FOCUS AREA #3
Corporate Citizenship and Sustainable Business Practices
Bittium operates as a responsible corporate citizen within the surrounding society. The company is a reliable local partner and employer. It engages in active and open dialogue with its stakeholders, acts in accordance with its harmonized operating principles, creates added value for its shareholders and seeks working methods and solutions that promote sustainable development.
Each year, Bittium participates in many different Finnish, European and international development projects. In 2021, Bittium was involved in significant development projects in the industry, including iMUGS and CyberFactory#1.
The iMUGS (integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System) project under the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) develops new capabilities for the defense forces of European countries based on autonomous systems.
In the project, Bittium is responsible for the execution of resilient and networked data transfer, including both tactical communications and data transfer over commercial 4G and 5G cellular networks. The iMUGS project began in 2021 and its duration will be approximately 30 months.
CyberFactory#1 (CF#1) aims to design, develop, integrate and demonstrate a set of key capabilities to promote the optimization and resilience of the Factory of the Future. The project involves 28 parties from seven countries, including pilot users and suppliers as well as research and academic organizations. It thereby covers various technical, financial, human and societal dimensions. Bittium´s role has been to develop cyber security architecture and capabilities in its products and manufacturing support systems, such as device management solutions.
There are constant changes in legislation and regulations in the industries that Bittium represents. For example, in 2021, regulations pertaining to medical devices entered into effect, such as the Medical Device Regulation (MDR), which has also affected Bittium´s operations. Regulatory developments pertaining to cyber security and the environment are also on the horizon.
As in the previous year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bittium was unable to arrange visits to educational institutions, which the company considers important under normal circumstances.
| Goals | Action | Performance Measures | Examples of Results |
| Anti-corruption | Internal anti-corruption training. | Rate of participation in training. | Mandatory digital self-learning module for new employees, of whom 73% completed the training. |
| Incorporating anti-corruption principles into cooperation agreements. | The requirements are available to all of the company´s partners on the Bittium website. |
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| Using an external background evaluation tool to identify corruption or other ambiguities among business partners. | Observations of ambiguities or anti-corruption activities, Number of observations per year. |
No observations in 2021. | |
| Responsible corporate citizenship | Bittium actively involves in the development of local business and supporting schools and educational institutions | Participation in various working groups, supporting non-profit organizations. | In 2021, Bittium had 8 research projects under way with universities and research institutes. Bittium donated EUR 50,000 to research in the field of technology at the University of Oulu. |
| Number of visits to educational institutions, number of participants. | No visits to educational institutions were made during the year due to the pandemic. | ||
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Reviewing the export control |
Making the processing of export control applications more efficient. |
Application filing procedures have become more efficient. |
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| Continuous monitoring and adoption of laws and regulations. | Monitoring laws and regulations that are of relevance to Bittium. |
Monitoring and adoption of new and amended regulations; dozens of changed regulatory requirements in 2021. |
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| Developing stakeholder cooperation | Further improving Bittium´s understanding of stakeholder views and expectations | Developing even more open dialogue between stakeholders | The form of stakeholder engagement has been changed due to the pandemic, shifting the focus to webinars, for example. |
Alignment between the Focus Area and the UN´s Sustainable Development Goals
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
12.6 Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle.
12.7 Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities.
- We set an example by reporting on the planning, implementation and results of our sustainability actions in our annual sustainability report. We take a systematic approach to the development of our sustainability efforts and the reliability of our reporting.
- We cooperate with our customers to ensure that we can take sustainability into consideration in our products and operations to the greatest possible extent, including environmental sustainability.
- We publish more detailed requirements for our partners on our public website with regard to quality, the environment and information security.
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
16.5 Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.
- We are committed to the prevention of corruption in accordance with our anti-corruption statement and we report corruption incidents as part of our sustainability reporting.
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
17.17 Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.
- We engage in dialogue with our customers and partners regarding the solutions we develop so that we can produce appropriate and resource-efficient products that benefit our customers and society while reducing waste.
Bittium continuously monitors the impacts of the company´s operations and the added value it creates for different stakeholders. The company´s key stakeholders include shareholders, customers, employees, partners and other suppliers as well as the public sector. More information on stakeholder cooperation is provided under ‘Sustainability management´.
Good Corporate Governance Guides Sustainability
The management of Bittium Corporation is governed by the Articles of Association, Finnish law and Bittium´s governance guidelines. Bittium observes the Finnish Corporate Governance Code 2020 published by the Securities Market Association, which entered into force on 1 January 2020. Bittium´s Corporate Governance Statement is available at www.bittium.com.
GRC (governance, risk management and compliance) refers to the skills and abilities that enable an organization to meet its targets, address uncertainties and operate with integrity. Bittium´s GRC measures also include the company´s framework for internal control.
Export Control
With respect to Bittium´s customers, export control constitutes an important part of operations. Effective export control is a precondition for successful cooperation with the authorities as well as customers. Bittium is one of the first companies in its size category to incorporate a comprehensive export control system into its management system. Bittium closely monitors changes in legislation in different market areas. In 2021, the company continued to cooperate with the authorities on prior declarations, which has resulted in smoother processing of applications.