Social responsibility
Alma Media’s commitment to the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact means a clear commitment to the prevention of child labour, human trafficking and forced labour in its operations and supply chain.
In addition Alma Media is committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Rights and Principles at Work, and other core international human rights conventions and recommendations.
Competence development of own personnel
Training and developing the skills of Alma Media’s employees have a significant positive impact on the workforce. This impact extends to all employees, as continuous skill development supports professional growth, employability, and the ability to respond to changes in job content and skill requirements. Long-term development and retraining enhance employees’ skills, job performance, and career opportunities, and support job retention in a changing operational environment.
Alma Media has set time-bound and result-oriented targets for training, skill development, and supporting the commitment of its own workforce. Training and skill development are linked to the company’s strategy and the skill requirements of the digital transformation, and the targets are defined in measurable form. The targets aim to strengthen positive impacts on employees, particularly skill development, professional readiness, and job retention, and to prevent negative impacts such as skill obsolescence and resulting employment risks.
Alma Media respects the UN Global Compact initiative, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
The targets include maintaining the Peakon Engagement index above the technology industry average, implementing the Performance Management process covering the entire workforce with personal goals and development plans, extensive training and development programs – including strengthening AI skills and leadership programs for supervisors – and improving the transparency and communication of compensation to support employee motivation and trust.
Ethical principles
Alma Media recruits new employees purely based on their competence and aptitude.
In accordance with the Group’s Code of Conduct, everyone must respect basic human rights. The company Code of Conduct prohibits all forms of discrimination, harassment, human trafficking, forced labour, and child labour, and requires respect for all internationally recognized human rights. The guidelines are based on the UN Global Compact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the ILO’s fundamental principles and rights at work.
Awareness of diversity, equity, inclusion and non-discrimination is increased by means of online training on the Code of Conduct and online DEI training aimed at all employees. The themes are part of the orientation of all new employees and the company’s training for supervisors and managers.
The implementation of human rights principles is monitored at Alma Media through employee surveys, supervisor training, feedback channels, and the ethical Whistleblowing channel. The Whistleblowing channel is available to both employees and partners, and reports are handled confidentially. This ensures that any deviations are identified and addressed appropriately.
Human rights requirements for the supply chain and partners are defined in Alma Media’s Supplier Code of Conduct, which requires suppliers to comply with applicable laws and international human rights standards. The supplier code includes provisions on employee safety and health, non-discriminatory and fair treatment, respect for freedom of association, and prohibitions on child labour, forced labour, human trafficking, or other human rights violations. These requirements are consistent with the ILO’s key conventions and apply to subcontracting and work performed through third parties.
Responsible media
Media are perceived to play a central role in defending democracy, pluralism, freedom of speech and peace in society. The responsibility of Alma’s media is measured by means of performance indicators associated with the truthfulness of the content, the reliability of the sources, the accuracy of the content and the promotion of good commercial practice.
In its policies, Alma Media emphasises the significance of operating ethically, responsibly and in accordance with the company’s values. This includes promoting freedom of expression and responsible marketing and advertising through comprehensive, precise, ethical and transparent practices. The company also ensures the independence of editorial teams and ensures the appropriate independent supervision of management, which enables the representation of social, ethnic and political diversity in impartial, pluralistic and fact-based media content. Alma Media’s commitment to freedom of expression and pluralistic journalism is an integral aspect of the company’s operations, which helps to maintain trust among audiences and has a positive impact on Finnish society.
The editorial departments of our media are committed to truthful, open and pluralistic journalism.
Alma Media’s editorial teams are committed to the Council for Mass Media Guidelines for Journalists, and they comply with the principles of responsible journalism that are based on the media sector’s self-regulation. Alma’s media outlets are guided by principles that supplement the Guidelines for Journalists and are published on the media outlets’ websites. The Group’s target for the reliability and accuracy of content is that the number of condemnatory decisions of the Council for Mass Media addressed to the Group’s media must not exceed the threshold of five (5) condemnatory decisions.
Alma Media does not receive or grant political or other contributions that could compromise its independence. The Group’s media grant discounts on advertising to non-profits and non-governmental organisations as well as parties and candidates in election advertising, and the terms of the discounts are the same for everyone.
Our editorial teams have open and direct feedback channels for their audiences, and the media outlets’ own discussion forums facilitate active and open dialogue. In addition, financial independence ensures that Alma Media’s journalism can operate freely and be fully committed to promoting freedom of expression.
Responsible marketing
Marketing is an integral part of the consumer’s and end-user’s media and service experience, and it affects engagement with content and services. Consumers and end-users who encounter marketing in services or content must also be able to trust the commercial content. If a consumer or end-user encounters disturbing, unethical, dishonest or false advertising, their trust in the media or service will be eroded. The truthfulness of marketing and preventing the misleading of consumers is a basic condition for campaigns published in the Group’s media and services. The automation and internationalisation of advertising and the increasingly complex digital advertising ecosystem also require Alma Media to continuously make significant investments in maintaining a high-quality and safe media environment.
Alma Media complies with the legislation governing marketing as well as the marketing communications industry’s self-regulation in monitoring the advertising activities of its customers and when engaging in marketing communications for its media brands and services. The company promotes good commercial practice and complies with the marketing rules of the International Chamber of Commerce and the guidelines of the Council of Ethics in Advertising. Alma also complies with the IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF), which increases the transparency of advertising data for consumers. This Consent Management Platform (CMP) was deployed across all of Alma’s consumer and business services in August 2020. For example, these changes make it possible to display or measure programmatically bought advertising targeted on a data-driven basis, personalise content and create advertising profiles only for users who have consented to it. Alma Media refuses to publish advertising campaigns that have deficiencies related to the collection of personal data or include content that does not correspond to ICC Code.
Secure service use, data security and data protection
The trust of Alma Media’s digital product users is based on the company’s responsible handling of data and compliance with data protection regulations. Internal control of data protection is designed to ensure that Alma Media complies with data protection regulations and protects personal data. Practices include comprehensive instructions and procedures that define how data should be handled, stored, and protected. These instructions and procedures are binding on all business segments and operations, ensuring compliance with data protection laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The principles include regular risk assessments and necessary updates to controls to ensure that the organisation operates in compliance with regulations and that potential risks related to data protection are identified and measures to manage risks can be planned.
The users of digital services can feel confident that their customer data is stored, managed and used responsibly.
Alma Media also has mechanisms for monitoring data protection practices and reporting violations and deviations. This allows for quick identification and resolution of issues and minimises the impact of potential breaches. Data protection practices also ensure the respect and implementation of the rights of data subjects, such as the right to access, correct, and delete data. Procedures are in place to implement these rights. Alma Media’s data protection principles include controls for managing third parties, such as suppliers and partners, if they have access to personal data. This ensures that they also comply with data protection regulations and operate in accordance with the organisation’s data protection procedures.
To implement data protection and manage risks, Alma Media trains its staff on the evolving data protection legislation and obligations. Additionally, the company maintains and regularly updates its data protection policy and processes. The practical operating model includes early response to potential data security and data protection suspicions and open reporting to authorities.
Read more from the annual report.
Read also about Alma Media’s environmental responsibility and good governance.