Sustainability

Kotipizza Group’s mission is that ‘We’re With the Good Ones’. The mission and values of the Group are based on sustainability – doing the right thing and creating something good for ourselves, other people and the whole world. Sustainability is the basis of all operations in our restaurant chains and their administration. It gives us the opportunity to do meaningful work in inspiring and motivational conditions. For our customers, it means an even better customer experience and, above all, food that is safe, high-quality and responsibly produced and the origin of which we know thoroughly.

These pages describe the sustainability work of Kotipizza Group and how the work is being developed. As a proof of the impact of our efforts, the Nordic Sustainable Brand Index study has chosen Kotipizza as Finland’s most responsible restaurant brand four times.

Sustainable business is good business

For Kotipizza Group, sustainability is about value-driven work. This means that we allocate investments to measures that are both sustainable and financially effective. Our goal is to create value for both the financial results of the company and the environment, society and people. This is at the core of corporate sustainability. In our view, responsible business is the only way to do business.

The image below illustrates the value that our operations create for different stakeholders. The principle of our value creation is reflected in, for example, our commitment to increasing the use of domestic ingredients. Local sourcing means shorter distances in transport, which makes it easier to monitor suppliers and reduces emissions. The revenue stays in Finland, which creates jobs in the area. Our customers appreciate local ingredients, and they make them feel good. Our franchisees love selling products that they can be proud of and that make their customers happy. 

You can take a closer look at the graph here.

We believe that investing in responsibility continuously will increase the value of our company as a whole. Sustainably operating companies are more attractive service providers, employers and business partners. Sustainability work strengthens customer loyalty, attracts new customers and, in our understanding, has had a positive impact on the sales performance of the Kotipizza chain and the rapid growth of Social Burgerjoint. Sustainable values and methods also contributed in bringing together Kotipizza Group and the Orkla Group, which we joined in 2019. The business combination will help us make the world a better place, one bite at a time.

Sustainability is continuous development

Sustainability has been actualised in the operative functions of our restaurant chains for three decades already. Our sustainability work began with observing the law, ensuring the safety of our food and using high-quality ingredients. Now it entails much more, such as local and transparent sourcing, fighting climate change and taking care of human rights and occupational well-being in the supply chain and restaurants. The role of our customers and partners in this work is constantly increasing.

As the world and business are changing, so is sustainability work; the development never ends. Approaching corporate sustainability from the point of view of value creation allows us to see not only our successes but also our areas of development, which we keep developing accordingly. Sustainability is a journey, not a destination.

In 2019, the Group began working on renewing its sustainability strategy and objectives as well as the methods of measuring them. As part of this work, a roadmap that considers all different dimensions of sustainable development comprehensively was put together. The work has begun in the Kotipizza chain and will be extended to our other concepts later on. In the beginning of 2020, Kotipizza’s updated sustainability programme was launched. The image below displays its central themes.

Sustainability is about actions

As governed by our mission, sustainability is based on concrete actions to promote more sustainable business activities. These actions are carried out by the Kotipizza Group administration and our chains, restaurant franchisees and employees and the chain suppliers and partners. The greatest financial, social and environmental impacts, both positive and negative, are created by the operations of the restaurant chains – especially Kotipizza which has operated since 1987. Read more about our sustainability work here.

You can read about our most important sustainability work in 2022 in this report. Kotipizza’s previous sustainability report can be viewed here.