SSAB

The role of the administrative, management and supervisory bodies

The Board's responsibility for sustainability work

(GOV-1 § 22 c & d, GOV-2 § 26 a) SSAB's Board of Directors is ultimately responsible for the company's sustainability work, which includes, among other things, conducting business responsibly and managing risks and opportunities related to sustainability at a strategic level (for more information on identified impacts, risks and opportunities in the area of sustainability, see the Sustainability Report, section Process for assessment of material impacts, risks and opportunities (IRO-1)). For example, the Board approves the Code of Conduct, the sustainability strategy and the strategy and investments related to the transformation to fossil-free steel production.

At Group Executive Committee meetings the development of SSAB's sustainability work is regularly reported to the CEO by the members of the Group Executive Committee in accordance with their respective areas of responsibility (for more information, see section The Group Executive Committee's responsibility for sustainability work), which is consolidated and reported to the Board of Directors. The board is informed, if deemed necessary, in the event of changes to group directives and instructions due to, for example, regulatory changes or based on internal evaluations.

The Board of Directors is updated at least quarterly about the development of SSAB's sustainability work in the company's material areas. The Board is updated through information in internal reports or other documents and presentations that are provided ahead of and presented at Board meetings. For the areas that have set targets, the Board is presented with the current outcome in relation to the set targets. Information about the Group's safety work and SSAB's transformation to fossil-free steel production is given at each ordinary meeting.

Since sustainability and climate issues, especially the transformation to fossil-free operations, are an integral part of SSAB's business strategy, the Board does not have a separate sustainability committee. The Sustainability Report is processed in the Audit Committee as part of the Annual Report.

The Board of Directors follows the views of the most important stakeholders in relation to SSAB's sustainability work, for example employee representatives are included in the Board of Directors which gives the employees agency in questions discussed by the Board. Furthermore, the Board also has contact with, for example, shareholders, especially in connection with the Annual General Meeting, as well as authorities and politicians. Otherwise, the Board has delegated stakeholder dialogs to members of the Group Executive Committee, within their respective areas of responsibility (for more information on the Group Executive Committee's areas of responsibility, see section The Group Executive Committee's responsibility for sustainability work. The Board of Directors is informed as required or if major changes are made.

Rules of procedure of the Board

(GOV-1 § 22b) Each year, the Board adopts the rules of procedure, including instructions to the CEO, which, among other things, govern the allocation of work between the Board and the CEO. The rules of procedure further regulate the frequency of Board meetings and the allocation of work among the Board's committees. The rules of procedure state that there must be a Remuneration Committee and an Audit Committee. Ahead of each Board meeting, the directors receive a written agenda and full documentation to serve as the basis for decisions. Each Board meeting conducts a review of the Group's safety statistics, sustainability objectives – including significant impacts, risks and opportunities related to sustainability matters, the current state of the business, the Group's results, financial position and the business (for more information on the Board's and the Group Executive Committee's responsibility in sustainability work, see section The Board's responsibility for sustainability work and The Group Executive Committee's responsibility for sustainability work). Other issues addressed include competition and the market situation.

Audit Committee

Duties

(GOV-1 § 22 b) The Audit Committee elects a Chair from among its members. Members of the Audit Committee are elected from directors who are not employees of the company. At least one of the members must be competent in accounting or auditing matters.

The duties of the Audit Committee are stated in the Board's rules of procedure. The Chair of the Committee is responsible for ensuring that the entire Board is kept regularly informed of the Committee's work and, where necessary, for submitting matters to the Board for decision.

The main duty of the Audit Committee is to support the Board in its work to ensure the quality of the financial and sustainability reporting.

Remuneration Committee

Duties

(GOV-1 § 22 b) In addition to the Chair of the Board of Directors, the Remuneration Committee comprises one or more directors elected by the general meeting who must be independent both of the company and of the company's top management. The Committee members must possess the required knowledge and experience of remuneration matters relating to senior executives. The Committee's duties are stated in the Board's rules of procedure. The CEO attends the Committee meetings to report on matters.

Work of the Board in 2024

(GOV-1 § 21, GOV-2 § 26 b & c) In 2024, the Board of Directors held 12 meetings at which minutes were taken and the Board was quorate at all times. SSAB's General Counsel, who is not a director, served as a secretary to the Board. During the financial year 2024, the Board of Directors consisted of seven members elected by the Annual General Meeting during the period January 1–April 24, 2024, nine directors elected by the Annual General Meeting during the period April 24–October 28, 2024 and eight directors elected by the Annual General Meeting during the period October 28–December 31, 2024. As at December 31, 2024, the Board of Directors consisted of four women and four men (corresponding to a ratio of 50%/50% for female/male directors). In addition, the Board during the financial year 2024 consisted of three employee representatives and three deputies. All of the directors elected by the Annual General Meeting during the financial year 2024 were non-executive directors, with the exception of Martin Lindqvist, who was an executive director in the capacity of President and CEO during the period January 1–October 28, 2024. All (100%) of the non-executive directors of the Board of Directors are deemed to be independent in relation to both the company and the company's management, as well as the company's major shareholders.

