Summary of Valmet's sustainability progress in 2015

Activities and achievements in sustainability
Valmet’s sustainability agenda focuses on five core areas: sustainable supply chain; health, safety and environment; people and performance; sustainable solutions and corporate citizenship. Each focus area has a specific roadmap with targets and key performance indicators for 2014–2016. This summary describes Valmets' sustainability performance as disclosed in Valmet's Financial Statements Review 2015.

Implementation of global supply chain activities continued
In 2015, Valmet continued to integrate sustainability criteria and tools into procurement processes. By the end of 2015 all active suppliers had been informed about the company’s Sustainable Supply Chain policy and assessed through a 5-level sustainability risk assessment, and relevant tools and processes had been established for supplier self-assessments and audits. Based on the results from the risk assessments and self-assessments, Valmet conducted in total 41 supplier sustainability audits covering all geographical areas with a third-party sustainability auditor. At the end of 2015, the company kicked off a specific development program to ensure compliance with future chemical regulations. Furthermore, altogether 380 procurement professionals globally received training in sustainability.

Improvements in health, safety and environment (HSE)
Valmet’s lost time incident frequency rate (LTIF) at the end of 2015 was at the level of 3.3 (12 months rolling; 5.5 at the end of December 2014). In 2015, the focus was on improving preventative safety measures, reinforcing safety awareness and leadership, and harmonizing HSE practices in customer project deliveries globally. The development of Valmet’s environmental indicators will be disclosed as part of Valmet’s Annual Report 2015.

New solutions for more sustainable production processes
Valmet continuously develops and innovates new solutions to drive its customers’ performance. In 2015, Valmet received further orders for its recent board, paper and tissue technologies which are designed for improved environmental efficiency, profitability and safety of production processes. The company also launched a new-generation online quality management solution, called Valmet IQ, and continued to develop new bioconversion technologies.

Personnel engagement increased
In 2015, Valmet conducted its second employee engagement survey with a global response rate of 81 percent (68%). The survey results improved in nearly all questions and global employee engagement rose by 9 percentage points to 65 percent.

During the year, Valmet launched a renewed global training portfolio. It also continued to develop the role of managers and embed the company values in the daily work.

Valmet recognized as one of the world’s sustainability leaders
In September 2015, Valmet was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the second consecutive year among the 317 most sustainable companies in the world. Valmet was listed both in the Dow Jones Sustainability World and Europe indices. Valmet also ranked high in CDP’s Climate change program with a score of 97/100.

To promote standards of behavior, Valmet enforced its updated Code of Conduct supported by an e-learning and class room trainings. By the end of 2015, 90 percent of Valmet’s employees had completed the training.

Valmet reports annually on its sustainability performance according to the Global Reporting Initiative, GRI G4 Core option, with selected indicators assured by an independent third party.

Read more about the activities behind this progress in Valmet's Annual Report which will be published on February 29, 2016.