Sustainability Governance

The purpose of Essity’s sustainability governance is to ensure the company’s commitments to its stakeholders, including customers, consumers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, investors, decision makers and representatives from society. The company’s commitments are expressed in targets, strategy and priorities. The Board of Directors has established sustainability targets that are regularly monitored and reported annually. Essity maintains an active and continuous dialogue with internal and external stakeholders to ensure priorities and methods over time. Based on well-defined areas of responsibility and follow-up, we ensure that we deliver on established sustainability targets. To tackle increasing sustainability challenges, Essity continuously develops its ambitions in dialogue with stakeholders and external experts.

Since sustainability is an integrated part of Essity’s strategy and operations, the internal audit also encompasses sustainability. Essity’s Annual and Sustainability Report is also included in our external auditor’s review. Read more on page 156.

Essity’s prioritized sustainability topics, strategies and targets are a result of the company’s internal work and dialogue with a multitude of important external stakeholders and partners such as businesses, governments, consumers, NGOs, media, and the academic world. These are also aligned with a range of different principles and guiding frameworks. In addition to external frameworks and principles, Essity has several external certifications and ISO standards as well as internal policies and guidelines that ensure the company has well-defined management systems in place to monitor the company’s results.

Essity has developed positions in the form of position papers in which we state our views on key topics. These are available at www.essity. com/sustainability.

Guiding external frameworks and principles 

• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• UN Global Compact 
• OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises 
• UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights 
• ILO Core Conventions Policies and guidelines

• Code of Conduct
• Sustainability Policy 
• Anti-bribery and Corruption Policy 
• Fiber Sourcing Policy 
• Diversity Policy 
• Global Supplier Standard 
• Health and Safety Instruction

As part of the EU’s green growth strategy, the EU taxonomy came into effect in 2020. This is a classification tool for environmentally sustainable investments. Essity has analyzed its operations to comply with current and future disclosure requirements. The company’s sales (turnover), capital expenditure and operating expenditure are to be reported in accordance with Nomenclature of Economic Activities (NACE) codes. The EU is yet to determine which economic activities are to be deemed environmentally sustainable under each NACE code. The same applies to additional subordinate economic activities identified in the analysis of Essity’s sales, capital expenditure and operating expenditure. Most of Essity’s economic operations can be allocated to the pulp and paper industry. Essity’s sales (turnover), capital expenditure and operating expenditure are therefore not covered by the taxonomy directive for this reporting period. For taxonomy tables, see note H15 on pages 146–147.

Essity voluntarily takes part in rankings of the company’s sustainability work, as we believe this strengthens efforts moving forward. A summary is presented below of our scores in some of the most important rankings and ratings.