Awards
Strategic choices and investments for the future have strengthened Holmen’s sustainability profile, which has led to recognition in important contexts. Holmen is included in a number of sustainability indexes, which can be seen as a mark of quality, showing that Holmen is capable of tackling risks as well as opportunities in the field of sustainability
Corporate indexes and funds
There is strong demand from financial analysts for detailed information on companies’ risks and opportunities in the areas of the environment, social responsibility and responsible corporate governance. International investors are increasingly seeking opportunities for investment in companies with sustainable development as an explicit goal.
Holmen is continuously evaluated by sustainability analysts and is included in a number of international sustainability indexes. These contacts serve as an important element of the ongoing stakeholder dialogue.
Holmen’s inclusion, for several years now, in a number of sustainability indexes can be seen as testament to the company’s systematic handling of sustainability issues over a long period. Appearing in such indexes gives the work a stamp of quality and shows that the company is able to manage risks and opportunities alike. Both are key parameters for consideration by investors.
Reporting to the UN Global Compact, CDP, reporting in accordance with GRI and the Group’s annual report are effective ways of providing relevant data for analysis of Holmen.
UN Global Compact
As members in UN Global Compact, Holmen annually reports on a “Communication on Progress” (COP) that describes how the work with Global Compact's principles for responsible business practice is progressing.
EcoVadis
Ecovadis assesses companies on the basis of their performance in four themes: environment, labour & human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. With more than 65,000 assessments in over 200 sectors and 160 countries, Ecovadis is a guide for companies' choice of suppliers.
In 2020, Ecovadis revised its medal thresholds and introduced a new medal, Ecovadis Platinum, specially designed to reward the highest-ranked companies. The platinum medal includes only the top 1 percent of all rated companies.
Holmen's paperboard and paper mills have been awarded the highest possible rating by the international assessment company Ecovadis. The paperboard mills in Iggesund and Workington as well as the paper mills Braviken and Hallsta have all been awarded Ecovadis Platinum, which means that all Holmen's mills belong to the absolute top tier of all assessed companies.
GRI - Global Reporting Initiative
Holmen has opted to base its sustainability reporting on version core of the guidelines for sustainability reporting issued by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Holmen has appointed KPMG to conduct a general review of the content in the Group’s GRI reporting. A complete GRI register and the auditors’ report can be found here on the Holmen website.
CDP
CDP is an independent sustainability index that analyses climate data from over
9 000 companies each year. The companies that report their sustainability work to CDP are assessed on disclosure, awareness and management of climate risks and opportunities. CDP’s sustainability index is one of the world’s best known and most important information sources for fund managers and investors.
Holmen has reported to the CDP Climate Program since 2007 and also to the CDP Forest Program since 2013. Surveys over the years have shown that Holmen has good management in place and a strategy to reduce the negative impacts of
climate change. In the evaluation of forest management, Holmen has been placed in the group for good leadership that ensures sustainable use of the forest’s resources for several years now.
For 2020 results Holmen scores highly in two categories:
- Climate Change A-
- Forests A-
Strategic choices and investments for the future have boosted Holmen’s sustainability profile and our capacity to tackle risks and opportunities in the field of climate and sustainability. For more information about our work on sustainability, see holmen.com.
As a respondent to CDP Climate, Holmen receives a score for our engagemnt in our supplier follow-up. The score is based on performance on governance, targets, scope 3 emissions, and value chain engagement. For 2020, Holmen received the grade A- which is above average for our activity group, Europe and globally, something we are very proud of!
ISS ESG
The institutional Shareholder Service group "ISS2 was founded in 1985 and are providing high-quality data, analytics, and insight to empower companies and investors to build for long-term and sustainable growth.
In 2019, ISS ESG rated Holmen's ESG work which resulted in the rating Prime. Companies are only awarded Prime if they achieve the sustainability performance requirements defined by ISS ESG for a specific industry in the ESG Corporate Rating. Prime companies are sustainability leaders in their industry and are better positioned to cope with material ESG challenges and risks, as well as to seize opportunities.
We are of course very proud to have been awarded Prime!
S&P Global
S&P's CSA is an annual examination of companies' work to promote long-term social, economic and environmental sustainability. The companies that rank highest in each category are included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The assessment scheme covers the 2,500 biggest companies, split into 61 categories.
Good financial results in 2019 meant that, for the first time, Holmen qualified to report its sustainability work in S&P's Corporate Sustainability Assessment system. And it paid off. Out of 13 companies, Holmen ranked 5th in the Paper & Forest Products category which we are very proud of!
