Organisation and management
Holmen’s operations are decentralised and run by the business areas, mills and forest regions. Important areas of development for Holmen are driven by the Group staffs through networks with specialist skills.
Board and Group management
Board of Directors
The Holmen Board comprises 12 members, of which nine are elected by the Annual General Meeting. One of these is the Group President and CEO. The union organisations appoint three employee representatives and three deputies. The activities of the Board follow a plan, one of whose aims is to ensure that the Board obtains all requisite information. Each year the Board decides on written working procedures and issues written instructions. The latter relate to the division of responsibilities between the Board and the CEO and the information that the Board is to receive continually regarding financial developments and other key events.
The Board regularly addresses relevant sustainability issues. Company officials such as specialists in the areas of HR, sustainability, communications, technology, the environment and purchasing make presentations at Board meetings.
Group management
Holmen’s Group management consists of the Group President and CEO and the heads of the business areas and the Group staffs. Group management meets monthly and attends to issues relating to the development of the business and financial results, business planning, budgets, investments, and personnel, sustainability and environmental issues.
Offshoot of Group management
The Group's CEO has ultimate responsibility for sustainability issues in Holmen. The Communications and Sustainability Director is part of Holmen's Group Management and reports yearly status of the sustainability work to the Board. The Communications and Sustainability Director has a sustainability and communication staff, including sustainability managers.
The Sustainability Report in the Group's annual report and extensive sustainability report can be found on Holmen's website as important information for the Group staff. Another important task is to participate in stakeholder dialogues with sustainability analysts.
Governance
Focus Areas
Holmen's purpose is to grow a sustainable future. In 2018, we conducted an in-depth stakeholder analysis that showed that our greatest opportunity to influence and create a sustainable future can be summarized in three focus areas:
• We contribute to a better climate
• We help our customers in sustainable business
• We are committed to our employees and our local communities
Governance
In accordance with Holmen's governance model, our business areas are responsible for their operations and operate strategies developed jointly by Group Management and the Board. Group management monitors the business and achieved quarterly results in business reviews, including the status and objectives of each business area linked to the three focus areas.
Business area objectives
The CEO of each business area is responsible for deciding on ambition, goals and KPI for each of the three focus areas within its own business area.
The business area objectives must be consistent with and contribute to the business objectives of the Holmen Group. All business areas set their own goals within the three focus areas and report their status to the CEO and Group Management quarterly in Business Review meetings.
Holmen Sustainability Management Group (HSM), a committee of Group Management, consisting of management team representatives from each unit and members of the Group management, is responsible for validation and quality assurance of the sustainability work with the support of the Holmen Sustainability Working Group (HSW), which consists of sustainability experts from all business areas.
The status of objectives and KPIs is followed up by HSM at quarterly meetings and via Holmen's internal quarterly sustainability report. The sustainability manager is responsible for coordinating HSM and HSW.
Employees
HR
Holmen benefits from operational local HR functions in combination with a coordinated Group-wide staff function. Personnel issues are co-ordinated by a management group for HR, which comprises the personnel managers of the business areas and is chaired by the Group’s Senior Vice President Human Resources. All the managers have responsibility for HR issues. They are supported by local and central HR expertise.
HR work is based on the commercial business plans and on prevailing legislation and collective agreements. Holmen’s Code of Conduct and policies and guidelines on HR provide guidance day to day and clearly set out what is expected of employees at Holmen.
HR work is prioritised in management by objectives, leadership, and in the drive to reinforce the safety culture.
A number of laws and collective agreements govern the Swedish labour market. Similar laws exist in the UK and the Netherlands.
- Work Environment Act
- Working Hours Act
- Employment Protection Act
- Co-Determination at Work Act
- EU anti-discrimination law
- Trade Union Representatives Act
- Agreements between the Swedish Association of Industrial Employers and trade union organisations.
Health and safety management
All the production facilities have a certified health and safety management system. Group management has appointed a health and safety working group comprising the heads of the production units. This team, led by Group Technology, is responsible for health and safety issues and security. The team sets goals and key indicators and continuously follows them up, providing feedback to Group management.
Union cooperation
A relationship with the union organisations that is based on trust is important and helps drive Holmen forward. Union representatives take part in project and working groups. The company’s employees are represented on the Group Board by three members and three deputy members. Collaboration with trade unions internationally takes place in the Holmen European Works Council and in consultation groups at various levels of the company.
Read more about leadership and development in Holmen.
Environment
Environmental management
Environmental work is conducted in line with Holmen’s Environmental and energy policy, which was revised in 2017. The Group Board, the CEO and the heads of the business areas have overall responsibility for environmental work. Operational responsibility is held by mill managers and forest managers.
Holmen’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Communications monitors developments in the field, follows activities relating to the Group’s targets for sustainable development and runs joint action groups within the Group.
Read more about environmental governance and environmental risks.
Environmental and energy management systems
All units, except Linghem Sawmill but including Holmen Skog, apply certified environmental management systems. Holmen’s forestry is certified in accordance
with the international criteria issued by PEFCTM and FSC® (FSC-ID). All the sites except Linghem Sawmill apply certified energy management systems.
Linghem Sawmill was acquired in 2017. Certified management systems will be introduced at the sawmill, and will then be included in Holmen Timber’s certificates.
Finance
Financial management
Financial activities at Holmen are largely decentralised to business area, mill and forest region level. Group Finance has responsibility for coordinating financial activity in the Group with functions for financing, controlling, accounting and reporting, taxes and insurance.
A more detailed description can be found under Corporate Governance.
Business ethics
Holmen always expects its employees to act responsibly and ethically in the company’s operations.
It is the responsibility of each employee to familiarise themselves and comply with Holmen’s Business ethics policy and its associated guidelines. The Business ethics policy and its associated guidelines have been approved by Group management and have the backing of the Board. All the business area management teams receive special briefings on the policy and guidelines. Focused training on anti-corruption and other parts of the Business ethics policy is given to specifically identified groups, such as employees in sales and purchasing, who are seen as being at risk of encountering unacceptable behaviour.
Here you find our business ethics policy.