Sustainability indexes help investors to identify companies that create long-term value for shareholders and for society at large. Stora Enso is the only forest products & paper company that has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI World) every year since the index was launched in 1999.

According to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Assessment 2004 the Group’s strengths are:

• comprehensive environmental reporting, social reporting and assurance processes
• integration of environmental policy and management
• well-defined climate strategy
• service orientation in customer relationship management
• systematic strategic planning
• strategic approach to genetically modified organisms
• excellent knowledge management/ organisational learning
• strong human capital development (training and skills).

Areas to be improved:

• Codes of conduct should be better enforced and monitored.
• A corporate-level approach is needed to corporate citizenship and philanthropy.
• Regarding industry-specific environmental performance, the Group should be able to demonstrate a decreasing trend over four years in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and waste generation. Alternatively, Group-level environmental targets may be published together with details as to whether they have been met.

With regard to the issues where improvements were recommended in 2003, Stora Enso has clearly improved its approach to climate strategy, and has also published a comprehensive code of conduct. However, no significant progress was made in the area of philantrophy strategy according to the DJSI assessment.