel.
We have zero tolerance for discrimination in any form.
We intervene immediately if we learn of any harassment and we use all the means legally available to us to set things right.
Naturally, we follow the terms set out in collective agreements. Flexibility in both directions is an everyday occurrence in the restaurant business, but we strive to ensure that each individual employee is only given the burden they are able to carry. As a rule, we pay better wages based on our employees’ skill level than the minimum specified in collective agreements.
Most of our employees work directly for us. We favour permanent, full-time employment, and we do not split shifts between morning and evening.
We manage the temporary need for labour by fostering sustainable and developing partnerships with responsible operators in the field.
Permanent employees: 140
All employees: approximately 200
Employee story: Niina Gåsman
I value an approachable management
Niina Gåsman, who is about to transfer from Cantina West to the Meripaviljonki terrace and Juttutupa in the summer of 2019, has worked permanently in the restaurant business for 20 years, nearly 11 of which she has worked for Ravintolakolmio.
”I trained to become a practical nurse when I was young, but I was already working in restaurants on weekends and holidays during my studies. I started to feel the pull of the social and busy restaurant business, so I only ended up working as a practical nurse for three years,” Niina laughs.
”I like working for Ravintolakolmio. The best thing for employees is the feeling that the employer values us and takes care of us. As an employer, Ravintolakolmio is flexible and caring. It’s great to have the employees heard and their ideas implemented. One of my favourite things here is that the management is very approachable – you can always have a chat with them and bounce ideas off each other,” the multi-talented employee says.
”Employee benefits are also good. I utilise dental care and exercise vouchers, and I’ve also used the restaurant benefit in recent years.”
We care for our employees’ health
All of our employees are covered by extensive occupational health care. Preventive occupational health care is one of our employees’ benefits as well, because we want to keep our personnel in good shape and healthy for as long as possible. We have taken out an additional insurance policy for our employees, meaning that they are covered by accessible expert care in their free time, as well. Our health insurance also covers old injuries.
We promote oral health by paying for dental care fees of up to €350 a year to all of our permanent employees.
We value maintaining professional skills
We enable professional development for our employees by constantly offering training concerned with products and administration in cooperation with our partners. We have, for example, offered in-depth wine training for more than 25 years.
New employees through educational cooperation
“Trained workplace instructors offer security for students during their on-the-job learning period.“
– Tuuli Tommola, Helsinki Vocational College and Adult Institute
Promoting on-the-job learning and close cooperation with educational institutions in the field is important to Ravintolakolmio. We have been praised for our ability to include the young students in our working community. We are constantly training more of our own supervisors as workplace instructors. If necessary, we can offer free accommodation to young people coming from rural areas.
Approximately 170 young people work with us per year, building on their competence through on-the-job learning. For us, this has resulted in long-term employment contracts, when students have found work in our restaurants after completing their studies.
The contact people at schools would describe cooperation with us as exciting, positive, friendly, helpful and smooth. Nine out of ten contact people gave us very good marks in 2018.
Cooperation partner story: Helsinki Vocational College and Adult Institute, Tuuli Tommola
Students are taken care of
”Each year, our students completing their vocational upper secondary qualification as a restaurant cook or waiter/waitress work in Ravintolakolmio restaurants. We have been cooperating with many restaurants for years. I feel confident about sending students to work in these restaurants, because I know that they will be taken care of and carefully instructed in their tasks. This way, their learning experience will be successful and the learning itself is guaranteed,” says Food and Beverage Service teacher and team master Tuuli Tommola from the Helsinki Vocational College and Adult Institute.
”In the autumn of 2018 we worked together with Ravintolakolmio management to determine which of their restaurants is a best fit for each part of the qualification. This eases the teachers’ work, when we start looking for on-the-job learning posts for students. It’s great that the students are offered employee lunches and they have the use of the Ravintolakolmio staff card for the duration of their learning period.”
Fighting marginalisation with Vamos
”Cooperation with young people offers us an excellent way of participating in social discussions.” Sami Hiltunen, partner, Ravintolakolmio
The marginalisation of young people and young adults, and the fact that some fall through the cracks in society, worries us at Ravintolakolmio. Many of our employees and trainees are young, and we wanted our social responsibility project to involve young people. In the summer of 2019, we will be starting cooperation with the youth services of the Deaconess Institute in Helsinki to support young people in their efforts to live normal lives.
Vamos is a service offered by the Deaconess Institute in Helsinki for young people who have been left outside studies and working life. Vamos reduces marginalisation in young people aged 16–29 and helps them in finding their place in society, studies and work. In 2018, more than 2,300 young people participated in Vamos training. They received help with their everyday lives, housing, school and work matters as well as managing their own finances.
”We want to support young people at risk of marginalisation in their effort to lead normal lives. It is paramount both for the life management of the young people as well as a functional society,” says Sami Hiltunen from Ravintolakolmio.
Ravintolakolmio supports Vamos operations both financially and by participating and involving others. Money is collected during themed weeks and campaigns, with Mother’s and Father’s Day campaign collections at restaurants, charity events and the direct Christmas present fund donation campaign.
“Our staff also has the opportunity to make a difference for a good cause by donating the money allocated for their Christmas present to Vamos. During the course of the year, we also meet with young people involved in the project for lunch and coaching. We offer paid job opportunities for the young people at some of our customer events.”
https://www.hdl.fi/vamos
Cooperation partner story
We are looking forward to cooperation with Ravintolakolmio
The Deaconess Institute in Helsinki / the Vamos service, Katri Angeria, customer relations manager
”Vamos’ service concept of preventing marginalisation among young people operates in eight locations in Finland. Our operations are made possible by versatile funding, where the share of donations is growing,” Katri Angeria says.
“We are very excited about our new, meaningful cooperation with the Ravintolakolmio Group. The cooperation, started in the summer of 2019, is comprehensive and includes plans for participatory operations and donations, which are both important areas.
Our young people have different needs and dreams, such as a job and a home. I am especially looking forward to experiencing moments where young people have a chance to learn more about the operations of Ravintolakolmio. All in all, this cooperation is a great example of a multi-faceted and significant cooperation project with working life.”
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RAVINTOLAKOLMIO
The Ravintolakolmio Group is a family business with more than 40 years of experience, now in its second generation. The Group consists of 14 unique restaurants in the Helsinki region, the accounting firm Diafora Oy as well as three partner restaurants. Ravintolakolmio employs approximately 200 people, and the total turnover was EUR 24.5 million in 2018.
Group restaurants
Bio Rex at Lasipalatsi, Café Lasipalatsi, Restaurant Lasipalatsi
Restaurant Casa Mare
Graniittilinna
Meripaviljonki and the Meripaviljonki terrace
Paasiravintola, Restaurant Paasin kellari
Tony’s Deli, Tony’s Street Bar
Restaurant Suomenlinnan panimo
Viaporin Deli & Café
Restaurant Weeruska
Restaurant Juttutupa
Executive team
Joonas Keskinen, Director of Operations, Senior Partner
Jenni Keskinen, Managing Director, Senior Partner
Heimo Keskinen, Founder, Chair of the Board
Sami Hiltunen, Executive Chef, Partner, Member of the Board (not a member of the family)
www.ravintolakolmio.fi