General

On this page you can read about Metsä Group's corporate governance principles. If you are looking for information on Metsä Group and its business areas' organisations, please see the section Business structure.

Metsä Group is a forest industry group whose parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative is a Finnish cooperative. The decision-making and administration of Metsä Group companies complies with the Cooperatives Act, the Limited Liability Companies Act, the Securities Markets Act, the rules of the cooperative, procedures approved by the administrative bodies and the policies and guidelines approved by the Metsäliitto Cooperative Board of Directors and the Group's Executive Management Team. Metsäliitto Cooperative's rules are available in full from the link at the side.

Metsä Group’s parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative complies with the Finnish Corporate Governance Code issued by the Securities Market Association; however, it takes into account the special characteristics of the cooperative form of incorporation, stating the deviations from the code and their rationale. In accordance with the opinion issued by the Finnish Central Chamber of Commerce in January 2006, corporations with an extensive ownership base, extensive operations, or considerable regional or national significance should comply with the Corporate Governance Code to the extent possible, taking their special characteristics into consideration in accordance with the “comply or explain” principle. The Corporate Governance Code is available on the website of the Securities Market Association at www.cgfinland.fi/en/. The corporate governance system of Metsä Group’s parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative deviates from the recommendations of the Corporate Governance Code as follows:

• According to the Corporate Governance Code, the members of the Board of Directors are elected by the Annual General Meeting. According to the rules of Metsäliitto Cooperative, the members of the Board of Directors are elected by the Supervisory Board. Thus, the election of Metsäliitto Cooperative’s Board of Directors deviates from the recommendation of the Corporate Governance Code on the election of the Board of Directors. The competence regulations that deviate from the recommendation ensure that cooperative corporate governance is realised.
• According to the Corporate Governance Code, the members of the Board of Directors are elected for a term of office of one (1) year at a time. According to the rules of Metsäliitto Cooperative, the term of office of the members of the Board of Directors is three years at a time. The board members’ three-year term of office has been deemed necessary to secure the continuity of decision-making and board work.

Metsä Group prepares its financial statements and interim reports in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The financial statement documents are published in Finnish and English.

Metsä Group's head office is located in Espoo, Finland. The registered office of the parent company Metsäliitto Cooperative is in Helsinki, Finland.

Metsäliitto Cooperative's Board of Directors is liable for compliance with corporate governance and the administration principles specified herein.