We care for people and the planet

We stay safe

Stora Enso wants everyone home safe, every day – our own employees, our contractors and suppliers, as well as all on-site visitors. Our goal is zero accidents and we work every day towards that goal.

At Stora Enso, safety starts with management but it is also everyone’s personal responsibility to work safely. We believe in creating an open safety culture where everyone can give feedback and make observations about safe and unsafe behaviour and conditions in a constructive way. When we make good choices and decisions about safety and let each other know when we need to do better, all accidents can be prevented.

Educate yourself about our group-wide safety policies and instructions. There are also country-specific requirements and guidance available for managers and employees.
Contact your local Safety Manager or HR for local safety trainings, rules, and instructions.

Q: I’m visiting one of our mills and as I’m about to enter the production area, my host gives me a pair of safety goggles and a high-visibility vest but no helmet or safety shoes. I haven’t been given any safety instructions and now I’m wondering if it’s safe for me to visit the production area at all. What should I do?

A: Safety instructions for our mills and even different parts a specific mill can vary, so it’s important that you ask your host if your safety gear is adequate. But regardless of this, you should have been given safety instructions, including what to do in emergency situations, when you arrived. Give feedback to your host and report the case as a safety observation to the local safety manager.

We promote diversity

We believe diversity strengthens our competitiveness and strive to reflect the societies where we operate. Diverse working teams enable us to explore different perspectives and challenge our way of thinking, contributing to better decision-making. Diversity to us means various aspects of diversity including gender, age, skills, experiences, culture, and personality.

Always aim to build teams that have people with different backgrounds and skills.

Q: I have been working at a Stora Enso mill for eight years in different production development positions. I know the mill and its IT-systems inside out. There was a search for a Development Manager position at the mill. When I read the job advertisement I thought the position was a perfect match for me, but a candidate from outside Stora Enso was chosen over me. I think they didn’t choose me because of my age. I also happened to hear that the chosen candidate has previously worked for the same employer as our Environmental Manager who joined Stora Enso last year and seems close with the hiring manager – I wonder if the chosen candidate was hired because he knows the right people.

A: All recruitments shall support the development towards increased competitiveness by employing individuals with the skills and competencies needed, right motivation and potential to grow. We hire for Stora Enso rather than for a specific unit, so sharing our values is important. We show transparency by posting all our open positions internally encouraging career progression. At times recruitment decisions involve risk for “conflict of interest”, for example when somebody recommends a friend or a relative for a position at Stora Enso. In these types of cases the recruitment process and decision must be handled by employees who have no personal connection to the applicant to ensure the selection process is fair and focuses on the candidate’s experience and competence needed to deliver on the job. All recruitment decisions also need to be approved by the hiring managers’ manager. If you have applied for a job and were not selected, you can always ask the hiring manager to clarify the reasons behind their decision. You can then use the feedback to build upon your individual development.

We respect human rights

Stora Enso adheres to internationally recognised human and labour rights and standards, and they must be applied to all our employees. We do not tolerate discrimination against anyone based on their ethnicity, age, gender, disabilities, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, political opinions, family status, social origins, or other such characteristics.

Similarly, we do not condone any form of harassment including violence, sexual harassment, punishment, or abuse of any kind. We do not allow forced or child labour.

We respect our employees’ right to organise themselves, join or not join associations and trade unions, and collectively bargain with the company. Where needed, we seek to facilitate other forms of worker representation.

Educate yourself on what respecting human rights means for Stora Enso and your own work.
Always be respectful and inclusive when interacting with colleagues, business partners, community members, and other stakeholders.

We are a responsible neighbour

Stora Enso’s operations are heavily dependent on local communities for a motivated and competitive workforce, as well as the sourcing of our most important raw material, wood. We want to ensure these communities are able to thrive economically, socially, and environmentally in the long term.

To do this, we strive to contribute to the positive social and economic development of these communities and to minimise any negative impacts of our operations on them. Voluntary community investment benefits both communities and companies in the long term, which is why Stora Enso supports the communities around its mills and operations in many ways. We also stay in active dialogue with local stakeholders.

We engage with our stakeholders and address societal issues in collaboration with partners on local, national, and regional levels.

We respect the cultures, customs, and values of local communities and build relationships with them to strengthen mutual understanding, while at the same time striving to live by the values stated in the Stora Enso Code.

Educate yourself on what community investment means for Stora Enso.
Be respectful of the cultures, customs, and values of local communities while striving to live by the values presented in this Code.

We combat climate change

As a renewable materials company, Stora Enso is in a unique position to combat climate change as our wood-based products provide low-carbon alternatives to fossil-based solutions and store carbon – even through recycling. Trees in sustainably managed forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and act as carbon storage.

We also combat climate change in our operations by, for example, improving energy efficiency and replacing fossil fuels with biomass fuels. In addition, we were the first in our industry to set ambitious science-based targets to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions both in our operations and throughout our value chain. In 2021 we updated our target to ensure that our efforts help keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees C.

Educate yourself on the impacts that climate change may have on your work and the best ways for companies to make a positive contribution.
Think of ways your team could help Stora Enso to further save energy and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions – no effort is too small.

We respect the environment

Our main raw material, wood, is renewable – it grows back. Our products store carbon, they are recyclable, many of them are also biodegradable, and they can all be used to make renewable energy at the end of their lifecycle. We only source wood from sustainably managed forests, we proactively manage biodiversity, and we use resources as efficiently as possible. All of this gives us the opportunity to operate in the circular bioeconomy, and to have a positive impact on climate, biodiversity and stay within the planetary boundaries.

But our operations and our value chain also impact air and water. We work continuously and systematically towards better environmental performance by setting targets, measuring, and reporting on our progress.

We believe that all our employees can help us in being better. Ask yourself: what more can I do to promote sustainability at work?

Be aware of the potential impacts your work may have on the environment. If you have questions, discuss them in your team. Your manager can contact divisional or Group Sustainability experts for advice if needed.
Use resources efficiently and reuse and recycle materials whenever possible to minimise waste.
Choose renewable materials over non-renewable materials whenever possible.
Save water where you can.
If you have ideas for improving sustainability at your unit, share them with your team, your manager, and/or the head of your unit.

Q: There are no facilities for the recycling of cardboard at my unit. I think this is wrong, especially since we work for a company that makes cartonboard and promotes recycling. I have asked my manager to look into the matter and contacted the facility manager of my unit to make changes, but nothing has happened. Isn't there anything I can do?

A: Recycling is very dependent on local infrastructure and certain items may not be recyclable in some areas while they are in others. If cardboard can be recycled in your area, try to advance your idea by finding team members or other colleagues who feel the same way. Together you can push the initiative in your unit. You can also contact unit, divisional, or Group Sustainability experts for advice.