ESG impacts and renewable resources key discussion topics in recent ESG investor seminar
Jun 12, 2020
According to Nasdaq, Sustainable and Responsible investor (SRI) ownership in Valmet stands at 16.6% of institutional ownership, or around 11% of all Valmet shares. Also, according to Nasdaq, Valmet’s SRI ownership is higher compared to Nasdaq’s Industrial & Materials benchmark as well as all European companies. With this in mind, we were excited about the invitation to take part in the Digital Pan European ESG Conference organized by Kepler Cheuvreux last week. A total of 231 institutional investors attended the conference, and most of them had a special focus on sustainable or responsible investing. Valmet had a full day of small group meetings hosted by Anu Salonsaari-Posti (SVP Marketing, Communications and Sustainability) and Pekka Rouhiainen (Director, IR).
We had great discussions with investors, focusing both on ESG impacts and drivers for Valmet’s business, but also our solid financial performance. Investors were keen to understand for example the environmental impact of Valmet’s products, Valmet’s offering for renewable energy and the importance of CO2 and other emission reduction targets in our R&D work. There were also good conversations about the role of fiber-based food packaging in replacing plastics, as well as about the EU taxonomy; how big share of Valmet's net sales is included in the taxonomy and when will the remaining part of Valmet’s businesses be covered.
Want to know the highlights of Valmet’s presentation?
- Valmet is included in recognized sustainability indexes and has received many awards for sustainability, such as
- Dow Jones sustainability index inclusion six years in a row
- CDP climate change A-list (only 179 companies globally).
- Sustainability is integrated into Valmet’s strategy. Valmet’s mission is to convert renewable resources into sustainable results, meaning that our technology and services make it possible for our customers to manufacture sustainable products from renewable resources. We believe that technology plays a significant role also in curbing and adapting to climate change.
- Valmet's Sustainability360º agenda, launched already in 2014, takes a comprehensive approach to sustainability at Valmet. It is approved by Valmet's Executive Team and reviewed annually.
- Several megatrends support our business, including moving towards a resource efficient and clean world.
- Valmet’s globality and nature of its offering set special requirements for sustainability:
- Global presence with over 13,000 employees emphasizes the importance of global Code of Conduct and compliance with human and labor rights.
- Global supplier base of over 10,000 active suppliers from over 50 countries emphasizes the importance of transparency and sustainability of the supply chain, as well as the commitment to working with suppliers to develop their operations.
- Valmet's global customer base consists of companies at different levels of maturity in sustainability. The most advanced customers set very strict sustainability requirements as a prerequisite for a business relationship.
- 95% of the environmental impacts of our products are emitted at the customer sites after delivery (excluding pulp mills). This calls special attention to the environmental performance of our technologies during their use, especially energy, raw material and water efficiency, fuel flexibility and air pollution control.
To sum it up, Valmet’s values, Code of Conduct and related policies form the foundation for sustainable business operations. We strive for globally consistent and transparent management practices so that all our stakeholders can reliably assess the company’s sustainable operations and development.
Read more about sustainability at Valmet from here or view Valmet`s presentation in the Digital Pan European ESG Conference.
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Valmet’s sustainability survey provides an opportunity to point out the topics that in your opinion are the most important to Valmet as a responsible company. You can also suggest ideas for future steps. The survey takes about 3 minutes to complete and all answers are treated anonymously. The results will be analyzed as part of the development of our sustainability agenda.
