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Corporate Best Practices

Recommendations for the Corporate / Business Sector
  • Develop public-private partnerships (PPP) via people-to-people projects with both state and business participation that are geared to solving problems facing youth and complement the services that the authorities already provide. Be socially responsible through such partnerships in particular projects related to youth. This could mean sponsoring places to hang out, upgrading public spaces so they become attractive for youth (skating, parkour routes, climbing facilities), sponsoring parties, events, hobbies, clubs, supporting community initiatives, art/culture projects, social entrepreneurship, etc.
Examples from Russia:
Novy Urengoy (Gazprom), Nizhnyi Kuranakh (Polyus Gold), Kirovsk (Phosagro), Polyarnye Zori (Rosatom): Companies sponsor sports facilities for free use by everyone.
Example from Finland:
Pyhäjoki (Fennovoima and Smartwind): An ice-cream machine was sponsored for the local 4H youth organization so that young entrepreneurs could sell ice cream during the summer.
  • Advertise available work to young people. This helps to get young people interested in local employment opportunities.
Example from Finland:
Pyhäjoki (Fennovoima): Visits to the local upper secondary school to provide insight into future working possibilities.
Examples from Russia:
Kirovsk (Phosagro); Nizhnyi Kuranakh and Aldan (Polyus Gold); Neryungri (Yakutugol), Novy Urengoy (Gazprom, Rosneft), Polyarnye Zory (Rosatom): A company with facilities in the city partners with a school and organizes special classes where employees teach the basics of the main industry in town.

Those who are interested further can go on to receive more intensive teaching and later continue education in that field, providing seamless entry into the company.
  • Maintain the possibility to do summer work. Summer work is a good way for young people to earn money and get to know the local business community.
Example from Finland:
Countrywide (local towns and cities): Young people are given small financial assistance in the form of a voucher (kesätyöseteli) that helps them to get summer work. The employer is reimbursed the value of the voucher by the city to offset the costs of the employee’s salary.
Invest in social wellbeing for youth in their hometowns. Review corporate social investment policies in their entirety from the point of view of youth wellbeing. How can the company enhance youth wellbeing in town? Could it extend youth policies to the of the youth in the town by, for example, organizing open grant programmes to support youth initiatives designed for all local residents? Such measures can increase equality between company and non-company youth in town (especially in the gas and nuclear industries, where inequality is high). This should be done in close cooperation with the municipality, youth council, local youth parliament and similar bodies. As one young person in Nizhnyi Kuranakh said: ‘rather than bring a superstar to give a concert in town, they could spend the same money to run a youth club for an entire year’.
Examples from Russia:

Revda (LGOK): The company works with the municipality and provides a rent-free space for the ‘Second Floor’, the outcome of a youth initiative, and also covers communal expenses. This is a self-organized initiative that is not related to the company; it is open to all local residents.

Kirovsk (Phosagro), Kovdor (EuroChem), Novy Urengoy (Gazprom), Nizhnyi Kuranakh (Polyus Gold), Polyarnye Zori (Rosatom): Company-internal youth organizations.