METSÄ BOARD Annual review 2023
Health and safety Metsä Board’s occupational safety is guided by the safety management system, comprising the corporate security policy and the safety principles, standards, processes and work instructions. The requirements of the safety management system are the same for the company’s own workforce and service providers working in Metsä Board’s operations. The implementation of safety policies is the responsibility of Metsä Board’s CEO in accordance with the requirements specified by Metsä Group’s senior management. The responsibilities related to safety policies are described under S1 – Own workforce . The Safety Management Standard for Metsä Group Service Providers sets requirements for the work management and supervision, employee competence, safety reporting and permits to work of service providers working in Metsä Board’s operations. The General safety induction e-learning course dealing with hazards and risks in the work environment is mandatory for service providers working at Metsä Board’s production units and construction sites. The Supplier Code of Conduct require suppliers to provide a safe and healthy working environment to prevent accidents, injuries and illnesses and to ensure that employees are aware of and adequately trained in these issues. Suppliers must have an occupational health and safety management system according to ISO 45001 or an equivalent system, as applicable. Other work-related rights The Supplier Code of Conduct includes many binding requirements concerning other work-related rights of suppliers’ workers: • Respecting internationally recognised human rights in accordance with the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. • Acting in compliance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. • Taking action to remedy any adverse human rights impacts. Special attention must be paid to any adverse impacts on groups or individuals that may be at higher risk of vulnerability, such as migrant workers. • Prohibiting any form of forced and child labour.
Service providers’ safety performance is monitored in large investments such as construction projects. Regular on-site safety talks are organised for the project personnel, and observed safety deviations are actively addressed. A contact person from the applicable trade union and a health and safety representative are assigned to projects.
against whistle-blowers. If required, whistle-blowers can also submit a report anonymously through the Compliance and Ethics Channel. Accidents and hazardous situations are investigated thoroughly in coop- eration with service providers. In the case of serious accidents, the author- ities are also involved. The investigation creates conditions for avoiding similar situations and identifying any shortcomings in safety management. When the investigation report is completed, a summary of the investigation is also distributed to all other Metsä Group business areas. If shortcomings are observed in the service providers’ safety, the same approach is followed as in other incidents of non-compliance related to working conditions, that is, the provider is first offered the opportunity to rectify their way of working. If the service provider is unwilling or unable to rectify their way of working, they are removed from the operations. In 2023, in connection with the expansion of the Husum paperboard mill’s folding boxboard capacity, eight service providers were removed from the site due to shortcomings in safety. No accidents were caused by the shortcomings. Other work-related rights The practices of supplier management and the process for handling observed grievances are discussed in the Working conditions subsection of this chapter.
HSEQ system. Accidents and reported safety observations are monitored continuously. In construction projects, the safety performance of different service providers is monitored, and any safety deviations observed are actively addressed. Since 2023, regular safety walks have been jointly organised at the load- ing and unloading sites of Metsä Board’s production units and terminals with contract entrepreneurs. Metsä Fibre, Metsä Board’s associated company, organises regular cooperation forums with key service providers to discuss the conditions and joint development needs of safety cooperation. Metsä Group’s key safety development measure in the next few years is to expand coopera- tion forums to Metsä Board. Other work-related rights Supplier management practices, including audits to ensure the realisation of social responsibility, are discussed in the Working conditions subsection of this chapter. The auditors have been trained to detect risks related to forced labour and labour exploitation, for example.
