S4 – Consumers and end-users
METSÄ BOARD Annual review 2023
■ Engaging with consumers and end-users about impacts
Compliance and Ethics Channel Consumers and end-users can use Metsä Group’s Compliance and Ethics Channel to report any ethical concerns or non-compliance with legislation. The Compliance and Ethics Channel and the process for handling reports are described in more detail under G1 – Business conduct .
Material impacts, risks and opportunities related to consumers and end-users
Most of Metsä Board’s customers are companies. The process for direct engagement with consumers and end-users has therefore not been defined. Instead, customers engage with consumers in accordance with their own processes. Metsä Board’s channel for direct engagement with consumers and end-users is the contact form available on the company’s website. Metsä Board builds its understanding of consumers’ and end-users’ wishes through its active engagement with its customers. The company’s continuous and needs-based engagement with customers is carried out by means such as customer feedback forms and customer experience surveys. Annual customer experience surveys are part of the assessment of customer needs and the identification of development needs. The observations from customer engagement are discussed at sales meetings and meetings of Metsä Board’s management if required, and they guide decision-making. Observations and the results of sales-volume monitoring build market insight, enabling products and services, as well as their development, to be prioritised based on the preferences and needs of consumers and end-users. Metsä Board’s management is responsible for taking consumers’ and end-users’ needs and expectations into account in decision-making. In 2023, Metsä Board and Aalto University participated in a study to determine how the packaging design process could be improved in coop- eration with consumers by creating narratives that were also suitable for product marketing. The study aimed to involve consumers in the packaging design process. To improve the design process, consumers were engaged in the creation of narratives, and their opinions were also requested at different stages of the design process. The consumers were chosen from suitable product user groups in remote workshops. ■ Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for consumers and end-users to raise concerns Metsä Board directs contacts from corporate customers, consumers and end-users to the appropriate party for handling to ensure they receive a thorough response. Contacts concerning product feedback are used in product or product portfolio analyses, and they are taken into account in product and service development. Any product complaints are thoroughly investigated internally, and supported by external parties such as research institutions if required. The company has a process for managing quality deviations, according to which root cause analyses must be carried out, and any required corrective action must be taken in the case of quality deviations. A standardised recall process is followed in the event of any product safety risks to ensure that all potentially harmful products are removed from the market and transports. At the EU level, risks detected in food contact materials and related recalls are monitored and reported using RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) alerts. There were no product safety-related RASFF notifications concerning Metsä Board’s products or any recalls of consumer packaging made from our paperboard in 2023.
Business operations and value creation 2 This is Metsä Board 4 CEO’s review 6
Material sub-sub-topic
Impacts
Risks and opportunities for Metsä Board
Management
Personal safety of consumers and end-users Health and safety
Risk : Metsä Board suffers reputational damage among current and potential new customers, consumers and end-users, and may incur liabilities for compensation and other costs related to the limitation of damage. Risk : Metsä Board suffers reputational damage among current and potential new customers, consumers and end-users, and may incur liabilities for compensation and other costs related to the limitation of damage.
If Metsä Board’s products were to ex- hibit defects related to product safety, there would be negative impacts on the health and safety of consumers and end-users.
• Metsä Board uses regular product safety surveys, inspections, risk assessments and monitoring. • Metsä Board has appropriate certified management systems.
■ Actions
Strategy and financial targets
Health and safety Metsä Board and external parties assess the compliance of products. Regular product safety questionnaires, audits and monitoring are used to ensure that risks are managed throughout the production and supply chain. Metsä Board’s ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000 food safety systems and their functioning are ensured annually with internal and external audits. Production-related product safety risks are managed with methods such as the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), which is used at all Metsä Board production units. A new hazard analysis is always car- ried out in connection with material changes to processes or raw materials. Metsä Board’s products are tested regularly in accredited laboratories to ensure their quality and safety. The laboratory analyses and detailed composition compliance analyses form the basis for our Product Safety Statement, which includes product-specific information about product safety and compliance. The implementation of measures is monitored with methods such as reputation studies, customer feedback, customer surveys, internal audits and external assessments. Metsä Board’s product safety specialists continuously monitor developments in legislation and requirements. Access to quality information Product management processes include established practices to ensure the product information is up to date and to correct any mistakes in the information. Product information and requirements are managed with Metsä Group’s Product Information Management system, which was introduced in 2022 and is actively developed to support new product information management needs. Product information management is used to actively control the accuracy of product information. Metsä Group has an internal control process that is also applied in the management of product information and in accordance with which the compliance of Metsä Board’s products is audited at least twice a year. 360 Services Metsä Board 360 Services that are offered to customers, also provide added value to consumers and end-users. The services are described under E5 – Resource use and circular economy and in the Report of the Board of Directors under R&D and innovation . For example, the packaging design service enables a better consumer experience with fewer environ- mental impacts. Measures improving recyclability, which promote material circulation, also create added value to consumers and end-users.
