Our strategy
Our strategy is to lead in renewable materials, with a strong focus on packaging.
Global megatrends continue to accelerate the demand for renewable materials. Climate change, circularity, evolving regulation and resource scarcity are reshaping industries, while changing consumer expectations are accelerating demand for renewable, recyclable and resource-efficient solutions. We believe these shifts create significant long-term opportunities for renewable materials and especially renewable packaging.
For more than 750 years, Stora Enso has continuously adapted, reinvented and transformed alongside society’s changing needs. Today, we are leading the next phase of the materials transition. By combining renewable materials expertise, industrial scale, operational excellence and long-term customer partnerships, we create value for customers, shareholders and society.
Our business model
We have strong customer relationships, world-class assets and leading technologies. We see growth potential in the renewable packaging business, where we already have a firm position, and where we have invested significantly. Thanks to our integrated business units and production facilities, we can take advantage of economies of scale efficiently.
We cannot lead in renewable packaging without Biomaterials and our Wood products. The synergies between these businesses enable us to optimise cost-effectiveness, wood supply and raw material access.
Four strategic priorities to help us succeed
To succeed, we focus on four strategic priorities that guide us in our everyday actions and in decision making. The priorities are built on our core strengths and market opportunities, while also addressing the challenges we face.
Our strategic priorities
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Lead in customer value creation through innovation, quality, and sustainability
We are the trusted partner for the world’s leading brands, with relationships that span decades. Our customers are world-class companies operating in over 60 countries.
They seek sustainable, renewable and recyclable packaging that supports differentiation, e-commerce readiness and lower carbon footprints, while enabling smarter, more cost-efficient designs. We contribute to their success by leading in quality, innovation, and sustainability. Customer-focused innovation is central to how we create value.
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Grow our business faster than the market with broad customer offering, leading technology, and operational efficiency
We offer a broad and competitive portfolio to meet all packaging needs. For brand owners and converters, having all packaging options available from a single trusted supplier simplifies operations, provides greater flexibility, and strengthens partnerships. A key driver of our competitive advantage is our modern, well-invested, and highly integrated production and asset base.
Here’s what that looks like:
- superior customer offering
- leading technology
- modern, cost-competitive assets
- strong commercial capabilities
We invest where we are strongest and where demand is growing.
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Expand margin through business focus, positive performance culture, and systematic value creation
Our broad and competitive product portfolio enables us to meet diverse customer needs, swiftly adapt to market trends, and seize opportunities across multiple segments. This allows us to optimise costs and production while driving better margins. The combination of modern assets and cost-effectiveness facilitates the delivery of reliable, high-quality products to our customers, while supporting margin expansion and long-term growth. Our positive performance culture drives continuous and systematic improvement across the entire company — in operations, sales, procurement, and support functions.
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Generate cash with high conversion ratio and disciplined capital allocation
We have made significant investments to enhance our competitiveness in renewable packaging. Our Oulu consumer packaging board line will reach full capacity during 2027. With major investments now complete, with improving profitability, and disciplined capital allocation, we are well placed to increase cash flow and maintain strong cash conversion. We also have strict capital allocation priorities, including reducing debt levels.
Oulu Mill: once fully ramped up, the line is designed to be one of the most advanced and competitive lines in Europe. It will be fully operational in 2027.
Sustainability
Sustainability underpins how we plan, how we deliver and how we create value. Our entire business is built on the principle of sustainability, not limited to our products or our environmental ambitions, it is embedded in everything we do. That is why we increasingly speak about working sustainably rather than treating sustainability as a separate agenda. To highlight its importance, “Sustainably” has been placed prominently on the outer ring of the strategy visual.
We have three key pillars that we focus on: Climate Action, Circularity and Biodiversity.
People and culture
Strategy alone does not create results. People do.
Firmly at the centre of our strategy are our employees, customers and partners.
We continue building a strong positive performance culture grounded in what we internally call, our 4As: Ambition, Agility, Analytics and Accountability.
Our positive performance culture and 4As have helped us to aim high and continuously improve, learn fast, take responsibility, and make better decisions. They contribute directly to our results.
But to perform, people also need to belong and grow. We want everyone to feel trusted, respected and safe to contribute, inclusion and diversity elevate us. We also want people to feel empowered to develop and to build the skills and mindset to be their best at individual level and together.
When people belong, they grow. When they grow, they perform.
We will continue to succeed in building a stronger performance culture by “Achieving Together”.
The Stora Enso brand