Business operations and value creation 2 This is Metsä Board 4 CEO’s review 6
■ Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for value chain workers to raise concerns
Strategy and financial targets
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Value creation
Compliance and ethics channel Value chain workers can report any ethical concerns or non-compliance with legislation they detect in connection with their cooperation with Metsä Board through Metsä Group’s Compliance and Ethics Channel or to their contact person at Metsä Board. The notification procedures are discussed in the general safety induction for service providers’ employees working in the company’s operations. The Compliance and Ethics Channel and the opportunity available to suppliers’ employees to report concerns are mentioned in the Supplier Code of Conduct. Information is also supplied at production units through info screens and posters. In the Supplier Code of Conduct, the supplier commits to rectifying any non-compliance with the code. Suppliers must also ensure that their employees and stakeholders can raise concerns or grievances, and that there are appropriate practices for handling such cases. The Compliance and Ethics Channel, raising concerns and the pro- cessing of notifications are discussed in more detail under G1 – Business conduct . Working conditions Methods adopted to prevent and mitigate any negative impacts on suppliers’ employees include supplier background checks, audits and assessments. A model for combating the grey economy, as well as on-site spot checks, is in use in construction projects. A more detailed description is provided under Actions in this section and under G1 – Business conduct . Any non-compliance related to working conditions, health and safety or other human rights is handled in accordance with Metsä Board’s escalation process. The idea is to first offer suppliers the chance to rectify their way of working. If the supplier is unwilling or unable to rectify their way of working, they are removed from Metsä Board’s operations. The most serious cases are presented for processing to Metsä Board’s Corporate Management Team. In 2023, a total of ten companies had to be removed from the associ- ated company Metsä Fibre’s Kemi bioproduct mill construction project site because they did not comply with the project’s sustainability requirements, even after being reprimanded. Further information is provided under G1 – Business conduct . Health and safety Safety is continuously developed and monitored with service providers working at mills and in construction projects. Service providers are required to engage in systematic and proactive safety work in the form of safety observations, walks and talks. Service providers’ employees record their safety observations in the HSEQ system. Safety observations are discussed at daily meetings. Metsä Board does not tolerate retaliation
Financial development 10 Key figures 12
Report of the Board of Directors
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• Sustainability statement • Sustainability statement assurance report
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Consolidated financial statements
78 Notes to the consolidated financial statements 126 Parent company financial statements 129 Notes to the parent company financial statements 142 The Board’s proposal to the Annual General Meeting for the distribution of funds 143 Auditor’s Report 147 Shares and shareholders 151 Ten years in figures 152 Taxes 153 Production capacities 155 Calculation of key ratios and comparable performance measures Corporate governance 157 Corporate governance statement 165 • Board of Directors of Metsä Board 168 • Corporate Management Team of Metsä Board
■ Actions
Working conditions A background check is always conducted for suppliers. Any known human rights violations and negative publicity related to human rights are reviewed as part of the background check. Supplier evaluations and audits are conducted to ensure that each supplier has adequate means to recognise and minimise impacts on the working conditions and other work-related rights of their employees. Among other things, evaluations seek to ensure that the companies have adequate proactive measures for ensuring occupational safety, as well as a written Code of Conduct and an anonymous reporting channel for employees. Audits include observations of working conditions and interviews with employees if required. In construction projects, the sustainability of the subcontracting chain is ensured proactively by checking the companies’ backgrounds during the tendering stage, employing the model for combating the grey economy and conducting regular spot checks. The model for combating the grey economy ensures that companies in the subcontracting chain comply with laws and collective agreements and handle taxes and obligations appropri- ately. The goal of regular spot checks is to observe any deviations. Supplier management practices are discussed in more detail under G1 – Business conduct . Health and safety Before beginning to work on Metsä Board’s site, suppliers receive a general and work-specific safety induction and permits to work. Service providers must assess the risks in their own work, prepare for them with a safety plan and submit their plan to the mill in question. Service providers participate in Metsä Board’s safety walks and risk assessments. Work-related accidents that occur in the company’s operations are registered in the
Further information about Metsä Group’s Supplier Code of Conduct is available on Metsä Board’s website .
■ Engaging with value chain workers about impacts
The need for interaction with suppliers’ employees or their representatives is highlighted when suppliers’ employees work in operations comparable to Metsä Board’s own operations, for example, at mills or on construction sites. In other respects, the views of suppliers’ employees are conveyed indirectly through supplier management activities such as cooperation meetings and surveys and audits. Supplier management practices are discussed under G1 – Business conduct . Safety is continuously developed and monitored with service providers working at mills and in construction projects. A more detailed description is available under Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for value chain employees to raise concerns .
170 Remuneration report 174 Investor relations and investor information
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Report of the Board of Directors | METSÄ BOARD ANNUAL REVIEW 2023
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