The Board's experience and expertise in the company's sectors, products and geographical locations and sustainability

(GOV-1 § 23) The Board of Directors is evaluated annually to ensure that it has the required combined experience and competence for SSAB's operations, which includes the company's products, the sectors and geographical locations in which SSAB operates as well as material sustainability areas. The evaluation for 2024 was conducted by an external party and consisted of an extensive questionnaire that was answered by each director individually as well as individual interviews with the directors. The questionnaire mainly related to the Board's efficiency and collective competence to handle its responsibilities in relation to important areas for the company. The responses were consolidated and reported anonymously to the Board of Directors and to the Nomination Committee prior to their preparation of proposals for the election of directors (for more information on the Nomination Committee's work, see section Nomination Committee). The conclusion from the Board evaluation carried out in 2024 was that the directors were deemed to have appropriate experience and competence for the company's operations.

A special sustainability focus for the Board evaluation was to ensure that the Board has the necessary competence for the implementation of the company's transition to fossil-free steel production, which included competence and experience in the heavy processing industry, international marketing and sales, major investment projects, finance, IT and digitalization as well as corporate social responsibility.

In addition to the competence that the Board possesses in the area of sustainability, the Board also has access to additional competence when necessary, primarily through specialized employees within the Group.

Information provided to and sustainability matters addressed by the undertaking's administrative, management and supervisory bodies

Information provided to the Board on sustainability matters

(GOV-2 § 26 a) At Group Executive Committee meetings the development of SSAB's sustainability work is regularly reported to the CEO by the members of the Group Executive Committee in accordance with their respective areas of responsibility (for more information, see section The Group Executive Committee's responsibility for sustainability work), which is consolidated and reported to the Board of Directors. The board is informed, if deemed necessary, in the event of changes to group directives and instructions due to, for example, regulatory changes or based on internal evaluations.

The Board of Directors is updated at least quarterly about the development of SSAB's sustainability work in the company's material areas. The Board is updated through information in internal reports or other documents and presentations that are provided ahead of and presented at Board meetings. For the areas that have set targets, the Board is presented with the current outcome in relation to the set targets. Information about the Group's safety work and SSAB's transformation to fossil-free steel production is given at each ordinary meeting.

Each Board meeting conducts a review of the Group's safety statistics, sustainability objectives – including significant impacts, risks and opportunities related to sustainability matters, the current state of the business, the Group's results, financial position and the business (for more information on the Board's and the Group Executive Committee's responsibility in sustainability work, see section The Board's responsibility for sustainability work and The Group Executive Committee's responsibility for sustainability work). Other issues addressed include competition and the market situation.

Sustainability matters specifically addressed by the Board in 2024

(GOV-2 § 26 b & c) During the year, the Board of Directors specifically dealt with the following sustainability issues: • Transformation of operations to fossil-free steelmaking. • Safety work in the Group.

The Board of Directors has spent considerable time on topics related to the transformation to fossil-free steel production and has during the year visited SSAB's sites in Luleå, Sweden and Raahe, Finland. The company's material impacts, risks and opportunities related to sustainability are communicated to the Board in connection with the annual strategy and risk review and are a central part of the basis that the Board has taken into account in strategic decisions and considerations during the financial year, such as the Board of Directors' decision to proceed with the next step in SSAB's transition by building a state-of-the-art steel mill in Luleå for the production of premium steel with low CO2 emissions.

Strategy, business model and value chain

This is SSAB

SSAB is a Nordic and US-based steel company that builds a stronger, lighter and more sustainable world through value added steel products and services. SSAB has employees in over 50 countries and production facilities in Sweden, Finland and the USA. SSAB is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq Helsinki.

SSAB is organized across five business segments consisting of three divisions: SSAB Special Steels, SSAB Europe and SSAB Americas, and the fully-owned subsidiaries: Tibnor and Ruukki Construction.

SSAB Special Steels

has global responsibility for sales of SSAB's quenched and tempered (Q&T) steels and advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) as well as for the production sites in Oxelösund, Sweden, and in Mobile, USA.

