Metsä Board Annual Review 2024

S2 – Workers in the value chain

METSÄ BOARD Annual review 2024

Incidents, complaints and severe human rights impacts

The key figures for management, share of women in manage- ment, and management training and skills development include people whose management level is VP/SVP/CEO, and who have a management IPE level. The total remuneration ratio of women to men has been calcu- lated as an average of women and men in the same pay category, weighted by the number of employees. If pay categories are not used in the unit, remuneration has been compared within the same site. The adequate wage indicator has been calculated by comparing employees’ total remuneration with market data on the adequate wage in the area in question. The 2023 compensa- tion figures have been retrospectively corrected, as the previous calculation only considered active employees. The lack of social security for the listed life events applies to all employee groups, a total of 13 people in the listed countries. An occupational accident is reported if a person injured at work requires medical treatment or adapted or replacement work, or if the accident leads to their absence. In the calculation of lost-time accidents and LTA1F rate, only accidents that have led to at least one day of absence are taken into account. The accident frequen- cies, TRIF and LTA1F, only include the company’s own employees because information about service providers’ actual working hours is unavailable. Frequencies have been calculated per million hours worked. The number of work-related accidents is indicated separately for the company’s own employees and service providers. The disclosed days absent may involve uncertainty due to changes made afterwards. Days absent due to occupational diseases also include absences due to occupational disease examinations. In the case of fatal occupational accidents, the number of days absent is indicated as 0 for calculation reasons. No fatalities occurred in 2024. Family-related leave includes maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave available under national legislation and collective agreements. Cases concerning the company’s own workforce that may have involved a direct or indirect negative human rights impact have come to the company’s attention through either the Compliance and Ethics Channel or a notification made to a member of the Compliance Committee. The figures also include cases involving a potential human rights impact that exceed the materiality threshold based on the Compliance Committee’s evaluation. The employee survey results are based on the annual employee survey. All Metsä Board employees can respond to the survey. The index depicting employee commitment is based on the results of the employee survey’s statements concerning the employee’s own work, team, leadership and company, for which benchmark data is available. The results are compared with European benchmarks, and the level of employee commitment is derived from this. Responses are collected on a scale of 1−4 (fully disagree/agree), and an external service provider converts the responses to indexes on a scale of 0−100 (100 = everyone fully agrees). Compared with the standard, the target of AAA is “very good”. The metrics have not been validated by an external party.

2024

2023

Material impacts, risks and opportunities related to workers in the value chain

ALL REPORTS RELATED TO UNETHICAL BEHAVIOUR All reports

Business operations and value creation 2 This is Metsä Board 4 CEO’s review 6

Material sub-sub-topic

Risks and opportunities for Metsä Board

Reports resulting in a full-scale investigation

Impacts

Management

Complaints to National Contact Points for OECD Multinational Enterprises

Working conditions • Secure employment • Working time • Adequate wages • Social dialogue • Collective • bargaining • Work-life balance

Opportunity: Suppliers and their employees experience greater work ability, well- being and commitment to cooperation with Metsä Board. Metsä Board’s reputation as a sustainable and safe partner strengthens. Risk: If activities contrary to Metsä Board’s values take place in the value chain, this may weaken the work ability and satisfaction of suppliers’ and customers’ employees and con- tract entrepreneurs. It may also undermine their commitment to cooperation with Metsä Board. Metsä Board’s reputation as a sustainable and safe partner is put at risk.

• The Supplier Code of Conduct contains require- ments for fair employment practices. • Compliance is ensured with supplier audits and assessments. • Metsä Board follows due diligence in the Know Your Business Partner background check, which reviews known human rights violations, among other things. • The model for combating the grey economy is in use in construction projects. • The human rights situation of countries is taken into account when assessing risks associated with customer relationships. • The Supplier Code of Conduct contains require- ments for occupational safety management. • Compliance is secured with targeted supplier audits and assessments. • The safety management system covers service providers working in Metsä Board’s operations. Occupational safety is continuously developed jointly with service providers. • In Wood Supply, forest site preparation days and safety walks at loading and unloading sites are conducted regularly. • The introduction of a lone worker application for wood supply employees in 2024. • The human rights situation of countries is taken into account when assessing risks associated with customer relationships. • The Supplier Code of Conduct contains requirements for equal opportunities and non-discrimination. • Compliance is ensured with supplier audits. • Metsä Board follows due diligence in the Know Your Business Partner background check, which reviews known human rights violations, among other things. • The human rights situation of countries is taken into account when assessing risks associated with customer relationships.

