Rovio appoints Chief Sustainability Officer

“We have the following statement as part of our values: We’re here to leave our mark and be the best at always getting better. For me this describes perfectly what I feel is our ambition and also our duty. Looking at the world, as well as our industry, acting responsibly is now more important than ever. Lack of sustainability is the crisis of our generation. It will not be possible to live and work tomorrow if we don’t take seriously our responsibility to build and protect our most important capital, whether that be human, economic, social or environmental. In response to these risks and opportunities Rovio has established this new role orchestrating a strategic and purposeful change, and I’m honored to have been trusted by Rovio’s Leadership Team and Board of Directors to be the torchbearer as Chief Sustainability Officer.

I’ve been at Rovio for almost 9 years now, working as a Head of Studio for 5 years and currently as SVP Human Resources. I’ve seen this company grow into the corporate citizen it is today.
During those years we’ve developed a corporate responsibility program, and we have stated what our vision regarding sustainability is: “We want to lead the industry in creating safe and joyful gaming experiences that are crafted in a diverse and inclusive work culture while respecting our planet”. But it’s time to ramp up our commitment.

We don’t only want to “do no harm” – we want to be a force for good. This position has been created as a commitment to this vision. We at Rovio want to see sustainability effectively integrated throughout our strategy, operations, products, practices and interactions.
But what do we mean by sustainability? Many associate the word to exclusively refer to the environment or corporate social responsibility, but at Rovio that is definitely not the case. When we say Sustainability, we say it with a capital-S; we mean being sustainable in everything we do. It is about looking at the company’s role in the longer time frame: how the organization best creates value for itself, employees and stakeholders in a responsible way, and what impact it has on the surrounding world and also, how the world impacts it.

Why do this? Firstly, it’s the right thing to do, but also, it’s a sound business decision. Our industry is changing rapidly through new regulations, business models, technology, and of course, new customer needs and expectations. Focusing on sustainability will increase our problem-solving abilities and ability to adjust to these changes in both the market and the surrounding society.

We are an international company, with an international audience. If we’re not diverse and inclusive in the way we work, we can’t create the best possible products. Diversity leads to deeper understanding of markets, players and – well – humans. It helps to unleash the collaborative creativity so important in our craft, and eventually level up the games and experiences we create. Being a diverse and value-driven workplace helps us attract the talent who also sees these as imperatives for forward-looking game development.

Placing sustainability front and center in our agenda does not come at the expense of profitability – on the contrary. The essence of sustainability is to ensure a company’s success in the long term. Our ambition is to add value to every function in the company, and give back to the surrounding world and industry. In our opinion, there are no alternatives: this is something companies must invest in and we are committed to lead the way.”

Heini Kaihu