C2. Remuneration of senior executives

AP Accounting principles

Incentive programs

Essity has variable remuneration programs: Short Term Incentive (STI) and Long Term Incentive (LTI). Variable remuneration is capped at a specific percentage of fixed salary and is recognized as an expense and current liability, respectively, during the earning period in accordance with IAS 19 Employee Benefits. The programs are continuously evaluated and reported in the annual accounts. Payment is made in cash the year following the vesting period.

Description of incentive programs

The structure of the STI targets is related to the financial targets, or goals that contribute to the achievement of financial targets, such as operating cash flow, cost efficiency, EBITA margin, organic sales growth and consolidated profit before tax, as well as innovation goals.

The LTI goal is based on the performance of the company’s B share, measured as the TSR (Total Shareholder Return) index compared with the MSCI Household Products Index, Consumer Staples, which contains a weighted index of competitors’ and consumer companies’ shares performance (TSR) over a three-year period, where the performance target is higher TSR for the company than the benchmark index (maximum outcome requires a 5% better outcome than the benchmark index).

Variable remuneration under LTI is paid in cash to employees and accordingly does not have any dilutive effect. Participants in the LTI program are to acquire shares in Essity for half of the LTI outcome paid after tax and to refrain from divesting these shares for a period of three years.

Annual General Meeting guidelines for remuneration of senior executives

These guidelines shall govern remuneration to Board directors, the President, vice presidents and other senior executives. The guidelines do not include remuneration decided upon by the General Meeting.

Remuneration principles

Successful implementation of the company’s business strategy and the fostering of the company’s long-term interests, including its sustainability, require that the company is able, through competitive remuneration on market terms, to recruit, incentivize and retain skilled employees. The total remuneration package must therefore be on market terms and competitive on the executive’s field of profession, and must be related to the executive’s responsibilities, powers and performance. The remuneration may comprise fixed salary, variable remuneration, other benefits and pension. The company’s business strategy is presented in the company’s Annual and Sustainability Report.

Variable remuneration

Variable remuneration shall be based on results relative to established short-term (one year) and long-term financial targets, targets which contribute thereto or to the performance of the company’s share. Remuneration shall be aimed at promoting the company’s business strategy and long-term interests, including its sustainability. Furthermore, variable remuneration shall be paid as cash remuneration and shall not be included in the basis for pension computation. The short-term element shall not exceed 100% of annual fixed salary and the long-term element shall not exceed 50% of annual fixed salary.

Short-term performance targets shall include organic growth, product development, earnings, cash flow, capital efficiency, sustainability, return, individual targets or a combination thereof.

Long-term performance targets shall be linked to the performance of the company’s class B share measured as TSR index (Total Shareholder Return) compared with MSCI Household products Index, Consumer staples, which includes shares of competing companies, over a three-year period, where maximum outcome requires that the performance of the Essity share exceeds the benchmark index by more than 5% over a multi-year period. Payment of cash remuneration for achieved long-term performance targets shall also be subject to a requirement that one-half of such paid remuneration after tax shall be used for investment by the recipient in Essity shares. Such shares may not be divested during a period of three years from the date of purchase; among other things, to create a shared ownership interest between the participants in the program and the shareholders.

The company shall have the possibility to withhold payment of variable remuneration where necessary and possible according to law, provided there are special reasons for so doing and such a measure is necessary to meet the company’s long-term interests, including its sustainability. Furthermore, the company shall have the possibility provided by law to demand repayment of any variable remuneration paid based on erroneous grounds.

Pension and other benefits

Pension benefits shall be contribution-defined, and the annual premium shall not exceed 40% of the fixed annual salary. The retirement age shall be 65.

Other, lesser benefits may include medical insurance, company car, fitness allowance as well as membership and service fees, training/education and other support.

A notice of termination period of not more than two years shall apply upon termination of the employment relationship where the termination is initiated by the company, and of not more than one year where the termination is initiated by the executive. Severance pay should not exist.

Decision-making process and reporting

Matters relating to remuneration to senior executives shall be addressed by the Board’s Remuneration Committee and, with respect to the President, decided upon by the Board. The duties of the Remuneration Committee shall also include preparing board decisions regarding proposals for guidelines for remuneration to senior executives, performing oversight as well as monitoring and assessing the application thereof. When the Board or the Remuneration Committee addresses and decides on remuneration-related matters, senior executives may not be present insofar as the matter relates to them and, with respect to the calculation of variable remuneration, an audit certificate must be obtained before any decision is taken regarding payment. In the preparation of the remuneration guidelines, consideration has been given to salary and employment conditions for the company’s other employees, such as information regarding total remuneration, components of the remuneration as well as the increase in remuneration and the rate of increase over time, and the company’s equality of opportunity policy. The Board shall prepare a remuneration report.

Application of, and deviation from, the guidelines

The Board may decide to temporarily deviate from the guidelines, wholly or in part, if there are special reasons for so doing in an individual case and deviation is necessary to satisfy the company’s long-term interests, including its sustainability. The duties of the Remuneration Committee include preparing board decisions on remuneration issues, including decisions regarding deviations from the guidelines. With respect to employment relationships governed by rules other than Swedish rules, appropriate adjustments shall take place with respect to pension benefits and other benefits to ensure compliance with such rules or local practice, whereupon the overarching purpose of these guidelines shall be attained as far as possible.

