METSÄ BOARD Annual review 2024
Training and skills development Metsä Board’s management and employees’ skills development are guided by the Human Resources policy. Metsä Board’s management and HR function are in charge of implementing the policies included in the Human Resources policy. Management and supervisory work is supported through coaching, where participants discuss matters such as Metsä Group’s good leadership framework. Employees’ skills are developed in the long term in line with Metsä Board’s strategy and goals. Working conditions Metsä Board complies with the applicable practices for working conditions in its operating countries, in addition to local legislation. In its Code of Conduct, the company is committed to fair terms and conditions of employment. 77% of Metsä Board’s employees are covered by collective agreements. In Finland, Metsä Board follows company-specific collective agreements for the chemical forest industry. All Metsä Board production units and 88% of the employees are located in Finland and Sweden, both of which have high-standard statutory requirements concerning working conditions such as reasonable working time, annual leave, parental leave and part-time work. The wage payment practices for the family-related leave of employees in Finland have been harmonised to a level that exceeds the statutory requirements concerning family-related leave and offers parents equal opportunities to take care of their child. All Metsä Board employees are paid a living wage (situation at the end of the reporting period, 31 December 2024). Metsä Board’s employees have the right to choose whether they belong to a trade union or not. Health and safety Metsä Board’s occupational safety is guided by the safety management system, comprising the Corporate Security policy and the safety princi- ples, standards, processes and work instructions. Metsä Board’s safety management system considers each country’s legislation – for example, the Occupational Safety and Health Act in Finland. The Corporate Security policy defines the goals and operating models of security operations, to which all employees must commit in their activities. The safety principles guide safety-related decisions and define the criteria for preparing safety processes and standards. In addition to guiding occupational safety, the ISO 45001 standard calls for a safety management system. The imple- mentation of safety policies is the responsibility of Metsä Board’s CEO in accordance with the requirements specified by Metsä Group’s senior management. The roles and responsibilities of occupational safety are defined in the safety management principles. The related e-learning course is mandatory for the employees of production units. All Metsä Board mills comply with the ISO 45001 standard for occupa- tional health and safety. All Metsä Board mills apply the 5S method for organising workplaces and standardising working methods, which aims to increase productivity, safety and wellbeing at work. All the production units’ employees and service providers come under the scope of the occupational safety management system, which has been certified by a third party. Production units account for 81% of Metsä Board’s total workforce. Office employees outside production units come under the scope of Metsä Board’s occupational safety management system, but these operations do not have third-party certification. At Metsä Board, wellbeing and the improvement and maintenance of work ability are guided by the Code of Conduct and the guidelines for
wellbeing and occupational safety, in which Metsä Group commits to promoting employees’ physical and mental wellbeing. The promotion of workplace wellbeing and work ability is proactive, the goal being to identify threats to employees’ work ability, initiate actions and maintain the employees’ health throughout their careers. The sites are responsible for compliance with applicable legislation and Metsä Group’s requirements for workplace wellbeing. Metsä Board organises healthcare for its employees in accordance with each country’s legislation. Information about healthcare services is availa- ble on the company’s intranet pages, and it is also included in employees’ induction. Other work-related rights As part of the Code of Conduct, Metsä Board is committed to acting in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and to respecting internationally recognised human rights in accordance with the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The company is committed to remedying any negative impacts on human rights in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and Metsä Group’s Principles on non-compliance notifications and the related investigation, which were updated in 2024. In the Code of Conduct, Metsä Board is committed to ensuring that no child or forced labour, human trafficking, or other forms of modern slavery occurs in its business operations and supply chain. Metsä Board has focused its production in countries with no significant risk of child or forced labour. Metsä Group publishes a modern slavery statement annually in accordance with the UK Modern Slavery Act, in which it describes the actions taken to ensure that no modern slavery occurs in the company’s own operations or its supply chain. Metsä Board supports the UN Global Compact initiative and its principles concerning human rights and employ- ees, among other things. Human rights matters are discussed in e-learning courses such as those focusing on sustainability, the Code of Conduct and DEI. All employees are required to regularly complete the courses. As part of its Personal Data Protection Policy, Metsä Board is committed to protecting the privacy of people. The Data Protection Policy defines the principles and rules that must be followed when processing personal data. Personal data related to the employees’ health are processed only by designated individuals in accordance with data protection legislation and in situations in which the data is required by law. Employees’ health-related data is stored separately from the employees’ general personal data. The data protection management model helps ensure compliance with legislation, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Statutory equality and non-discrimination plans are drawn up annually with employee representatives.
The effectiveness of the employee survey and the Pulse survey is measured by evaluating the response rates and the implementation of the defined development measures, and by comparing the results with those of other companies.
