This was the first time that SSAB had included corporate responsibility and sustainability in its annual report since prior to this SSAB had published a separate sustainability report. The 2015 annual report is an interactive pdf document with an upper navigation bar to effortlessly switch from one part of the report to another. The report has been published in English, Finnish and Swedish versions, and can be downloaded from ssab.com.

“We decided to participate in ProCom’s assessment and competition to get feedback from an expert jury panel about the new approach we decided on for our annual report. Responsibility is now an integrated part of the business review part of our annual report, which also contains a separate GRI Report. It was naturally a pleasant surprise that besides an assessment, we also received this commendation. SSAB’s new sustainability strategy, with its clear focus areas, creates a good platform for future sustainability reporting,” says Atte Kaksonen, Corporate Communication Finland at SSAB.

“This was our first report based on the core option of the GRI G4 guidelines. In addition, SSAB has built a new corporate-wide environmental data collection and reporting solution, which also covers the main units in the former Rautaruukki. This has required huge effort and the contribution of many SSAB employees, who also share this commendation,” adds Liisa-Maija Seppänen, who was responsible for the sustainability issues in the report.

Atte Kaksonen received the award on behalf of the team involved in the report. Liisa-Maija Seppänen, who played a pivotal role in responsibility reporting, was unable to attend the ceremony due to other commitments.

The award jury commended SSAB’s annual report particularly for the good way it highlighted the responsibility aspect. ProCom - the Finnish Association of Communication Professionals has around 2,900 members. The competition assessed the readability and usability of the annual report entries, presentation of the financial statements and the visual image. YIT Corporation received the prize for the best annual report of a listed company.