Stakeholder dialogue

Prioritized areas

In 2018, SCA has identified the issues that are important for the forest products company SCA and its stakeholders.

Strategic prioritering	Why material	SCA’s materiality analysis
Profitable growth	Long-term profitability requires sustained and profitable growth that creates value for customers, owners, employees and the communities in which the company operates.	• In accordance with the company’s strategy
Fossil-free world	SCA produces and sells renewable products that can replace fossil-based alternatives and thereby contribute to reducing global warming. SCA also contributes to climate benefits through the net growth of the company’s forests, which absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, and by continuously striving to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its own value chain.	• Products that have low climate impact • CO₂ emissions • Renewable energy
Valuable forests	Forest is an important part of the earth’s ecosystem. SCA conducts responsible forest management to benefit biodiversity while the use of forest raw material creates value for our customers and the Group, and ensures future access to forest raw material.	• Responsible forestry • Biodiversity • Supplier audits
Efficient use of resources	SCA continuously strives to improve its resource efficiency, which contributes to better profitability while also being economical with the planet's resources and reducing the impact on the environment.	• Products that have low climate impact • Resource efficiency • Emissions
Responsibility for people and the community	The employees is the company’s most important resource. SCA secures the future need of expertise by being an inclusive and attractive employer that puts health and safety first. Through the business, jobs are generated, both directly and indirectly, and SCA develops together with the communities in which the company operates.	• Health and safety • Diversity • Community engagement
Our set of values	To be a credible and transparent company, SCA’s business is based on a shared set of values that are described in the Code of Conduct, which all employees are to comply with and to be guided by in the company’s business relationships and interaction with stakeholders. SCA aims to establish a sustainable supply chain with suppliers that share the company’s values.	• Ethics and set of values • Human rights • Supplier audits

Essential areas

The materiality analysis is based on stakeholder dialogues, market trends and the company's strategic priorities, and forms the basis for SCA's strategic direction and focus for its sustainability work.

Materiality analysis

Stakeholder dialogues
Stakeholder groups	How we conduct dialogues	Main topics	How we address the issues
Customers and consumers	Customer visits, interviews, participation in customer events and seminars, trade fairs, mailings, website, socaill media	Environmental impact, ecolabelling, fiber sourcing, forestry, human rights, health and safety, customer focus, resource efficiency, innovation, product safety	• Customer surveys • Visits by customers to show our value chain • Dialogue and onsite visits to demonstrate responsible forest management • Education/training in the Code of Conduct and anticorruption, supplier standard, climate footprint, FSC and PEFC certifications, product safety • Life cycle management of products • Development of new products together with customers • Visit to customers by technical experts • Customers who perform audits of our operations • Participation at trade fairs at national and international levels
Employees	Performance reviews, workplace meetings, work councils, online surveys, intranet, internal courses, management meetings	Workplace culture, health and safety, skills development, recruitment and succession planning, compensation and benefits, gender equality, business ethics, working conditions, resource efficiency, environmental impact, product development	• Training in the Code of Conduct, introductory course for new employees, skills-enhancement activities, gender equality training. Early career program • Program ZERO for developing an health and safety culture, OHSAS 18001 certification • All Employee Survey, equal opportunity plans, change management training • Trade union interaction, such as business council meetings, collaboration meetings and safety committee meetings
Investors and owners	Investor meetings in conjunction with, for example, interim reports, capital market days, the AGM, interviews, website	Dividends targets, financial targets, areas of growth, forest valuation, risk management, health and safety, ethics, human rights, climate impact, resource efficiency	• AGM March 23, 2018 • Investor and analyst meetings, Capital Market Day, May 22, 2018 • Roadshows in conjunction with quarterly accounts • Risk management as part of the Board of Directors’ Report in the annual report
Suppliers	Follow-up meetings, request for tenders and procurements, forest owner meetings, interviews	Supplier audits, business ethics, human rights, health and safety, forestry, energy consumption, resource efficiency, climate impact	• Reviewing SCA’s Global Supplier Standard • Supplier assessments and follow-up meetings • Processes for risk assessment
Private forest owners	Forest owner meetings, face-to-face meetings, customer magazine, website, social media	Management methods, forestry plans, ownership rights, forest certification, nature conservation	• Business contacts on an ongoing basis during the year • Customer satisfaction interviews with private forest owners • A number of forest owner meetings held • Further development of SkogsvingeTM for better landowner functionality • Collaboration with Skogscertifiering Prosilva AB concerning a group certificate for forest owners
NGOs	Meetings concerning specific issues, interviews, websites	Forest management, biodiversity, climate and environmental issues, resource efficiency, green energy, human rights, hunting, reindeer herding	• Stakeholder dialogue, memberships and involvement in organizations such as the Swedish Forest Industries Federation, the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), FSC and PEFC • Involvement in the revision of the Swedish FSC standard • Onsite visits to the company’s forests
Society	Dialogue meetings, local events, public consutation, interviews, website	Health and safety, environmental issues, local issues, renewable energy, labor market, community involvement, diversity issues, human rights	• Public affairs, dialogues with regulators, government authorities, lobbyists, and local communities, consultation concerning investments, permits, and other local issues • Participation in the Chamber of Commerce and “Skogen i skolan”. • Board representation in Mid Sweden University and Sundsvall Timrå Airport • Consultation meetings with local Sami communities • Roundtable discussions on various topics