ESG

Looking back on 2025, we can proudly conclude that we reduced our greenhouse gas emissions more sharply than our target required. In other words, we’re ahead of schedule. And now that the consequences of climate change are becoming ever greater and more noticeable, this progress is especially important. We have a duty to reduce as much as possible, in a responsible way.

Publishing fewer physical newspapers and magazines is one of the reasons for this reduction. More important, however, are the sustainability measures we have taken in recent years. We’re now seeing the impact of these efforts – and it’s exactly this kind of structural progress that’s needed.

The move from outdated office buildings to Mediavaert, energy-saving measures in existing buildings, and the purchase of sustainably generated electricity have led to a sharp reduction in emissions in scopes 1 and 2.

The electrification of the company car fleet has also made a major contribution. At this point, 62% of lease cars are electric. In the Netherlands, where many colleagues travel by private or public transport, the renewed mobility policy is having an effect: proportionally more kilometres are being travelled in (plug-in) hybrid and electric cars.

Looking at our production chains (scope 3), we see that emissions from our physical newspapers and magazines are falling because we’re making greener choices, as the story on Operations in the following pages shows.

The CO₂e footprint included in this annual report includes RTL Nederland. This also applies to the figures for 2023 and 2024. This is standard practice under the prescribed reporting rules (GHG Protocol).

Our streaming and TV activities are also taking steps in the area of sustainability. For an increasing number of productions, the actual footprint is being mapped. And once you start measuring, you can also reduce in a targeted way. This is reflected in the figures: emissions per hour of content produced fell by 9% when comparing 2025 with 2023.

Sustainability is about behavioural change. This isn’t something that happens overnight, but once it becomes embedded in our thinking and actions, we achieve the results that are needed.

Within DPG Media, Operations accounts for the largest share of CO₂e emissions. This department, which is responsible for printing and distributing newspapers and magazines, plays a key role in achieving our reduction targets. Within Operations, Lotte Ruijter is the project manager responsible.

Important steps have been taken in recent years. Thanks to a heat pump, the printing facility in Amsterdam was able to stop using gas, and almost all magazines are no longer sealed in plastic. While results like these represent major steps in the right direction, more measures are needed to achieve our target.

In 2025, ESG policy within Operations therefore moved into a new phase, in which sustainability has been structurally embedded in strategic decision-making. The focus is both on meeting reduction targets and on complying with relevant laws and regulations, including the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).

Over the past year, intensive efforts have therefore been made to analyse and harmonise supplier data. Emissions from raw materials – especially paper – are a decisive factor in the footprint of Operations. “By making data from our suppliers measurable and comparable, we can steer impact in a targeted way,” Ruijter explains. “This enables us to determine where we source our raw materials based on quality, price and sustainability.” The effect of such analyses is clear: the emissions associated with 1,000 kilograms of newsprint were almost 14% lower in 2025 than a year earlier.

Because part of production takes place at external partners, Operations is also in close dialogue with these printing facilities. “We want to know their emissions exactly and understand how they plan to reduce them,” says Ruijter. In this way, it will become increasingly clear in the coming years which partners DPG Media can work with responsibly in the long term.

The rapid developments in data and AI bring with them a wide range of ethical considerations. The conversation about what is the right thing to do is multifaceted and must be conducted thoroughly.

That is why scientists from Utrecht University, together with DPG Media, developed the Data Ethics Decision Aid (DEDA) specifically for the media sector. “I’m proud that DPG Media looks beyond the applicable legislation and is working towards a trusted relationship with its users by carefully testing data and AI applications against our values,” explains Melvin Maas. In addition to his role as DPG Network Manager, Maas sits on the internal guidance committee for this project.

“A large group of colleagues from different departments helped test and shape it, which has made it a highly relevant, practical and crucial tool. DEDA identifies unexpected ethical bottlenecks that we can solve before launching a new data or AI application.”

“This tool helps make complexity more manageable,” says Karen van Es, who is involved as a scientist and associate professor. “By documenting the decision-making process, it provides a basis for accountability to a range of stakeholders, both inside and outside an organisation.”

DEDA works through carefully designed questions that encourage the professionals involved to reflect together on various ethical aspects. These include questions about what data are being used, what biases this may reinforce, how people can influence the algorithm and how an AI application is continuously evaluated. The questions are presented on a large table poster, similar to a board game.

The risks identified during these discussions are translated into follow-up actions, making it clear what still needs to change before a project can be launched. At the end of May, DEDA will become available to the entire media sector.

Within DPG Media, diverse representation in programmes is addressed in various ways. Leen Lombaert (VTM) and Sander Heithuis (RTL) emphasise how important it is for viewers to see themselves reflected in television programmes. “Everyone should be able to recognise themselves.”

The ambition is for our media to reflect society, Lombaert explains. According to her, that is where the social power lies: in every viewer, listener and reader feeling represented in programmes. “The world outside is often more inclusive than what we sometimes show in the media.”

For a number of years now, diversity has been counted manually, Heithuis and Lombaert explain. This is also a method used by the BBC. They started with male/female ratios, but now look much more broadly – for example at cultural background and physical or mental disability. “Old-school tallying creates awareness that goes beyond numbers alone,” says Lombaert.

According to her, the success of the method lies in its pragmatic approach without hard targets. “Quality and awareness are central. It’s about handling the measured figures properly and focusing smartly on titles where we can actually make an impact, such as the daily soap Familie, De Verraders and Dancing with the Stars.”

The role of popular programmes acts as a catalyst. “Ten programmes determine 75% of how viewers experience media.” So this is where the key to change lies.