The guidelines shall not take precedence over mandatory terms or employment law legislation or collective agreements. Nor shall they apply to already executed agreements.

Company’s application of guidelines

The company applied the guidelines approved by the AGM in the following manner.

Fixed salary

The fixed salary is to be in proportion to the individual’s position and the authority and responsibilities this entails, as well as performance. It is set individually at a level that, combined with other remuneration, is assessed as a market rate and competitive in the labor market in which the executive works.

Variable remuneration

Variable remuneration of the CEO, Executive Vice President and Business Unit Presidents and equivalents is maximized to a total of 100% of the fixed salary. For two Business Unit Presidents, stationed in the Americas, the maximum outcome is 110–130%. The corresponding limit for other senior executives is 90–100%. The program for variable remuneration is divided into short-term and long-term portions. The short-term portion (“Short Term Incentive”, or STI) for the CEO, Executive Vice President and Business Unit Presidents and equivalents may amount to a maximum of 50% of fixed salary. For the Business Unit Presidents, stationed in the Americas, the maximum outcome is 60–80% of the fixed salary, while the corresponding limit for other senior executives is 40–50%. The STI goals set for the Business Unit Presidents are mainly based on organic sales growth, EBITA margin, operating cash flow for each business unit and Group-wide cash flow goals and sustainability goals.

The goal for the CEO and others reporting directly to him is based primarily on organic sales growth, EBITA margin, operating cash flow, the Group’s profit and sustainability goals. Furthermore, for certain senior executives, goals for cost efficiency and innovation also apply, accounting for 21% of the variable remuneration. The sustainability target, Science Based Targets Scope 1 and 2, which aims to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide in energy utilization and purchased electricity, accounts for 9% of the variable remuneration.

The long-term portion (“Long Term Incentive”, or LTI) may amount to a maximum of 50% of the fixed salary. The senior executive is to invest half of the variable LTI compensation, after tax withholdings, in Essity shares. The shares may then not be sold before the end of the third year after the purchase of shares in the relevant LTI program.

Outcome, variable remuneration

For the CEO, Executive Vice President and Central Staff Managers, STI resulted in 32–40% of fixed salary for 2020. STI resulted in variable remuneration corresponding to 24–51% of fixed salary for the Business Unit Presidents. With the salary situation prevailing in 2020 with 12 senior executives, the maximum outcome of variable remuneration would entail a cost for the Group, excluding social security costs, of approximately SEK 38m.

The LTI target was not achieved for 2018–2020, resulting in no outcome for the CEO and other senior executives.

Other benefits

Other benefits pertain, in some cases, to a company car, commuter reimbursement and health insurance.

Pension

The CEO has a defined contribution pension based on an annual payment, to be paid by the company, amounting to 40% of the employee’s fixed salary, in addition to the agreed contribution for the basic pension benefits in the ITP plan (supplementary pensions for salaried employees), with retirement pension benefits limited to a maximum salary income of 7.5 income base amounts. The retirement age for the CEO is 65. Four other executives are covered by corresponding defined contribution pension benefits with an annual premium of approximately 30–40% and pension age of 65. Two senior executives in Sweden have a combined defined benefit and defined contribution plan. Five senior executives that are employed in companies outside Sweden are encompassed by defined contribution pension plans on local market-based terms.

Notice period and severance pay

The agreement with the CEO stipulates a period of notice of termination of two years if such notice is given by the company. The CEO has a corresponding right with a period of termination of one year. If notice is given by the company, the CEO is not obligated to serve during the notice period. The agreement has no stipulations with regard to severance pay. Between the company and other senior executives, a period of notice of termination of one to two years normally applies, if such notice is given by the company. The executive has a corresponding right with a period of notice of termination of six months to one year. The executive is normally expected to be available to the company during the notice period. The agreements have no stipulations with regard to severance pay.

Preparation and decision process for remuneration

During the year, the Remuneration Committee submitted recommendations to the Board regarding the principles for remuneration of senior executives. The recommendations encompassed the ratio between fixed and variable remuneration and the size of any salary increases. In addition, the Remuneration Committee expressed an opinion on the criteria for assessing variable remuneration and pension terms. The Board discussed the Remuneration Committee’s proposal and decided on the basis of the Committee’s recommendations. The remuneration of corporate management for the fiscal year was based on the Remuneration Committee’s recommendation and, with regard to the CEO, decided by the Board. The executives concerned did not participate in remuneration matters pertaining to themselves. When it was deemed appropriate, the work of the Remuneration Committee was carried out with the support of external expertise.

Obligations in relation to former presidents and CEOs

For former presidents and CEOs, Essity has outstanding, non-funded obligations amounting to SEK 190m. These costs were recognized in previous years and comprise pension obligations that Essity assumed from Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget in conjunction with the split of the Group.