Metsä Group has straightforward processes for managing and supervising its network of entrepreneurs, and the company is committed to continuously developing its cooperation with contract entrepreneurs. When negotiating contracts, Metsä Group checks the background information of each entrepreneur and ensures that the entrepreneur meets the company’s corporate responsibility requirements. All contract entrepreneurs must also undertake to comply with Metsä Group’s Supplier Code of Conduct. There are no differences in the level of compensation paid by Metsä Group or the quality of work between Finnish and non-Finnish workers.
In recent years, Metsä Group has increased the number of both its own inspections and supply chain audits carried out by third parties. In 2024, Tapio audited all of Metsä Group’s forest management contractors that use a non-Finnish workforce. Overall, the comprehensive audit indicated that forestry contractors’ operations and awareness of their responsibilities had improved. In addition, non-Finnish workers’ awareness of the rules of working life had also improved from the previous year.
The areas of development pinpointed in the audit were primarily related to contract entrepreneurs’ administrative responsibilities such as missing documentation. Metsä Group supports the development of contract entrepreneurs’ business operations and corporate responsibility practices to make it easier to document the contracting partner’s operations and employer practices. In addition to external audits, Metsä Group annually monitors each forest management entrepreneur and maintains an active dialogue about potential areas of development concerning cooperation. Moreover, Metsä Group regularly trains both its own and its contract entrepreneurs’ personnel in safety and environmental matters.
“Our contractor networks carry out very important work benefiting the growth and diversity of our owner members’ and other customers’ forests. In addition to Finns, we need a workforce from other countries for forest management work both now and in the future. Tapio’s comprehensive audit of Metsä Group’s contract entrepreneurs in 2024 shows that although we’re on the right track, there is still room for improvement. We will thoroughly analyse the audit results and address any individual deficiencies in our supply chain. We intend to continue to systematically develop our supply chain, our own supervision and external audits also in the future,” says Hannu Alarautalahti, SVP, Production, Metsä Group Wood Supply and Forest Services.