Social responsibility performance  

Stora Enso evaluates its social responsibility performance against a range of targets that are set each year. The basis for these targets is the long-term objectives set in 2003.

Performance highlights in 2007
In 2007, Stora Enso’s focus in social responsibility included broadening the coverage of social management systems, increasing gender diversity and improving occupational health and safety (OHS).

Social management system coverage increased during the year to 54% of our units, which accounts for over half of the Group’s employees. The issues most commonly identified as crucial in units included employee safety and well-being, community involvement, internal and external communications, ethical business practices and supply chain management.

There was a clear increase in the number of women in Stora Enso and in the number of women identified as early career talents in the Management Audit programme from the year 2006 to 2007. Compared to industry peers, Stora Enso is about average in terms of gender diversity in Europe.

The year 2007 proved to be challenging for Stora Enso’s OHS work. Five fatalities occurred in connection with Stora Enso’s own operations and three in connection with Veracel’s operations. The average lost-time accident rate stayed at virtually the same level as in 2006, while the total number of accidents in the workplace decreased in 2007. The average absenteeism rate remained approximately the same in 2007 as in 2006. The number of production units covered by certified OHS management systems increased to 68 units (80% of all units).