Dialogue with various stakeholders means that Billerud is constantly able to
improve processes and working methods. This is a long-term communication
process characterised by openness and respect. During the year, in-depth
dialogue with investors and analysts brought Billerud new angles on reporting
sustainability performance.
Billerud’s five most important stakeholder
groups are investors, customers, employees,
business partners and society. These have
been identified on the basis of the mutual
value created in the relationship between
Billerud and the respective groups.
Identifying, understanding and managing the
expectations of stakeholders is crucial to the
company’s long-term survival. For the stakeholders,
this dialogue offers a potential platform
to promote issues in a respectful and
solution-oriented manner. The dialogue continues
throughout the year, informally and in
a more structured form.
Billerud constantly seeks to deepen the
dialogue to forge closer links with stakeholders,
to find out whether the company is
fulfilling its undertakings and to ensure that
its work on sustainability is correctly focused.
A closer and deeper dialogue also gives the
stakeholders an opportunity to think about
sustainability issues, in turn leading to
increased awareness and development of
sustainability in general.
During the year three separate meetings on
sustainability issues were held with investors
and analysts.
The analysts wanted the sustainability report
to be based on the company’s strategy and
business model, consistently demonstrating
how these questions affect work on sustainability.
It is important that the business is healthy
from a social perspective and is characterised
by proactivity. It is also important that work on
sustainability addresses the entire impact of the
products. It was pointed out that taking the
natural environment into account is a key question
from the point of view of sustainability.
A clearer link to the challenges in the area of
human resources and the targets set was desired.
| Stakeholder groups |
Definition |
Type of dialogue |
Sustainability issues |
Results |
|
INVESTORS
|
Shareholders
Analysts
Potential investors
|
Annual report including sustainability
report, interim reports,
Website,
Investor meetings,
Press conferences,
Meetings with analysts,
Surveys from ethical and environmental
investment funds.
|
Economic value development sustainable in
the long term,
Business and product development perspective
linked to sustainability trends.
|
Sustainability report,
OMX GES Nordic Services Sustainability Index.
|
|
Customers
|
Existing customers
Customers’ customers
End-consumers
|
Personal meetings, daily contact,
Fairs, seminars & customer meetings,
Customer surveys/questionnaires.
|
General requirements for sustainable corporate
management and Code of Conduct.
Specific questions, such as: certified volumes
of forest, illegal felling, key biotopes, carbon
footprint, REACH, groundwater.
|
Environment brochure,
Carbon footprint study,
Sales support material on environmental issues,
Product development.
|
|
Existing
suppliers
|
Supplier evaluations.
|
Have discussed codes of conduct and sustainability
issues with suppliers during procurement.
|
Revised purchasing policy.
|
|
Lenders
|
Personal meetings.
Financial communication.
|
Economic value development sustainable in
the long term.
|
|
|
Employees
|
Existing
employees
|
Workplace meetings,
Work environment groups,
Staff surveys
(including leadership index),
Incident follow-up,
Performance reviews.
|
Skills development,
Work environment and safety,
Fitness measures.
Diversity.
|
Skills development model,
Extensive work on the work environment and
safety,
Action plan for victimisation at work.
Diversity survey.
|
|
Union
representatives
|
Local joint meetings,
Working committee meetings,
European Works Council.
|
Work environment and safety,
Skills development,
Terms of contract.
|
Open and constructive dialogue,
Greater respect and understanding of each
other’s situation.
|
|
Future
employees
|
Mill visits,
Careers fairs at colleges and
universities,
Industry evenings.
|
Environmental issues.
Ethical issues.
Terms of employment.
|
Employer branding.
Trainee programme.
|
|
Business partners
|
Partners
|
Close contacts and development projects.
|
Developing sustainable and resource-efficient
packaging,
Developing bioplastic barriers.
|
New products and packaging solutions,
such as FibreForm.
|
|
Society
|
Local residents
|
Focus groups, Information meetings,
Environmental reports at mill level,
Environment panels.
|
Emissions to air and water,
What has happened,
Plans for the future at mills.
|
Greater respect and understanding of each
other’s situation and actions.
|
|
Schools and universities
|
Close contact with educational institutions,
Study visits.
|
Regional skills-boosting initiatives:
training, work placements.
|
Built a basis for future recruitment.
Greater range of technical vocational training
courses.
|
|
Authorities
|
Contact with County Administrative
Boards and municipalities in conjunction
with supervision,
Statutory environmental reports.
|
Emissions to air and water, noise, energy, land
issues, waste, use of chemicals.
|
Better understanding of each other’s points of
view on environmental issues.
|
|
Certification bodies
|
On-site visits and other kinds of dialogue
in conjunction with audits.
|
Legislation and criteria of the standard in
question.
|
Views of external bodies on the business and
proposed improvements.
|
|
SP Technical Research
Institute of Sweden
|
External audit of FSC and PEFC certification.
|
Legislation and criteria of the standard in
question.
|
Views of external bodies on the business and
proposed improvements.
|