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“We participate in discussion about forest
Whatever the Development Team can learn about the future trends, it is quick to pass on that knowl- edge to the customers too. “Insight and knowledge are acquired in collaboration. The same goes for boost- ing resilience.” Risk & reward Jussi Tarvainen , Vice President, Risk Management Pro- cess, at Metsä Group, believes the awareness of various risks has certainly increased in recent years. He per- ceives operational resilience as a key component in en- suring continuity. “We improve our risk management processes via various tools, including digitalisation, transparency and training,” he says. “Risk management creates the prerequisites for building resilience throughout the organisation.” According to Tarvainen, big industry players like Metsä Group are looking to thrive as they undergo change. “Above all, this requires you to have an accurate picture of what’s happening in the market – and why. Once you have solid data to rely on, you can deal with the uncer- tain future a lot better.” Resilient supply chains Metsä Board’s philosophy is that resilience is not just about enduring disruptions, but, instead, about proactively pre- paring for them and nurturing the internal agility to adapt to unforeseen scenarios. But what does this mean in prac- tice? First of all, with effective demand planning, supply chain visibility, and inventory management, it becomes possi- ble to better prepare for demand fluctuations and sup- ply interruptions. In addition, backup mills, as well as alternative converting and warehousing locations, play an important role in supply chain resilience. “We also actively maintain backup alternatives for logistics routings. For instance, when the Baltimore bridge tragically collapsed in March 2024, our supply chain team implemented logistics alternatives in less than 48 hours,” says Anu Metsäranta , Vice President, Supply Chain, at Metsä Board. “Furthermore, we deploy a robust Sales and Oper- ations Planning (S&OP) process, which features close collaboration with our partners and scenario planning with senior management.”
regulatory approach at both the EU and national levels. The new Commission is expected to take a more moder- ate line in avoiding over-prescriptive and conflicting leg- islation, as well as an excessive administrative burden.” Working together for the best results Peltonen notes that policymakers are doing valuable work – and when it is done with good interaction with stakeholders, the chances of success are good. “We an- ticipate regulatory changes by participating in policy discussions and advocacy at the EU and national levels – especially in Finland, Sweden and Germany.” In essence, this means that the Metsä Team follows and contributes to policy debates, monitors policy develop- ments, has meetings with stakeholders and EU decision makers, and analyses legislative proposals. “We participate in discussions about forest and biodi- versity, climate and energy, the environment, the circu- lar bioeconomy, and products,” Peltonen says. “We also work closely with national and EU-level trade and in- dustry associations.” •
Strengthening organisational agility While building a strong framework is essential, organ- isational resilience is also about cultivating sufficient alignment, empowerment, and adaptability when a cri- sis hits. By empowering smaller teams to act autonomously, while staying aligned with broader organisational goals, it’s possible to leverage the full expertise of the organi- sation to address issues efficiently. “In addition, recent developments in advanced analyt- ics have further increased the speed of our teams to as- sess risks, develop a shared understanding, implement the best actions and assess their impact with minimal delay,” concludes Metsäranta. Where is regulation heading next? The European Commission has promised to contin- ue the green transition and to focus more on boosting investment and European competitiveness, says Tytti Peltonen , Vice President, Corporate Affairs European Union, at Metsä Group. The focus will be, for example, on implementing the already adopted legislation in the Member States, clean industrial policy, assisting indus- trial emission reductions and energy security. “The EU has already integrated resilience in policies through the EU Green Deal programme, for example, with the aim of ensuring that the EU and Member States can respond to various challenges and recover from cri- sis,” she continues. Metsä Group has an office in Brussels, with three peo- ple working on EU advocacy. “Our colleagues in Ger- many and Finland also support our work,” says team leader Peltonen, who has worked in Brussels for 15 years now.
and biodiversity, climate and energy, environment, circular bioeconomy and products.”
The clean transition is an opportunity for our industry and economy, she be- lieves. “It requires an appropriate
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