As a global leader in sustainable stainless steel, Outokumpu recognizes its responsibility to respect and promote human rights across its operations and value chain. With over 8,000 professionals in more than 20 countries, our impact extends from our own chrome mine and ferrochrome production in Finland to stainless steel production facilities in Finland, Sweden, Germany, the US, and Mexico—and through our global raw material supply chains.
We are committed to respecting, protecting, and advancing the human rights of all individuals affected by our activities or those of our business partners. We also contribute to the economic and social well-being of communities where we operate and throughout our supply chains. More information can be found in our Sustainability Statement.
Commitments
Outokumpu is committed to conduct its business with high integrity. We respect and promote internationally recognized human rights as set forth in the International Bill of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, among others. Human rights are addressed in several publicly available company documents: Outokumpu's Human Rights Policy, Code of Conduct, our Corporate Responsibility Policy, Supplier Code of Conduct, our Supplier Requirements for Raw Materials and our Supplier Requirements for General Procurement.
Governance structure
The CEO has the most senior level of oversight and accountability for human rights in Outokumpu. The Group sustainability and procurement teams work actively together to develop Outokumpu’s human rights work in a balanced manner. Read more about the governance structure in our Sustainability Statement.
Our salient human rights issues
Outokumpu conducted the first human rights impact assessment in 2021. The work was conducted together with different internal stakeholder groups from across the organization in order to identify the most salient human rights risks. We have implemented our human rights due diligence based on these findings. A thorough human rights impact assessment covering our own operations was conducted in 2024 together with a revised analysis of the salient impacts in the supply chains.
Outokumpu's salient human rights impacts in own operations and supply chains:
- Occupational health & safety
- Freedom of association & collective bargaining
- Adequate living income and wage
- Gender equality & equal pay
- Reasonable working hours
- Discrimination & harassment
- Migrant workers
- Adverse impacts on biodiversity including deforestation, impacts on water, air, and soil, and its impacts on communities
More information on salient human rights in Outokumpu’s raw material supply chains can be found on the Sustainable supply chain page.
Stakeholder engagement
Meaningful stakeholder dialogue is essential to managing human rights risks responsibly. We engage regularly with internal and external stakeholders to understand their expectations, inform our human rights due diligence, and shape our actions.
At the local level, our production sites are often situated in smaller communities where Outokumpu is a major employer. We maintain active engagement with:
- Local authorities and community representatives
- Schools, universities, and NGOs
- Local suppliers, businesses, and neighbors
We also seek input from external stakeholders around our suppliers’ locations, especially those who may be affected by their operations, including local communities, NGOs, institutions, and others.
Channels for raising concerns
We encourage all stakeholders, both internal and external, to report concerns about potential or actual human rights impacts, whether directly caused by us, contributed to, or linked through our operations, products, or services.
Reporting channels:
- SpeakUp channel: An independent and confidential whistleblowing platform available in multiple languages via our website. Reports can be made anonymously, subject to local laws.
- Direct contacts: Concerns can also be raised directly to the VP Sustainability, Head of Human Rights, or Head of Supplier Sustainability, contact details are available on our website.