Sanomapaino sustainability

Environmental sustainability

  • Environmental Standard: The Sanoma Environmental Standard guides the environmental work of Sanoma Printing Houses. In addition, printing houses have set their own environmental goals.
  • Environmental management system: Sanomapaino’s environmental management system complies with the requirements of the ISO 14001:2015 standard. Sanomapaino’s certificate number is 9307‑06. 
  • Emission reductions: Sanomala printing house a is a part of Sanoma's climate roadmap, which aims to reduce energy-related Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its own operations as well as Scope 3 emissions from the value chain. Sanoma has reduced its emissions significantly: its own operations (Scope 1 and 2) emissions have declined by 44% and supply chain (Scope 3) emissions by 38% by the end of 2024, compared to the base year 2021.
  • Product-specific emissions calculations for newspapers: In 2024, one printed and home‑delivered issue of Helsingin Sanomat generated about 70 grams of CO₂‑equivalent emissions, roughly comparable to driving half a kilometre with an average petrol passenger car. The annual print subscription represented only an extremely small fraction of the average Finnish person’s yearly carbon footprint. This calculation covers greenhouse gas emissions from paper, printing and transportation and is carried out in accordance with ISO 16759 using the Climate Calc calculation tool, which complies with ISO 14064-1 and GHG Protocol standards. The figures have been verified by a third party.
  • Carbon-free energy: Newspapers use carbon-free electricity and renewable district heating.
  • AI supporting energy efficiency: Artificial intelligence is used to improve energy efficiency in the Sanomala printing house, in addition to energy efficiency projects and the commitment to the Finnish Energy Efficiency Agreement.
  • PEFC certification: Media Finland only uses PEFC-certified paper and has obtained a PEFC certificate to ensure the traceability and transparency of the origin of the paper.
  • Materials efficiency and waste: All waste is recycled or reused. Sanomala aims to continuosly reduce waste generation, guided by quantified targets to minimize paper waste and through waste reduction training provided to employees.
  • Water responsibility: In 2025, Sanomala printing houses water consumption totalled 10,058 cubic metres. In the printing house, water is used for printing, humidifying the air and as household water.

Social sustainability

  • Safe working environment: Printing operations adhere to strict occupational safety standards and invest in preventive safety work.
  • Wellbeing and competence development: Continuous investments are made in the training and competence development of printing staff to ensure high-quality and responsible production. Sanoma Media Finland–wide actions to support staff wellbeing include, for example, the company’s comprehensive wellbeing initiatives and the Sanoma-wide internal wellbeing network established to develop and share best practices across units.
  • Employee involvement: As part of its environmental work, Media Finland has a three-year cooperation agreement with WWF Finland (in Finnish). For example, employees have the opportunity to participate in litter clean-ups and oil spill response exercises organised by WWF during the current year.

Responsible production and supply chain

  • Responsible sourcing and supplier requirements: Sanoma requires its suppliers to be responsible and to comply with the Supplier Code of Conduct, which covers environmental, labour and human rights issues.
  • Transparency: Sanoma reports annually on the progress of its sustainability work in compliance with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). In addition, Sanoma publishes a separate Sustainability Accounting Standard Board (SASB) content index to support investors.

Key figures 2024

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one HS newspaper ordered home, gCO2e

kg

annual HS newspaper ordered home, kgCO2e

%

reduction in Sanoma's own operations GHG emissions from 2021

%

reduction in Sanoma's value chain GHG emissions from 2021

%

of paper fiber used originates from certified sources

m3

water consumption in printing houses

%

of waste recycled or reused