Corporate Responsibility

Fairfax Media's commercial success and financial performance is vitally important to the company's ability to provide meaningful benefits to the communities we serve throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Across our business operations, we maintain a strong focus on environment and corporate social responsibility (CSR). 

We play an active role in supporting local communities; and we utilise our position as a community leader to support and amplify initiatives and causes which are aligned with our business objectives. We do this through sponsorships, partnerships, fundraising campaigns as well as providing exposure across our extensive network of media assets.

By driving conversations that matter and creating connections that count in the communities we serve, Fairfax uses its trusted voice to deliver powerful public good. 

Our journalism makes communities stronger - more civil, more open and transparent. We hold governments and the powerful up to public scrutiny and to account. 

At Fairfax, we strive to be accurate and fair-minded in our reporting. We have established internal processes which aim to ensure this happens. We actively support and fund media industry self-regulation.

Our CSR and sustainability strategy considers risks and the interests of our customers, employees, shareholders, communities and social and environmental aspects and the impact on long-term financial viability.

By integrating CSR and sustainability into core business processes and stakeholder management, Fairfax can achieve the ultimate goal of creating both social and corporate value. 

Fairfax runs a combination of both centralised and decentralised CSR programs to ensure maximum benefits to our local communities, our customers and our employees. These programs are reviewed annually and performance is tracked, measured and reported on.

There are five strategic pillars in our CSR and sustainability strategy; Community, Environment, People & Culture, Editorial Integrity and Financial Viability and Sustainability. 

COMMUNITY

Fairfax is supporting and making a positive contribution to the hundreds of communities in which we operate. We do this in many different ways, each unique to our roles as a powerful community leader.

This may include fundraising advocacy, championing local issues and both financial and in-kind support of charitable, community and other worthwhile causes. 

Fairfax encourages its employees to be generous to their community. In Australia, this includes the Company's workplace giving program More than Words, an initiative started in 2005 which allows staff to donate amounts from their pre-tax salary to nominated charities.

Our newspapers, websites and other platforms play an important role in this respect, working with our charity partners to utilise available advertising inventory to amplify good causes via our media network. This initiative generates exposure worth millions of dollars.

ENVIRONMENT

Fairfax has a program of monitoring, measuring and reporting on the effectiveness of sustainable business practices across our business portfolio and assets. We have set targets to measure the impact of our business activities on the communities and environments in which we operate.

The Company's Board People and Culture Committee is charged with the oversight of environmental reporting and performance in line with the Committee's Charter.

Fairfax has not received or been subject to any environmental breaches, improvement notices, fines or non-compliance from any regulatory bodies in 2016. There were no environmental accidents as a result of the Company's business operations. 

Fairfax is a co-signatory to the sixth National Environment Sustainability Agreement (NESA). Fairfax's printing division is a member of NewsMediaWorks' Environmental Advisory Group which advocates to advance newsprint recycling, improve product stewardship and promote sustainability. 

Fairfax performs a vital role in educating, informing and raising awareness in the community about important sustainability and environmental issues. Our journalism fosters greater understanding and community awareness of environmental and sustainability concerns.

PEOPLE & CULTURE

Fairfax has a robust culture where we respect strong opinions, values and behaviours and open, transparent manager-led two-way communication. The Company has identified its people and culture as being critically important in delivering its business objectives, as well as attracting and retaining high quality staff. This includes promoting gender diversity, equality and inclusiveness in our workplace in all respects.

Our culture encourages people to be customer focused, agile and innovative - and to work collaboratively.  

Our culture and values are embedded and reinforced across all areas of the business, including in our performance management approach and processes, digital Learning Hub, development programs, as well as recognition and reward programs to acknowledge success and achievement. 

EDITORIAL INTEGRITY

Fairfax is proud of its 185-year history of providing quality independent journalism. Our journalists pursue the truth without fear or favour. All our journalists operate with a robust code of ethics. We maintain an uncompromising approach to media ethics and integrity, with our "Independent. Always." editorial position celebrating our point of difference and competitive advantage as a news media organisation, spanning print, digital, radio and social platforms.

Fairfax's multi-award winning journalism is recognised for its powerful role in influencing change and the social agenda, sparking public interest and debate and serving as a source of timely and reliable information for its audiences and communities. 

FINANCIAL VIABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY

Being financially sustainable is necessary to serve shareholders' interests and fulfil our corporate purpose, which is to grow shareholder value by engaging audiences, communities and businesses through compelling content and services, monetised across a range of business models.

Fairfax has made signifigant progress in increasing the financial viability of its business, through transformation and diversification of revenue. 

Fairfax will continue its work to keep pace with ongoing shifts in consumer and advertiser behaviours, while developing new revenue streams and a sustainable publishing model to continue supporting the important work we do.