Collective agreements Company-specific collective agreements for the chemical forest industry are renewed among the parties based on the principle of continuous negotiations. The drafting of company-specific collective agreements marked the beginning of measures carried out jointly with the employee representatives to renew and improve work life. Cooperative activities Metsä Board complies with local legislation and applicable collective agreements in all its operating countries. Cooperation is carried out in accordance with each country’s legislation. The goal of cooperation is to develop the company’s operations and the employees’ opportunities to influence the decision-making concerning their work, working conditions and position in the company. HR, management and employee representa- tives are jointly in charge of the measures related to cooperation. In Finland, elected representatives participate annually in Metsä Group’s cooperation forum and Metsä Board’s corporate meeting, where the elected representatives and the company management discuss the elected representatives’ questions, development proposals and the group’s financial position. In addition, the management team at all mills in Finland includes an elected representative. Metsä Board has a European Works Council (EWC). The goal of the EWC is to promote the company’s internal information flow and contacts between the Corporate Management Team and employees, as well as to regularly discuss questions about the company’s multinational operations that are significant to the employees, primarily in accordance with the Finnish version of the EWC agreement. The Works Council is not intended for discussing matters regulated through national or local collective agreements. Employee survey and Pulse survey The company annually conducts an employee survey measuring employee commitment, the quality of leadership and employees’ views on business ethics. The survey was revised in 2024. As part of the revision, the questions of the ethics barometer, conducted in 2020 and 2022, were made part of the employee survey. The results of the employee survey are supplemented by the Pulse survey, conducted four times a year, which measures employees’ commitment to the company and their views on the ethics of business. Through the employee survey and the Pulse survey, employees can provide written feedback on the practical implementation of ethics and report any grievances. The Compliance and Ethics Channel, intended for reporting ethical grievances, is discussed in greater detail under G1 – Business conduct . The HR function is responsible for both the employee survey and the Pulse survey, and supports the company management in handling the survey results and addressing them in decision-making. The results are discussed at different organisational levels and with elected representa- tives. Further information about work on the measures is provided under Actions . The results of the employee survey and Pulse survey are used as indicators for strategy implementation.
Business operations and value creation 2 This is Metsä Board 4 CEO’s review 6
Safety talks and occupational health and safety committees
Occupational safety is promoted and supported with safety talks, or information sessions for the workforce, which are recorded in the system. The scope of safety walks is assessed by monitoring the target amounts set for them. The occupational health and safety committees of mill sites regularly discuss the promotion of occupational safety with various groups of the workforce. The occupational health and safety committee prepares an annual action plan for occupational safety, based on which the occupa- tional health and safety manager and the committee jointly determine the key development measures related to occupational safety. The occupational health and safety committees represent the company’s own workforce as a whole – that is, the company’s own employees and leased labour. The line management is responsible for the implementation of safety walks and for occupational health and safety committees. To increase the effectiveness of communication, stakeholders have been involved in the occupational safety communication processes. Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for the company’s own workers to raise concerns Metsä Board considers its obligation to remediate any negative impacts on its own workforce. In accordance with Metsä Group’s principles for report- ing and investigating incidents of non-compliance, updated in 2024, the company carries out a case-by-case assessment of reasonable remedies to ensure that the injured party is put in the same position as they would have been in had the incident of non-compliance not occurred, or as close as possible to it. The rights of the injured parties are taken into account in the assessment. Compliance and Ethics Channel The company’s own workforce can report any ethical concerns or non-compliance with legislation they detect through Metsä Group’s Compliance and Ethics Channel or to their supervisor, local management, HR or the Compliance Committee. The Compliance and Ethics Channel, raising concerns and the processing of reported concerns are discussed in greater detail under G1 – Business conduct .
Strategy and financial targets
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Value creation
Financial development 10 Key figures 12
Report of the Board of Directors
20 20 37 70 89 96
• Sustainability statement
General information
E – Environment
S – Social responsibility
G – Governance
Annexes to the Sustainability statement
98 Consolidated financial statements 102 Notes to the consolidated financial statements 150 Parent company financial statements 153 Notes to the parent company financial statements 166 The Board’s proposal to the Annual General Meeting for the distribution of funds 167 Auditor’s Report 171 Sustainability statement assurance report 173 Shares and shareholders 177 Ten years in figures 178 Taxes 179 Production capacities 181 Calculation of key ratios and comparable performance measures Corporate governance 183 Corporate governance statement 190 • Board of Directors of Metsä Board 194 • Corporate Management Team of Metsä Board
Engaging with own workers and workers’ representatives about impacts
Working conditions
Metsä for all vision Interaction with employees played an important role when defining the Metsä for all vision. The vision’s content was influenced by the opinions of the international working group comprising the company’s employees, as well as the results of the survey for all employees. The site-specific devel- opment measures related to the vision’s implementation were determined in workshops for local management, aided by site-specific DEI employee surveys. The workshops and DEI surveys are discussed under Actions .
Health and safety Metsä Board’s risk assessment and management is supported by the HSEQ system, designed for recording and monitoring safety observations, accidents, close calls, corrective actions, safety talks and safety walks. Entries can be made by anyone belonging to the company’s own workforce. Safety observations are discussed at daily meetings. Metsä Board does not accept countermeasures against whistle-blowers. Whistle-blowers may
196 Remuneration report 201 Investor relations and investor information
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Report of the Board of Directors | METSÄ BOARD ANNUAL REVIEW 2024
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