Promoting democracy, pluralism
and vitality in society
Contributor to a sustainable society
Alma Media’s media brands are committed to defending freedom of speech and a pluralistic and democratic society. They engage in ethical, objective and transparent journalism and help citizens improve their media skills.
Other Alma Media services also strive to enhance the vitality of their communities and support the balanced development of society, often in cooperation with other organisations, educational institutes or other companies.
While the methods vary, the goal is the same: providing people with tools for sustainable growth in both professional and private life.
Contributor to a sustainable society
Talouselämä goes carbon-neutral
Talouselämä’s first fully carbon-neutrally printed issue was published on 25 September, making Talouselämä the first carbon-neutral journalistic print publication in Finland.
Alma Talent compensates the emissions from the printing of Talouselämä’s weekly print publication in cooperation with the PunaMusta printing house.
On average, the printing of one print publication issue causes emissions amounting to 11.7 carbon dioxide equivalent tonnes. For example, the average carbon footprint of a Finn is approximately 10 tonnes per year. In addition to compensation, PunaMusta also aims to reduce emissions in all phases of the printing process.
Even the delivery of Talouselämä magazine is carbon neutral as Posti has compensated the emissions caused by delivery in Finland since 2011. The delivery of one copy generates emissions of approximately 2.1 carbon dioxide equivalent tonnes.
The climate project related to the compensation is an afforestation project in Ethiopia. The project partner is Nordic Offset and the project is verified through the Gold Standard certification programme for emissions trading.
“The key role of the media in mitigating climate change is to build discourse and accelerate action towards more sustainable choices and more sustainable investments. Every little concrete act counts. At Talouselämä, we want to lead the way towards carbon neutrality as well,” says Jussi Kärki, Editor-in-Chief of Talouselämä.
Making Talouselämä carbon-neutral is part of Alma Media’s environmental responsibility efforts.
Alma Media’s target is to reduce the direct CO2 emissions arising from its operations by 21 per cent by 2025 and the indirect CO2 emissions from its subcontracting chain by 10 per cent by 2023. It will achieve these targets by improving the energy efficiency of properties and developing logistics and the use of materials, for example.
An opposing force to fake news and hate speech
Responsible media companies must internalise how they can best support democracy and open dialogue between citizens.
One way to achieve this is to develop the ways editorial teams work and to open up this information to public scrutiny. Alma Media’s editorial teams have set quality goals for the content they publish. The key indicators used in monitoring their achievement include the number of condemnatory decisions by the Council for Mass Media as well as the results of reader surveys.
If the results decline, the editorial teams take action to respond.
Alma Media’s editorial offices also cooperate with schools in many ways. One of the focuses of this cooperation is media education. We consider it important for schools to produce children who have the capacity to act sensibly both as consumers and producers of content.
Interesting but not irresponsible
Headlines can be bold but they must not upset or insult anyone. Facts must be checked and false rumours exposed, states Iltalehti’s Editor-in-Chief Erja Yläjärvi.