Responsibility

The responsibility program of the Finnish Jazz Federation was completed in 2022. We have identified those responsibility goals that are most relevant to our operations and wish to move towards them as an organisation, together with our members.

The Finnish Jazz Federation’s values are: responsibility, sense of community, expertise, open-mindedness and content focus. In accordance with these values outlined in our strategic plan, we operate with social, ecological, and financial responsibility.

The federation’s responsibility program defines four strategic responsibility goals for the organisation and guides all of our activities.

True to our values, we place responsibility to the front and centre of all our activities and wish to use our own actions as an example to encourage our members and everyone else involved in the jazz industry to develop their operations responsibly. We feel that the best way for us to advance the general prerequisites of the jazz industry is through responsible advocacy and through offering support towards the sustainable development of our sector. Our responsibility program actions are designed to systematically strengthen the positive impacts of our activities in the society and the environment.

As an organisation, we strive to become increasingly motivating and relevant for both our current and future members.

Our responsibility efforts and reporting are overseen by our responsibility working group. The Finnish Jazz Federation Board monitors our four responsibility goal performance indicators, and each year these results are included in our responsibility report. The report is published as part of the association’s Annual Report. All Annual Reports are available at the Finnish Jazz Federation website.

Responsibility goals of Finnish Jazz Federation

Our new responsibility program, extending until 2026, is guided by our wish to be a responsible organisation, advocate, and partner. Our responsibility program includes four strategic responsibility goals:

  1. Equality and non-discrimination in the jazz industry
  2. Accessibility of jazz music
  3. Environmentally friendly jazz industry
  4. Good governance
  • This goal will be achieved through these actions:

    We promote equality and non-discrimination through our artistic programming, decision making forums, and all other activities.

    • Safe and discrimination-free operational environment
    • Equality and non-discrimination in recruiting processes
    • Equality and non-discrimination in decision making
    • Equality and non-discrimination in communication

    In addition to ensuring our staff wellbeing, the Jazz Federation’s social responsibility focuses on the equal treatment of all creative workers we employ, general work health and safety, as well as promoting equality and non-discrimination across the entire jazz industry. We wish to manifest our strong commitment to promoting equality across the entire sector, and this goal been identified as one of the key goals in our responsibility program.

    Our procedures:

    We are a jazz industry advocacy organisation which is open to everyone, does not discriminate, and is committed to equality. We do not tolerate discrimination or unequal treatment based on a person’s gender, age, ethnic background, religion or conviction, opinion, state of health, disability, or sexual orientation. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards workplace bullying. We pay all artists and other employees at or above recommended industry rates, and do not use free labour. We also require our partners to be responsible and adhere to workplace, equality and non-discrimination legislation.

    We promote our staff’s workplace wellbeing through measures such as offering flexible working hours and remote working options, enabling staff training and study leave, and assisting staff in balancing their work with family responsibilities and other aspects of their private lives. We invest in developing our leadership and up-skilling our staff.

    What we already do:

    We have developed the Finnish Jazz Federation Equality Plan 2021-2023, complete with actions to advance equality, as well as actions which aim to ensure we can offer a workplace which is safe for everyone and free from discrimination. We apply our equality plan to all our recruiting processes, programming decisions, and communications. Actions set out in our equality plan promote workplace wellbeing in the jazz industry and equal opportunities for employment in the live jazz music sector regardless of a person’s age, place of residence, education, cultural background, gender, state of health, or other personal attributes.

    We have signed the Yhdenvertainen musiikkiala (Equal music industry) theses for promoting equality, non-discrimination and diversity in the music sector. The Jazz Federation, including all its associated events, has declared itself a discrimination-free space. Finnish Jazz Federation is a member of Yhdenvertaisen kulttuurin puolesta ry., an association administering the Culture for All Service.

