About the project

This project seeks to mitigate the climate disaster, biodiversity loss and the wider ecological crisis by bringing research based sustainability knowledge into societal debate via the media. It aims to make research findings and insights from sustainability science widely accessible, working extensively with both journalists and researchers.
Project objectives

The project seeks to help journalists and researchers understand the knowledge, tools, connections and platforms they need to produce more multi-voiced, systemic and comprehensive news reporting and other media content that, ideally, will contribute to more sustainable societies and worldviews. We also work towards these goals in practice. At the end of the project, we will compile our findings into a summary for researchers and journalists.

Practical goals:

  • Foster and strengthen collaboration between sustainability researchers and journalists
    • The project emphasises learning by doing. In particular, we aim to discover the approaches that most effectively enable researchers and journalists to find each other and, through collaboration, engage in media initiatives that advance the sustainability transformation.
       
  • Organise meetings, events and training
    • Workshops: At the project’s outset, we will run pilot workshops on sustainability reporting for researchers and journalists, bridging disciplinary and editorial boundaries.
    • Training: We will provide comprehensive training for both researchers and journalists, addressing sustainability and media engagement. The aim is to equip participants to more effectively advance sustainability transformation through their work.
    • Visits with editorial teams: We will offer sustainability expertise to editorial teams across Finnish media organisations.
       
  • Write news tips for the media
    • We will collaborate with researchers to produce news tips aimed at Finnish journalists.
       
  • Share findings internationally
    • During the project’s third year, we will present our findings and best practices to partner organisations and institutes outside Finland.

 
Current stage

In early 2026 we held a session for members of the Financial Journalists’ Association (Taloustoimittajat ry), focusing on reconciling the conflict between consumer behaviour and economic growth, guided by researchers.

We will continue offering news tips to the media and exploring suitable platforms to raise sustainability and media issues. We will meet journalists and editorial staff, sustain collaboration with the Finnish Expert Panel for Sustainable Development, and support HELSUS member researchers in media relations. Spring 2026 has started with plans about collaboration with Muutoskollektiivi and Kudelma co-operation. In addition we are going to facilitate a workshop for researchers at Wisdom Days 2026 conference in Jyväskylä. Stay tuned!

 
Events & workshops in 2025

Great Forest Dialogue Day
 

We invited five journalists and five researchers into a dialogue about the media’s forest-related coverage as part of the Great Forest Dialogue Day 2.4. (Suuri metsädialogipäivä). 

A science sparring session with the Academy of Science and Letters
 

We had a dialogue-based science sparring workshop that helped researchers and journalists understand the complex issues involved in sustainability reporting.

Media training for the University of Helsinki’s sustainability researchers
 

Led by media expert Marja Heinonen we trained HELSUS researchers to find their ways to communicate own research 

Panel discussion: Beyond the Growth Bubble: Media, Narratives, and the Transition to Sustainable Futures at the Science for Sustainability conference 
 

Two business journalists, Kimmo Lundén (Maaseudun Tulevaisuus) and Silva Rehn (Kauppalehti) and two sustainability researchers Erkki Mervaala (Syke, HELSUS) and Tuuli Hirvilammi (University of Tampere) discussed about economic growth, media and narratives at the conference organised by Aalto University and the University of Helsinki in October.

Futures thinking workshop 
 

We ran an engaging workshop for researchers and journalists on sustainability, futures thinking and journalism, together with the Finnish Expert Panel for Sustainable Development and the Falay Transition Design Collective.

Presentation at YHYS-colloquium: Co-production of information to provide knowledge to wide audiences in journalistic media

 

In November, we encouraged researchers at the Finnish Society for Environmental Social Science’s autumn colloquium to contact the media actively in ways that suit them best.
Project background

In autumn 2023 five sustainability scientists established the HELSUS Media Group, dedicated to analysing Finnish news reporting from a sustainability science standpoint. The group’s monthly meetings have generated news tips and events, and members have also met with journalists to explore how sustainability science can contribute to developing and expanding sustainability coverage.

In December 2024 the project received a three-year grant from the Kone Foundation. After the project’s official launch in March 2025, a advisory board including media and communications specialists was established to guide the project. The HELSUS Media Group, consisting of sustainability researchers, acts as the project’s main working group. In the beginning of 2026 there are 15 members in the group. All motivated HELSUS members are welcome to join!