Sustainability

Cyber Security Is about Being Prepared and Ready to React

In addition to being prepared and protected, it is important to be able to react quickly and in a controlled manner in the event of a potential security attack, to ensure that corrective measures do not cause unintended additional harm, and to recover from an exceptional situation as quickly as possible. This is exactly where the expertise of Loihde's Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) lies. Our CSOC monitors customers’ IT environments around the clock and numerous examples have shown how early detection of anomalies and correct responses have ensured the undisturbed continuity of our customers' operations.

Employees Have a Key Role in Information Security as Well

Ensuring security is not just technology. More than half of the data leaks encountered by companies and one fifth of the information security breaches occur as a result of personnel’s own actions. That is why raising awareness of information security is paramount, but the user experience of digital services must also be designed to make it easier to do right than wrong.

Loihde continuously trains its employees in matters related to information security and data protection according to the requirements of each role.

Information Security Certifications

Information security certifications demonstrate our commitment to the development of information security. Loihde Trust Ltd’s information security management system is certified in accordance with the international ISO/IEC 27001 information security standard, and the principles of the standard are also applied in other Group companies, where applicable.

Responsible Use of Data Takes Many Aspects into Account

The amount of data available to businesses is growing at an accelerating pace. The increasing and easier collection of data also exposes it to unintentional or even intentional misuse, which may be due to the poor quality of the data, distortions in its processing or inadequate protection of sensitive data. Responsible use of data also takes environmental matters into account, by optimising data transfer, storage and processing to become as energy efficiently as possible. We consult and support our customers in the responsible and sustainable use and quality management of data and its proper protection.

Governance Model for Responsible Artificial Intelligence

There is a particular interest and future value in but also concerns about artificial intelligence, AI, its utilisation and manageability. We have been among the first companies in Europe to develop an AI Governance and Auditing model as part of the AIGA project that was coordinated by the University of Turku. In the project, a group of companies and organisations that develop and use AI solutions together created principles and practices for the responsible use of AI. At Loihde, we have also formulated our own AI Governance Playbook that we follow in both internal and customer projects. By offering our entire personnel internal training, we ensure that all employees understand the possibilities and risks of AI usage.

We use the newest technologies in a responsible way, both in our own operations and in services implemented for our customers. We always ensure that the technologies we use are secure and reliable and that our customers benefit from using them. We strive to avoid unnecessary use of computing capacity in the solutions we provide. For example, we do this when we create and test AI models, so that we can optimise them from this perspective as well.

We Support Customers in Managing Responsibility and Sustainability Data

We help our customers not only to act responsibly, but also to prove it. The regulation of responsibility reporting is increasing and stakeholder expectations are growing. Data on responsible and sustainable activities must be reported with the same accuracy and reliability as financial data. As an information management expert, we support our customers in collecting ESG data from various sources, managing it, ensuring its quality, and organising it in a reportable format. In connection to this, we create insights about impact and prioritisation of sustainability actions.

A workplace where everyone can feel comfortable

Our work community is based on trust and respect for others. All our activities are guided by our ways of working:

• Trust enables freedom
• Fair equality
• Together we are more
• Courage to do things
• Growth in many directions

It is important for our employees to be able to do meaningful work every day. In our employee surveys, the most important factors for job satisfaction are rewarding work tasks, a strong team spirit, fair pay and a healthy work-life balance. In an expert organisation like Loihde, other prominent aspects include the opportunities for personal and competence development and the chance to influence one’s own work. We monitor the development of job satisfaction with continuous pulse surveys.

Competence is our most important resource and its continuous development is essential both for maintaining our competitiveness and for the motivation and satisfaction of our employees. Our work community consists of a group of experts with a strong desire to continuously develop their own expertise. Our competence develops through, e.g. on-the-job training and internal and external training programmes, such as those leading to partner certifications. Loihde also encourages independent learning and pays some of the related costs.

We Are All Equal

Loihde wants to be an equal workplace for everyone. Our goal is to ensure that Loihde implements genuinely non-discriminatory procedures in recruitment, career advancement, distribution of duties, deciding on pay and benefits, training opportunities, and work community development. This objective is primarily supported through supervisor training.

The share of women in the labour force is generally low in the IT and security sector, and Loihde is no exception to this. In 2023, women accounted for 20% of Loihde’s employees, 20% of supervisors, 33% of the Leadership Team and 17% of the Board of Directors. Our aim is to increase the share of women in our personnel and to encourage women and girls to seek employment in our sector in general. For example, it is important to involve different genders and people from different backgrounds in the design of digital services and creation of artificial intelligence solutions.

We strive to ensure equal pay by regularly comparing the pay levels of women and men in the same or similar positions. No significant differences have been observed.

At Loihde, we strive to give employees the opportunity to make different working time arrangements in order to reconcile work and family life. Remote work was possible in many jobs even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and now hybrid work, where you work part of the week from home and the other part at the office, is the most common.

Let’s take care of each other

Loihde has addressed the challenges of coping at work by implementing an early caring model and by providing low-threshold conversational therapy in cooperation with occupational health, among other things.

Trust Plays a Key Role

We operate in sectors where trust is key. For many of our customers, data is one of the most important assets. The customer trusts us with their data for processing or protection purposes. Whether the data belongs to our customers, employees or other stakeholders, we want to demonstrate our worthiness of their trust by processing data appropriately and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

Our Code of Conduct also includes an anti-corruption and anti-bribery policy, which defines the rules and restrictions concerning gifts and hospitality.

In 2021, we introduced an anonymous whistleblowing channel for reporting abuse or unethical behaviour. The channel is open to both employees and external stakeholders.

Good Governance

In Loihde’s corporate governance, we voluntarily follow all of the recommendations in the Finnish Securities Market Association’s Corporate Governance Code, even though it is not required of First North companies.

One of the key principles in the selection of Loihde’s Board of Directors is diversity, the essential elements of which are the members’ complementary education, competence and experience, as well as a broad age structure and balanced gender representation.

Loihde’s quality and environmental work is certified. Loihde Trust Ltd and Loihde Advance Ltd have an ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system. Loihde Trust Ltd also has an ISO 14001:2015 certified environmental quality system.

Through continuous improvement, we aim to prevent the waste of resources and to reduce our energy consumption and the resulting emissions. In all devices, equipment and fleet, we emphasise safety, sustainability and efficiency in line with the lifecycle approach.

Company Bicycles

In 2021, we introduced company bicycles as a new employee benefit in order to reduce commuting by car and promote exercise. More than 10% of Loihde's employees have taken advantage of the benefit.