    Future actions:

    During 2022, we will devise specific principles for safer spaces. These principles will apply to all our activities, and we require all our participants to commit to them. We will nominate a harassment contact person and produce written instructions to assist in dealing with harassment incidents. Our goal for the Finnish Jazz Federation Board and Artistic Committee membership is for them to be made up by no more than 60% of persons representing the same gender by the year 2026. The 2022 Board includes two women out of nine members, and the Artistic Committee two out of eight. We will increase cultural diversity in our decision making by 2026.

    Our commitments:

      1. Yhdenvertainen musiikkiala (Equal music industry) – theses for promoting equality, non-discrimination and diversity in the music sector
      2. Safe at every stage – creating a music industry that’s safe for all
      3. Europe Jazz Network’s manifesto on gender balance in jazz and creative music
      4. Discrimination-free space
      5. Fair art manifesto
  • This goal will be achieved through these actions:

    We ensure jazz can be experienced in different parts of Finland

    • National touring models and support to local jazz organisers
    • Accessibility action plan

    We enable jazz experiences for diverse population groups

    • Low-threshold and accessible productions
    • Transparent and accessible communications

    Our procedures:

    As a recipient of significant public funding, Finnish Jazz Federation wishes to enable jazz experiences for everyone. Our national touring models and support to local jazz organisers safeguard and strengthen the regional accessibility and geographic equality of jazz music. The Jazz Federation’s touring scheme facilitates c. 100 concerts around Finland each year, and the associated events reach c. 40 localities annually. Our own productions – such as the Jazz-Espa festival – are low-threshold, accessible events. Our communications follow our communications strategy and our equality plan which set out specific goals for transparency and accessible communications.

    What we already do:

    Advancing the accessibility of jazz music is one of the primary goals in the association’s current strategic plan. We have commissioned a report titled The current state of jazz music accessibility in Finland. Expected to be completed in late 2022, the report will include suggested actions for promoting the accessibility of jazz music. The Finnish Jazz Federation actively seeks to strengthen the Music Finland LIVE funding model (formerly Jazz & Etno Finland LIVE). The model promotes the accessibility of professionally produced cultural services in regional areas, as well as permanently improving the operational prerequisites for the industry by supporting local operators.

    Future actions:

    Upon completing The current state of jazz music accessibility in Finland report, we will compose an action plan valid until 2026 in order to increase accessibility across the jazz sector. The Jazz Federation has an accessibility and cultural wellbeing working group, which consists of its members, and which produces views on how to better utilise our national tours within existing municipal social and healthcare service structures. The data produced by the working group will be utilised in developing the Jazz Federation’s touring activities. We ensure that all our events are fully accessible, and that accessibility guidance at our Jazz-Espa event is further increased. Our new website will be published in three languages (FIN/ENG/SWE).

  • This goal will be achieved through these actions:

    We measure the environmental impacts of our touring and other activities, working towards carbon neutrality

    • Calculating the carbon footprint of our touring and other activities. An action plan to achieve carbon neutral circular economy
    • EcoCompass environmental program

    We increase environmental awareness amongst our members.

    • Member training events on more environmentally friendly production methods

    Our members, our partners, and increasingly our funders, value ambitious environmental efforts and responsibility. Jazz Finland has the will and the capacity to meet to these expectations as an organisation.

    Our procedures:

    Finnish Jazz Federation facilitates several productions each year, as well as maintaining our national touring activities, and most of our members are involved in organising different-sized events. The organisation wishes to play a part in slowing down climate change, especially by adopting low-emission production methods. We wish to improve our environmental responsibility by applying the principle of continuous improvement tour activities.

    What we already do:

    We make sure to recycle all materials produced as a result of our activities, covering all types of waste (plastic, cardboard, paper, organic waste, glass, metal, hazardous waste). In 2022, we switch to green electricity for our office space, and we serve vegetarian meals and/or responsibly caught local fish in our meetings.

