Nelonen Media Live is the leading festival organiser in Finland. With its “Events for a better tomorrow” promise, the company also now wants to become a sustainability leader in its class.
Image: Kuopiorock in the summer of 2019, by Julius Konttinen.
The pandemic cancelled many major events and festivals in 2020. Unfortunate as the situation is, it left free time in Nelonen Media Live’s calendar for planning improvements to future events. We have now drawn up 7 event promises that define NML’s sustainability targets as an event organiser.
According to our “Events for a better tomorrow” promise, Nelonen Media Live will produce 1) safe, 2) accessible, 3) communal, 4) carbon-neutral, 5) sustainable, 6) fair and 7) entertaining events.
The safety of audiences, performers and employees now instructs the event organiser more than ever. Nelonen Media Live’s events are always planned in cooperation with the authorities, with due consideration for all current safety and hygiene instructions and guidelines. Accessible and discrimination-free, the events are created together with nationwide and local partners who are obligated to comply with the event promises.
Sanoma has set a goal of making its entire value chain carbon neutral by 2030. To support this goal, Nelonen Media Live is committed to paving a path to creating carbon-neutral and sustainable events in collaboration with each respective event partner. The work is palpable to the festival guests in the form of new recycling points, biodegradable containers as well as an updated deposit system used for the sale of alcohol. What’s more, customers are encouraged to use public transport or car pooling to get to the event location. NML’s environmental work is informed by the EcoCompass system of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. The system supports the ongoing monitoring of environmental effects and the planning of concrete measures.
Nelonen Media Live’s events are put together by professionals. Each year, the events employ hundreds of summer and seasonal workers, providing many young people with their first job. All employees receive compensation for their work, and we are investing in their well-being more than ever. All performers and music professionals also receive compensation for performing at the events as well as the appropriate Teosto royalties regardless of whether they are rising stars or established super stars.
“Our sustainability promises are visible at the different events with slightly different emphases: for example, the Suomipop Festival in Jyväskylä piloted the carbon-neutral workplace concept together with Ramirent’s carbon-neutral RamiGreen concept, while Kuopiorock focused on accessibility. A common denominator of all these events is that sustainability is not just empty words but actual concrete action,” says Anniina Havukainen, Production Manager and Sustainability Programme Manager at Nelonen Media Live.
“We are currently looking at different ways of organising events during the pandemic with due consideration for the official guidelines and restrictions. The health and safety of the spectators, performers and employees are always at the forefront,” says Havukainen.
Nelonen Media Live’s event promises are part of Sanoma’s recently updated sustainability strategy aimed, on the one hand, at maximising the positive social impact of our operations and, on the other hand, minimising our carbon footprint. For further information on our sustainability work, go to Sanoma.com.
More information: Anniina Havukainen, Production Manager and Sustainability Programme Manager at Nelonen Media Live, tel. +358 (0)40 1383124
Nelonen Media Live Oy specialises in event production. The company produces events, festivals and concerts around Finland. The festivals produced by Nelonen Media Live include Himos Juhannus, the Iskelmä Festivals at Himos and Pori, the Suomipop Festival in Jyväskylä and Oulu as well as the Kuopiorock festival. Nelonen Media Live is part of Sanoma Group.