Metsä Board’s requirements and control mechanisms such as the model for combating the grey economy may have a positive impact on the working conditions of suppliers’ employees. Inadequate working conditions weaken the quality of life and wellbeing of suppliers’ and customers’ employees and their families, increase inequality and risk the work- life balance. The most significant potential negative impacts in the upstream value chain are related to the long value chains of mill equipment and certain raw materials such as chemicals. In the downstream value chain, potential negative impacts concern especially the sale of the company’s products to globally operating customers, whose branch of industry or country of loca- tion may involve a higher risk of human rights violations. Metsä Board’s safety requirements can positively influence the wellbeing and work ability of suppliers’ employees and the wellbeing of the employees’ families. Deficiencies in Metsä Board’s health and safety re- quirements or in the oversight of their implementation weaken the work ability of suppliers’ employees, as well as their physical and mental wellbeing, and increase work-related accidents. Employees in wood supply and investment projects and employees of suppliers that provide maintenance shutdown services for production units are particularly exposed to potential accidents. In the downstream value chain, potential negative impacts concern especially the sale of the company’s products to globally operating customers, whose branch of industry or country of location may involve a higher risk of human rights violations.

DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT CASES Reported cases of discrimination and harassment

Strategy and financial targets

Value creation

Confirmed cases of discrimination and harassment

Total amount of fines, penalties, and compensation paid for the reported cases of discrimination and harassment

Financial development 10 Key figures 12

SEVERE HUMAN RIGHTS INCIDENTS Severe human rights incidents (child and forced labour, human trafficking) Total amount of fines, penalties, and compensation paid for the reported severe human rights incidents

Report of the Board of Directors

20 20 37 70 89 96

• Sustainability statement

• Health and safety

General information

E – Environment

S – Social responsibility

G – Governance

Reporting principles for metrics The figures for the company’s own workforce include the entire Metsä Board Group. The number of employees used in the calculations is indicated as the number at the end of the reporting period (31 December 2024). The number of employees also includes non-active employees such as employees on family-re- lated leave. Metsä Board annually employs around 330 seasonal summer employees, thesis workers and trainees, some of whom are not employed at the end of the reporting period, when the number of employees is determined. The number of employees as full-time equivalents, at the end of the year, and on average is presented in the Consolidated Financial Statements, Notes 2.1. In Metsä Board’s personnel system, a person’s gender is determined based on their legal gender. The categories “other” and “not reported” are not applied in the reporting of gender distribution. Non-employee workers in the company’s own workforce include workers who have concluded an agreement on the supply of labour with Metsä Board – that is, self-employed people and workers provided by companies that primarily engage in employ- ment services. No significant changes usually take place in the number of workers over the year. Recruitment includes permanent new hires. Employee turnover includes all leavers, whatever the reason (excluding transfer of business), divided by the number of employees. The figure includes permanent employment relationships. The share of anonymous recruitment of vacancies open to all includes the recruitment carried out in the Workday system. Workday is used in most recruitment. For example, cases in which the job applicant directly contacts the production unit are not included in the calculation.

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

Equal treatment and opportunities for all • Gender equality and equal pay for

Metsä Board’s requirements and control mechanisms may have a positive impact on the equal treatment and equal opportunities of suppliers’ employees.

work of equal value • Training and skills development • Employment

and inclusion of disabled people and people with

Failure in equality in Metsä Board’s value chain would weaken the wellbeing and work ability of workers in the value chain and at worst, could lead to discrimination and poor working conditions. Women and minorities especially are susceptible to potential negative impacts in Metsä Board’s investment projects and in the value chains of mill equipment and certain raw materials such as chemicals which are long and may have human rights impacts extending to high-risk countries.

functional difficulty • Measures against violence and harassment in the workplace • Diversity

Other work-related rights • Child labour • Forced labour • Adequate housing • Clean water and sanitation

An infringement of work-related rights in Metsä Board’s value chain causes human suffering and inequality, and undermines the quality of life of suppliers’ and custom- er’s employees and their families. The most significant potential negative impacts in the upstream value chain are related to the value chains of mill equipment and certain raw materials such as chemicals which are long and may have human rights impacts extending to high- risk countries. In the downstream value chain, potential negative impacts concern especially the sale of the company’s products to globally operating customers, whose branch of industry or country of location may involve a higher risk of human rights violations

• The Supplier Code of Conduct contains require- ments for respecting human rights. • Metsä Board respects human rights in all its operations, does not accept any form of human rights violations, and is committed to ensuring that its operations do not have negative impacts on human rights. The human rights due diligence process ensures Metsä Board’s ability to identify, prevent, reduce and if required, end operations with negative human rights impacts. • Compliance is ensured with supplier audits. • Metsä Board follows due diligence in the Know Your Business Partner background check, which reviews known human rights violations, among other things. • The human rights situation of countries is taken into account when assessing risks associated with customer relationships.

196 Remuneration report 201 Investor relations and investor information

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

Report of the Board of Directors | METSÄ BOARD ANNUAL REVIEW 2024