Dozens of RTL and VTM employees keep track of diversity figures for different programmes, which are then evaluated. “Not a day goes by without discussion about the balance around the talk show tables,” says Heithuis. “This makes diversity top of mind for our media makers and producers.”

The counting also shows what is already going well. “After counting the participants in an entire season of a quiz show, we discovered that the male/female balance was exactly 50:50.” This appears to have been a conscious choice by the producer. “Which is excellent, and shows up as such in the evaluation.”

“EditieNL is another programme where the figures show a very positive development. It clearly pays a great deal of attention to the representation of women, both in street interviews and in the selection of experts, because those figures have increased significantly over the past year and a half. All these examples show that counting allows us to have a much more concrete conversation about diversity.”

The fact that this approach is supported at the top helps enormously. “It’s a long-term process, but it makes diversity a daily conversation in the workplace,” says Heithuis.

Anniek Swillens and Justin Mol began DPG Media’s Media Executive Programme in 2024 with an open mind. Together with eighteen others, they spent more than a year and a half moving through the company and learning what it takes to lead it as successfully as possible. “When the time comes, we need to be ready to say: now it’s up to us.”

Selecting a diverse group of twenty future leaders was a conscious choice. As the company grows, different disciplines and generations increasingly need one another to shape a successful future.

It was also a deliberate decision to include ten men and ten women, in order to experience in practice what a mix of feminine and masculine qualities can bring, and to invest in a more diverse composition at the top of the company. “Building future and balanced leadership for the organisation in this way is essential,” says Mol.

For a year, the group worked through four modules. They started with Leading self and others, which examined the personal leadership of each participant and the interaction within the group. This was where they discovered that everyone leads in their own way. “Some people are soft leaders, while others take the lead from the front,” says Swillens. “It’s precisely these different styles that are needed in the kind of company we are.”

The ten women and ten men also immersed themselves in the modules Leading business and Leading DPG Media. These focused on collaboration and effective communication to enable company-wide decision-making and execution. All aspects of the organisation were covered, from finance and editorial to marketing and sales.

By exploring one another’s expertise, they came to understand each other better and better. “Everyone contributed the challenges from their own discipline. Because we spent a lot of time together, we also had deeper conversations, resulting in a kind of openness,” says Swillens. “This included the freedom to clash, but in a safe environment,” adds Mol. Barriers gradually disappeared and everyone in the group was able to make their voice heard. This is exactly what helped them move forward.

The final module focused on innovation. The need for the company to keep innovating is obvious. To gain inspiration, the group visited Adobe, Amazon Music and The Wall Street Journal, among others.

“As future leaders, the experiences from this programme allow us to shape and communicate a shared perspective for DPG Media,” says Swillens. Mol adds: “The world is coming at us fast, and when the time comes, we need to be ready and able to say: now it’s up to us.”

​​​​​​​With the Developer Academy, DPG Media lowers the threshold of the labour market for diverse tech talent entering the field from other backgrounds. The second cohort of this traineeship started in September 2025, and last year the initiative crossed the border and expanded into the Netherlands.

In close collaboration with training partners 42 Belgium (Belgium) and Codam (the Netherlands), we create opportunities for motivated students from diverse backgrounds. Professionals reorienting their careers and young people entering tech outside traditional educational pathways often bring a broad range of experiences and perspectives.

Entrants through 42 Belgium or Codam do not need diplomas or prior education, and the programmes themselves are free of charge for participants: DPG Media and other partners fully cover the costs and facilities.

Throughout the programme, trainees are intensively supported by experienced DPG Media tech professionals. With the guidance of a buddy, they turn the theoretical knowledge they acquire into concrete practical experience in a complex digital environment.

After successfully completing the programme, trainees have the opportunity to take up a permanent position within our teams, where their continued development as tech professionals takes centre stage. In doing so, we not only strengthen the company’s innovative capacity, but also take responsibility for lowering barriers for diverse talent in the labour market. A person’s commitment and talent should determine their opportunities, not whether they have followed a traditional career path.

This is exactly what Karin Beutels finds so valuable about this initiative. Closely involved in the Academy through the Talent Team (People & Sustainability), Beutels says: “The most rewarding thing about the Developer Academy is seeing how motivated talents, with the right support and a healthy dose of personal commitment, only need a very short time to grow into valuable colleagues who truly make a difference in our teams.”

Bringing the news closer to people: this is the goal of the collaboration that DPG Media has entered into with provinces and municipalities in the Netherlands. People can now read the newspaper free of charge every day in hundreds of community centres.

What started as a modest initiative was further expanded in 2025. DPG Media, four provinces and a large number of municipalities have now joined forces to close the gap in news consumption. In this way, reliable news is made accessible to everyone, regardless of financial means.

In Rotterdam, 53 community centres are participating. In the provinces of Zeeland and North Brabant, 310 of them joined the kick-off. Together with the hundreds of locations in the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel that had already started earlier, the project now reaches 775 community centres across the country – and that number continues to grow.

DPG Media makes titles such as PZC, Eindhovens Dagblad and De Gelderlander available at a reduced rate, while local authorities facilitate the initiative. This ensures that residents who cannot easily afford a subscription always have access to quality journalism. Research by Radboud University underlines the social value of this: reading a regional newspaper increases people’s connection to their local environment and stimulates dialogue within communities.

“By bringing the newspaper to places where people come together, we reduce the divide in society and keep news accessible to everyone,” says Allard Besse, director of AD and the regional newspapers. “The ambition is for even more cities and provinces to join,” adds Vincent Mostard, who maintains contact with municipalities and provinces on behalf of DPG Media. “In this way, we continue to build an informed and engaged society together, directly through the community centres.”