Corporate responsibility program

Nordic Morning’s corporate responsibility (CR) work is based on the triple bottom line: people, profit and planet. These three correspond to the areas of social, financial and environmental responsibility, and form the basis of our CR approach. 

Supported by our values of renewal, respect and responsibility, the CR program is firmly integrated within Nordic Morning’s business.

We developed our CR program originally in 2010, and an important part of that process was our dialogue with stakeholders in order to map their expectations. We have further measured employee expectations through our staff survey and taken in the views of Group management through interviews.

In 2016, we reviewed and updated our most relevant CR aspects. Most important for our business is to create an engaging and collaborative culture for being able to attract and retain talent. Inspiring and nurturing leadership is also very important for employee wellbeing and engagement.

To our customers we want to be a responsible partner in change.

The grounds for the most important CR themes for our business are recorded below together with the most important achievements in 2016 and the palanned actions for 2017.

Key performance indicators

In 2016, we decided to have the following KPI:s for showing our progress in the three areas of CR, and reporting on them regularly:

1. Financial responsibility: Added value created per FTE. This we have reported already since 2010 (see a table in Financial responsibility). Based on the Group's budget, the estimated added value created per FTE in 2017 will be EUR 87.000 per FTE.

2. Social responsibility: Employee Net Promoter Score (ENPS). This shows how likely employees would recommend their employer as a place to work, indicating our success in creating culture of engagement. This has been asked annually since 2013, except in 2016 (2013:3.2, 2014:3.4, 2015: 3.2). The target for 2017 is 3.4.

3. Environmental responsibility: Reducing carbon footprint. The figure includes emissions from fuels, electricity, district heating and district cooling, and has been calculated in 2007-2015 (see a table in Environmental responsibility). The target for 2017 is to produce less than 320 ton CO2 emissions.

Our biggest suppliers

In 2016, we categorized our suppliers based on the annual spend. Our biggest supplier groups in 2016 were: technology and social media companies which services we need as part of our own services for customers; paper suppliers; employment pension companies and the real estate landlords.

The significance of CR for our stakeholders and its impact on Nordic Morning are described in the Materiality assessment matrix below. The criteria have been selected and their significance and impact have been evaluated by the Group’s CRI team, the CEO and the management team.

The Group’s boundaries

The Group’s boundaries include the parent company, Nordic Morning Plc and its subsidiaries. The material aspects indentified according to the GRI's G4 Guidelines and related boundaries are listed below in the table "Material aspects and their boundaries".

Code of Business Ethics

The Code of Business Ethics guides the activities of every Nordic Morning employee in relation to stakeholders such as customers, colleagues, and business partners. We also expect our business partners to comply with our ethical guidelines.

Code of Business Ethics »
GRI Index »

Our key Corporate Responsibility themes

Responsible partner in change

The fast-paced digitalization is challenging companies and organizations to change. We help our customers by advising and creating data- and analytics-driven solutions, combining content, service design, visibility and customer dialogue. We manage our customers’ data responsibly, and when there are third parties involved in the services we provide, we expect them to comply with our values and Code of Business Ethics.

Being a responsible partner to our customers in change is in the core of our strategy, of which the CEO, the Group management team and the Board of Directors are in charge.

Achievements in 2016

Our collaboration efforts within Nordic Morning led to an increasing number of joint sales activities, customer projects and service development initiatives. We organized the internal Innovation Awards for the third time.

In April, Ottoboni, Klikkicom, Sitrus, Seed and Edita Prima’s sales and development teams moved into the same offices in Helsinki, and at the end of the year, Ottoboni moved into the office already shared by Klikki and Sitrus in Stockholm. At the beginning of 2017, Ottoboni’s and Sitrus’s Malmö operations were brought together under one roof. Operating from the same offices enables us to serve common customers in a better and more efficient way.

Emphasis in 2017

We’ll continue to enhance our cross-company collaboration, all benefiting from our different areas of expertise. We’ll define our practices on responsible customer data management to meet the requirements of the EU’s data protection directive in 2018.

Further information: Strategy »

Culture of engagement and collaboration

We are committed to building a culture of engagement, providing employees with learning opportunities, nurturing their talent, offering inspirational leadership and fair rewards for achievement. We believe that individuals with diverse backgrounds and experience, working together in an environment built on trust and transparency, are essential to our success.

We encourage employees to collaborate with each other across the Group to strengthen our culture and ability to meet customer needs. Creating a culture of engagement is part of the Group’s HR strategy, the development of which is the joint responsibility of the Vice President, HR, Group CEO and management team.

Achievements in 2016

Launching Slack as an internal social media in the fall has increased collaboration and sharing of knowledge and ideas accross companies, countries and areas of expertise within the Group.

The Nordic Bond 002 program was completed and the internal social game HEIMO expanded with a new module. An employer value proposition was developed further, and as input to the strategy work to be carried out in 2017, an internal culture survey was conducted in the fall. Also, an internal mentoring program was started in the fall.

Emphasis in 2017

We will continue to strengthen the culture of collaboration and engagement, and to develop inspiring leadership. The mentoring program will be continued in 2017.

Further information: Social responsibility »

Good corporate citizen

We comply with transparency and the Code of Business Ethics in our operations. We have a proven track record of systematic work for reducing our environmental impact since the beginning of the 1990s. Every year, we report our tax footprint, management’s incentives, and business risks. We expect our partners and suppliers to comply with our values and Code of Business Ethics.

In terms of charitable work, Nordic Morning focuses on the prevention of the exclusion of youth by supporting the Youth Academy in Finland. In addition, there are several charitable initiatives carried out in the Group companies.

The management, the Group CEO and Board of Directors carry the ultimate responsibility for Nordic Morning’s performance as a good corporate citizen.

Achievements in 2016

Having brought the Group companies’ operations together in Helsinki, Stockholm and Malmö, Nordic Morning has improved its overall energy efficiency.

We inspected the Group’s supply chains, and evaluated our suppliers based on how much we spend in their services annually. We found out that there are four clearly bigger supplier groups: the providers of technical services and platforms that are integral parts of our solutions to customers; the work pension insurance companies; the landlords; and the paper suppliers.

Emphasis in 2017

We will continue to reduce our environmental impact by investing in responsible operations, products and services and promoting environmental awareness among employees. 

Further information: Environmental responsibility »

Materiality assessment

Material aspects and boundaries

GRI aspects (G4 - 19)Aspect boundary (G4 - 20-21)
CATEGORY: ECONOMIC
Economic Performance Nordic Morning Group
CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENTAL
Materials Nordic Morning Group
Energy Nordic Morning Group
Water Nordic Morning Group
Biodiversity Partners
Emissions Nordic Morning Group
Effluents and Waste Nordic Morning Group
Products and Services Nordic Morning Group, partners
Compliance Nordic Morning Group
Transport Partners
CATEGORY: SOCIAL
Labour practices and decent work
Employment Nordic Morning Group
Labor/Management Relations Nordic Morning Group
Occupational Health and Safety Nordic Morning Group
Training and Education Nordic Morning Group
Diversity and Equal Opportunity Nordic Morning Group
SOCIETY
Anti-corruption Nordic Morning Group

Stakeholders

Employees

The cornerstones of HR strategy are Learning and Development, Leadership, and Culture of Engagement.

In the fall 2016, we launched an internal social media on Slack, with the goal of strengthening collaboration as well as sharing of knowledge and ideas within the Group.

In 2016, the percentage of Group personnel who have had at least one development discussion with their manager was 83.8 percent (in 2015: 67.6).

Our aim is to create and maintain a culture of engagement. If we win the hearts of our employees, we have succeeded.

Customers

Ongoing dialogue with customers is part of the fundamental nature of our business. We have daily dialogue with customers about their needs and expectations.

We cater for our customers and anyone else interested in matters relevant to marketing, communication and business change by posting blogs, articles and videos regularly on the website and social media.

Our own market surveys support the dialogue with customers. In Finland, we also utilize research information provided by the Finnish Association of Marketing, Technology and Creativity (MTL), the Federation of the Finnish Media Industry and Kantar TNS. In Sweden, we utilize information produced by the Institute for Advertising and Media Statistics (IRM, Institutet för Reklam- och Mediestatiastik).

Owner

The owner of Nordic Morning, the Finnish state, is represented as member of Nordic Morning’s Board of Directors. Furthermore, the owner regularly receives information about our business in the form of financial reports.

Memberships and certificates

In Finland, Nordic Morning is a member of The Finnish Association of Marketing, Technology and Creativity (MTL), the Federation of the Finnish Media Industry, the Finnish Book Publishers Association and Finpro. In Sweden, Nordic Morning is a member of the Swedish Marketing Federation (Sveriges Marknadsförbund).

Edita Prima Oy is a member of the Environmental Register of Packaging (PYR) and Edita Bobergs AB is a member of the Swedish packaging industry organization REPA.

Climate-neutral business

The Group’s climate-neutral companies in 2016 were Edita Prima Oy and Edita Bobergs AB.

These companies have reduced the carbon-dioxide emissions generated by their operations and compensated for the remaining emissions by funding UN-supervised clean development mechanism projects in India.

Nordic Ecolabel

Edita Prima's production plant in Helsinki, Finland and Edita Bobergs production plants in Falun, Sweden are entitled to use the Nordic Ecolabel. The environmental impact of printing production has been considered throughout the production chain. Both the materials used and the production processes comply with the Nordic Ecolabel criteria.

Standard for environmental management

Edita Prima’s production plant in Helsinki, Finland and Edita Boberg's production plant in Falun, Sweden are certified in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard for environmental management.

Forest certification

Edita Prima has certified its system for monitoring the origin of the wood fiber used in its paper in accordance with international standards from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC). Edita Bobergs has certified its system in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). 

These printing companies are thus also entitled to use these labels indicating that the wood fiber used in their paper originates from a forest that is managed in a socially, ecologically and economically responsible way.