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Value creation
Information-related impacts on consumers and end-users Access to quality information
If Metsä Board’s products were to include misleading product information, there could be negative impacts on the health and safety of consumers and end-users.
• Metsä Board has established practices for ensuring that its product information is up to date and accurate. • The compliance of product information is controlled annually and through continu- ous change monitoring. • Product information and product require- ments are controlled with the product information management system.
Financial development 10 Key figures 12
Report of the Board of Directors
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• Sustainability statement • Sustainability statement assurance report
Positive impact on the environment and society or on Metsä Board’s business Negative impact on the environment and society or on Metsä Board’s business
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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
■ The identification and assessment of material impacts, risks and opportunities The material impacts, risks and opportunities related to consumers and end-users have been identified in a double materiality assessment based on the principles of the company’s risk management process. The materiality assessment is discussed on pages 26–28 . ■ Policies Sustainability related to Metsä Board’s consumers and end-users is guided by policies comprising Metsä Group’s Code of Conduct, Supplier Code of Conduct, Quality policy and management systems approved by the company’s Board of directors. The goal of policies is to minimise adverse environmental impacts, promote human rights and strengthen ethical operations, and thus demonstrate to consumers and end-users that the products are sustainably produced. The policies indirectly encompass all consumer and end-user groups. Of the topics included in the Code of Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct, those important for end-users are, for example, respect for the environment, human rights and product safety. Respect for the environ- ment includes the commitment to use wood fibre, whose origin is always known. The certified PEFC and FSC® Chain of Custody systems cover all company operations. The Quality policy determines the targets and policies for ensuring the quality of Metsä Board’s operations and products. The goal is to ensure that the quality of the company’s operations, products and services meets the needs and expectations of customers – and thus consumers and end-users. Products are also discussed under E1 – Climate change . One of the focal areas of the Leader in sustainability strategic programme is to expand the company’s role in the circular economy. The goals of the Efficient Innovation programme include reducing the weight of paperboard and developing recyclable products. The focal areas and targets of strategic programmes are described in more detail under E5 – Resource use and circular economy .
Health and safety The Code of Conduct includes the commitment to ensure product safety across the value chain. In addition to traceable wood fibre, Metsä Board’s other raw materials come from reliable suppliers, who comply with the Supplier Code of Conduct and meet the requirements for product safety. Further information about the safety of raw materials is provided on page 63 . Metsä Board complies with legislation protecting the health of people and the environment, including the EU regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH), the CLP Regulation on the classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals, legislation on the use of biocides, and product requirements concerning food safety. As Metsä Board’s paperboards are part of the food supply chain, the product safety practices in production are as stringent as those followed in the food industry. Metsä Board assures the safety of its products in compliance with the applicable legislation in its market areas in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The company’s mills follow good manufacturing practice (GMP), which is a requirement for the production of all food contact materials. All Metsä Board’s mills have an ISO 22000 certified food safety system, and the mills producing paperboard for food contact have also been certified in accordance with the requirements of the FSSC 22000 food safety system. Subcontractors and suppliers are required to meet equal standards so that the cleanliness and safety of products for consumers and end-users can be ensured. The certified management systems of Metsä Board’s production units are listed in the table on page 71 . Access to quality information To ensure the quality of product management, harmonised product management processes are in place, covering product specifications, the management of basic information and product descriptions, and the man- agement of product requirements of customers and officials throughout the product life-cycle.
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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