We prepared a sustainability plan
We have drawn up a sustainability plan for the Jumbo-Flamingo shopping centre until 2030, focuses especially on environmental sustainability and social sustainability. The shopping center’s new sustainability manager is responsible for implementing the sustainability plan.
We developed energy efficiency
The Jumbo-Flamingo heat pump systems were made fully operational during 2022. The shopping centre benefits from a heat recovery system that collects waste heat generated from grocery stores, the building’s cooling networks and exhaust air, and uses it further for heating. On the Flamingo side, a corresponding system recovers heat from the spa’s wastewater and other energy flows and makes use of this energy within the shopping centre. The shopping centre’s heating and cooling emissions have considerably decreased as a result. Further, we optimise ventilation according to the conditions and the number of visitors.
At Jumbo-Flamingo, we believe that even small actions have a big meaning. That’s why sustainability can be seen everywhere in our shopping center.
Here are a few small, but all the more effective eco-activities implemented by Jumbo-Flamingo:
- The service corridors and stairwells have motion detectors to save electricity.
- Jumbo-Flamingo no longer uses fluorescent lamps containing heavy metals, having replaced these with LED lamps. We also recently removed large advertising lights from the façade and roof of our shopping centre that indicated our opening hours.
- Our escalators and walkways are equipped with a stand-by function, which means they stop or rotate more slowly when there are no people on them.
We use emission-free energy
On the Jumbo side, we use electricity produced by hydropower, and on the Flamingo side, the electricity is emission-free, i.e. produced by nuclear power. Jumbo-Flamingo’s district heating is based on renewable heat produced at the Martinlaakso biopower plant and, from June 2023 onward, from the mixed waste of residents of the capital region. The purchased electricity and heat are supplied with a guarantee of origin, meaning that it has been verified by calculation that the electricity and heat were produced by a renewable or emission-free production method.
We improved recycling opportunities
At Jumbo-Flamingo, our customers can recycle a wide variety of household recyclable materials during their shopping trips. Our largest recycling point can be found in the outdoor parking area on the Lentoasemantie side, in front of the shopping centre. Recycling bins can also be found inside and outside our bottle recycling points on levels P1 and P3 of the parking garage.
Examples of materials you can recycle at Jumbo-Flamingo include:
- Glasses and jars
- Cardboard
- Paper products and magazines
- Small metal items
- Plastics bags and packaging
- Clothing
- Batteries and small electronic devices
- Lamps and fluorescent tubes
- Bottles and cans
Waste produced by stores is carefully recycled
The waste generated by Jumbo-Flamingo’s stores is carefully sorted. Various wastes have their own collection containers for glass, metal, waste paper, energy-saving lamps, fluorescent tubes and batteries. Cardboard waste produced in-store, as well as clear plastic, are compressed into bales using presses. In addition, metal cans are pressed together and collected as metal waste. We also collect wood waste.
We have also improved the collection of packaged bio- and energy waste in order to reduce the amount of mixed waste. All packaged or unpackaged food waste generated from our stores is placed in bio-waste collection, from where it is delivered to a processing plant, where it is turned into compost or biogas. Bread and bakery waste generated in hypermarkets is collected separately and bioethanol is made from it in the bioethanol plant located in Vantaa. Even the collection truck used to collect bread and bakery waste uses the same bioethanol.
We opened a co-working space
Remote working has become the new norm in recent years, so we opened a free and open workspace called Wörkkis in the shopping centre, which can be found on level 2 of Flamingo, next to Break Sokos Hotel Flamingo. In the workspace, you can find various workstations, from desks to relaxed sofas, as well as a soundproof phone booth for important calls. Free WiFi is available in Wörkkis, and there is no need to make a reservation in advance.
Supporting event organisation
In autumn 2022, together with the city of Vantaa, we organised a Megarekry event. As part of this, about a thousand open jobs were advertised by recruiters to Jumbo-Flamingo visitors, with the goal of seeking new employees. We have also organised events and activities in collaboration with other organisations and social actors, ranging from children’s activities to timely exhibitions, and even a traffic safety event.