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Human rights

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Our commitment to respect human rights covers all our operations, including our employees, contractors, suppliers, and neighbouring communities.

While we respect and consider all human rights important, the following highest priority human rights topics remain the primary focus of our work:

  • Health and safety
  • Fair labour
  • Freedom form forced labour
  • Freedom of association
  • Non-discrimination and non-harassment
  • Land and natural resource rights acquisition and management
  • Grievance mechanisms
  • Children’s rights (relevant to the forest sector)

Stora Enso is a member of the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex), a platform where companies share sustainability information with multiple customers in an agreed format and level of detail to improve transparency in the value chain. By the end of 2022, 26 of 60 Stora Enso’s production units were registered in Sedex. By the end of the year, 62% of the units had been audited through Sedex Member Ethical Data Audits (SMETA) at least once since 2011.

How we work

The commitment to respect human rights covers all our operations, including the employees, contractors, suppliers and neighbouring communities. We take human rights into account across our operations starting from the investment decisions, paying special attention to vulnerable groups, and encouraging our partners to do the same.

Stora Enso's human rights due diligence procedures include:

  • Investment guidelines
  • Environmental and social due diligence for mergers and acquisitions
  • Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs)
  • Community consultations, including Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)
  • Sustainability Assessment checklist for innovation projects 

Stora Enso shares its journey towards better due diligence and learns from peers and experts by engaging through membership organisations such as the Global Business Initiative for Human Rights (GBI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Many of the human rights challenges we face are deeply rooted in local society and can only be effectively addressed through a long-term commitment and close cooperation with global and local stakeholders. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights emphasise that companies have an ongoing responsibility to respect human rights, even where government actions and regulatory frameworks are inadequate. In addition, new legislation is being explored and developed in numerous countries to address human rights due diligence by companies. We support legislation that puts companies on an equal standing.

Our policies

Human rights are integrated into our Sustainability Agenda, which is aligned with the ten principles of the UN Global Compact. Relevant Stora Enso policies on human rights include, for example:

Other documents related to our human rights work

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