    We have compiled our environmental program for the 2022-2024 period using the EcoCompass environmental management system which is based on continuous improvement. EcoCompass is an independent environmental management system based on the international ISO 14001 standard. In the process of building our environmental program, our organisation’s biggest environmental impacts were identified, and appropriate actions were planned in order to reduce them. The key focus of the 2022-2024 environmental problem is reducing emissions caused by the Jazz Federation’s touring activities and providing support towards environmental action across the entire jazz industry.

    In 2021, we calculated all emissions caused by our touring activities, including tours organised within the Nordic Jazz Comets program, and compensated them through the environmental company Puuni which focuses on reforestation and land restoration projects in Finland.

    Finnish Jazz Federation is a member of the network KEMUT, a sustainable music industry toolkit.

    Future actions:

    In 2022, we will calculate the carbon footprint of our tours and all our other activities, in collaboration with Puuni. In 2023, we will compile comprehensive plans to reduce our emissions and engage in carbon neutral circular economy. Although our goal is to reduce our emission load each year, it is impossible to achieve zero emissions, which is why Finnish Jazz Federation will also compile a compensation plan as part of our emission reduction plan. We will evaluate our achievements by measuring our carbon footprint annually.

    We will further reduce our emissions by engaging in carbon neutral circular economy, and by reducing our consumption. Best waste is non-existing waste, and we aim to get to this by reducing the amount and harmfulness of the waste we create. In 2022, we will give up items such as single-use plastics and bottled water as well as single-use event banners. We will avoid food waste through careful planning. For any unavoidable purchases, we choose from a list of environmentally certified suppliers. In the case of new acquisitions, we ensure that old equipment and materials get recycled or reused. From 2023 onwards, our tour bus will be powered by renewable diesel.

    Finnish Jazz Federation will increase the overall environmental awareness in the jazz industry as well as supporting its members’ environmental efforts by offering training sessions on more environmentally production methods. In addition, the Jazz Federation will carry out development projects aiming to support the jazz industry’s environmental skills and actions, in collaboration with its members and other organisations at the art and cultural sector.

    Development projects 2022-2023

    1. Jazz Finland’s carbon neutral touring model project
    2. ELMA – Digital sustainability platform for the music industry

    Our commitments:

    1. EcoCompass Certificate
    2. Europe Jazz Network’s Green Manifesto
  • This goal will be achieved through these actions:

    Our operations are transparent and adhere to good governance principles.

    • Engaging our members in developing our activities and participating in decision making
    • Clear procedures
    • Responsible financial management

    Carrying out our operations in accordance with good governance principles creates trust and satisfaction, is engaging, and guarantees the quality and continuity of our activities

    Our procedures:

    Finnish Jazz Federation is a non-profit organisation which allocates its income towards activities set out in its constitution and strategic plan. All our activities adhere to the relevant laws and good governance principles. We honour the specific requirements set out in our funding agreements, such as tendering and small-scale procurement recommendations set out in the law on public procurement, as well as all other conditions defined by funding agreements. In accordance with the conditions of government funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture, our activities promote equality and non-discrimination. We adhere to all employer obligations defined in the Equality Act and the Non-Discrimination Act. We acknowledge our obligation to adhere to the Digital Services Act in all our activities.

    What we already do:

    We engage our members in developing our activities and participating in decision making. Our outcomes are reported in a transparent and measurable manner. Our financial management is responsible, and we plan our finances through long-term planning and forecasting. We always strive to operate in a cost-effective manner, ensuring quality outcomes. We use the stability and development of public funding received as one of our key indicators for the responsibility of our activities.

    Future actions:

    We continue to improve our remote participation opportunities and aim to significantly increase our member visits to all parts of Finland to ensure the services we offer are equally accessible to all our members. We strengthen the experience of inclusion by increasing the amount of member group work when developing our activities. We ensure that all our procedures and guidelines are up to date regarding responsibility. We document our financial management and monitoring processes in a written format.

    Public documents in Finnish: