On Baltic Sea Day last August, Sanoma employees gathered to clean up plastic waste from the local neighbourhood. Photo: Samuli Pulkkinen/Sanoma

The UN's World Environment Day is celebrated on 5 June. The aim of the day is to raise awareness and encourage action to protect the environment. To celebrate the day, we compiled highlights of Sanoma's environmental work, including Sanoma's 2024 Sustainability Report.

In line with the emission reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), Sanoma aims to reduce emissions from its own operations (scope 1 and 2) by 42% and value chain emissions (scope 3, categories 1, 3 and 4) by 38% by 2030 compared to 2021. By the end of 2024, emissions from the company's own operations had been reduced by 44% and emissions from the value chain by 38%.

In terms of Sanoma’s own operations, the use of carbon-neutral and renewable energy had the most significant impact on the company’s emissions – last year, all energy use in Finland was carbon-neutral. In the whole company, 92% of the energy and 97% of the electricity used was fossil-free. Sanoma is also investing in renewable electricity production and last year, a total of 2,125 solar panels were planted on Sanoma House in Helsinki and Manu printing house in Tampere. Artificial intelligence was also used to improve energy efficiency at Sanoma House and printing houses in Tampere and Vantaa.

As part of its environmental work, Media Finland has a three-year cooperation agreement with WWF Finland. For example, Sanoma’s personnel will have the opportunity to participate in plastic litter clean-ups and oil spill response exercises organised by WWF during the current year. We also encourage our staff to take small actions for the benefit of nature, such as having walking meetings and offering vegetarian food at our events. Earth Hour was also widely broadcast on Sanoma's radio channels on 18 March. During the agreement period, WWF Finland will also strengthen its marketing in Sanoma's channels.

In 2024, Sanoma published its new Environmental Standard. Sanoma’s emission reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). In Media Finland, we minimise the impact of paper sourcing on biodiversity by using only PEFC-certified paper. In 2025, Sanoma Media Finland also acquired the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) chain of custody certification to ensure the traceability and transparency of the origin of paper.

The ISO 14001 environmental standard of Sanoma’s printing houses in Tampere and Vantaa was renewed in 2025 and will remain valid until the end of April 2028. The standard serves as Sanomapaino's environmental management system. For example, all waste from Sanoma's printing facilities is recycled or reused. Sanoma also assesses the carbon footprint of the production of both of its printing facilities annually in accordance with industry standards. For example, the carbon footprint of newspapers printed at Sanomapaino’s printing houses has decreased significantly in recent years.

Sanoma also measures the carbon footprint of advertising in its channels and participates in international development work to create uniform emission calculation models. According to different sources, Sanoma's media distribution channels are among the lowest-emission decile globally.

In March 2025, Sanoma was also awarded with the leadership level score of A- in the global CDP Climate Change rating for the third consecutive year. CDP scoring is considered the gold standard of corporate environmental reporting and a high scoring of on a scale from D- to A demonstrates Sanoma’s commitment to enhance its environmental work. Additionally, Sanoma maintained a strong CDP Forest rating of B.

“For us, environmental responsibility is not just a strategic goal, but part of our daily operations. World Environment Day reminds us that every action counts, which is why we encourage our employees to participate and bring their ideas to Sanoma's environmental work. At the same time, we will continue our long-term work together with our partners. Current topics include the management of digital and AI-related emissions, for example”, says Eveliina Nygren, Sanoma’s Sustainability Manager.

Learn more about Sanoma’s sustainability work at sanoma.com/sustainability.