The Stora Enso Business Excellence Guide (SEBEG) is one of the most important tools for implementing sustainability-related principles and targets.

This Total Quality Management (TQM) handbook of tailor-made criteria was introduced in 2003 as a basis for development and self-assessment. The guide was updated during 2004 to improve the advice it contains for units wishing to prioritise the most important areas for development. The purpose of the Stora Enso Business Excellence Guide is:

• to ensure that Stora Enso’s strategy is fully understood at every level of the organisation;
• to ensure consistent implementation in key areas;
• to ensure integration of all appropriate elements, focusing on all stakeholders;
• to help obtain a true picture of Stora Enso‘s current performance level;
• to facilitate internal benchmarking;
• to ensure that key concepts are understood in the same way throughout the Group.

The new updated Business Excellence Guidelines 2005 represents a major step forward in the ways it facilitates alignment with Stora Enso’s strategy and priorities, and the integration of TQM into planning and implementation work.

Sustainability issues have been more systematically incorporated into the new Business Excellence Guidelines, and addressed at more practical levels to give units clear guidelines and examples on ways to manage and prioritise sustainability. On the environmental side, the focus is on newly established environmental performance targets; while with CSR, the emphasis is on identifying and addressing CSR priorities at the unit level.

The guide examines the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainability as a whole, in order to encourage and support comprehensive sustainability management and reporting.