SSAB Europe

is responsible for sales of strip, heavy plate and tubular products in Europe, the global business in the Automotive customer segment (AHSS) and for the production sites in Raahe and Hämeenlinna, Finland, and in Luleå and Borlänge, Sweden.

SSAB Americas

is responsible for sales of heavy plate in North America and for the production site Montpelier, USA.

Tibnor

is the Group's distributor of a full range of steel and non-ferrous metals in the Nordics and Baltics. Tibnor buys and sells materials produced both by SSAB and other suppliers.

Ruukki Construction

produces and sells energy-efficient building solutions, with a focus on northern and eastern Europe.

SSAB's home markets

SSAB's home markets are the Nordics (heavy plate, strip and tubular products) and North America (heavy plate). High-strength and quenched and tempered steels are sold worldwide. Our production plants are in Sweden, Finland and the USA and have an annual crude steel production capacity of 8.8 million tonnes.

Strategy - Building an even stronger steel company

SSAB's strategy is to deliver sustainable, industry-leading profitability by strengthening and innovating products that increase added value for customers.

Leading position in home markets

SSAB is the market leader on our home markets – flat steels and tubular products in the Nordics and heavy plate in North America. A proximity to customers has built up partnerships through the years. These partnerships continue to evolve. It is key for customers to receive top-quality steel with good delivery accuracy and short lead times. SSAB's competitive edge is that production is relatively close to customers, which also facilitates product development. This leading position on our home markets creates a stable platform from which to further develop SSAB' offering.

Global leadership in special and premium steels

SSAB has a wide range of premium steels and is the global market leader in quenched and tempered (Q&T) steels and advanced high-strength steels (AHSS). These steels create great value for SSAB's customers, for example through longer product lifespan, lighter products that consume less energy in use and higher productivity. SSAB's unique special products have higher margins and more stable earnings than standard steel over business cycles. The strategy is to continue to increase sales of special and premium steels by upgrading customers from standard steels to high-strength premium alternatives, and to enter new markets and segments. Combining the growth of these products with a more stable development of standard products will improve SSAB's product mix.

Leading the green transformation of the steel industry

Many of SSAB's customers and other market actors, not least in the mobility, construction and construction machinery industries, have set ambitious goals to reduce their climate impact from materials. In many cases, steel accounts for a significant share of CO2 emissions related to materials and manufacture of these products. By offering these customers steel with lower CO2 emissions, SSAB helps them to reach their climate goals and in turn sell products and applications with a lower carbon footprint. This shows how the development of steel with lower climate impact creates great value for our customers and adds a further dimension to SSAB's range of premium products. Back in 2023, we introduced a unique steel, SSAB Zero, based on recycled steel scrap and fossil-free energy. SSAB's flexible production system means that we can offer SSAB Zero in most product categories and on many markets in Europe and North America.

Customer segments

The customer segments include heavy transport, construction and infrastructure, automotive, industrial applications, construction and construction machinery (including lifting cranes) and energy and material handling (including mining). In the Nordic and North American home markets, standard steel is sold to a certain extent via service centers and distributors. SSAB has its own sales channels in 50 countries.

SSAB's customer segments

Share of total shipments in 2024: • Heavy transport, 13% • Construction, 10% • Automotive, 12% • Industrial applications, 12% • Construction machinery, 5% • Energy, 5% • Material handling, 4% • Service centers, 38% • Others, 2%

Market segment

SSAB operates in the so-called flat carbon steel market (steel with a certain carbon content) that is rolled into sheets of varying thickness. With an annual production capacity of approximately 8.8 million tonnes of crude steel, SSAB is a smaller player on the global market, but has leading positions in four segments: Special steel (Advanced High-Strength Steel, AHSS, and toughened steel), premium steel for vehicles (AHSS), flat steel and tubular products in the Nordic region and heavy plate in North America. SSAB is also a retailer of steel and other metals via the subsidiary Tibnor and offers steel-based construction products via the subsidiary Ruukki Construction.

SSAB's transformation enables increased premium product range

SSAB has decided on an ambitious agenda to increase and strengthen its leadership in strategic areas. SSAB plans to invest in modern, cost-effective and almost emission-free production technology at a number of our sites. These investments will allow us to expand our range of premium products and increase sales of steel with a low climate footprint. The transformation will also strengthen SSAB's competitiveness by lowering costs, converting fixed costs into variable costs and not least avoid the future costs of CO2 emissions resulting from the phasing out of free allocations to for example the steel industry under the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS).

Strategy for profitable growth

SSAB's strategy is to grow in special products and premium steels, areas where we can stand out from the competition and deliver unique value to the customer. We will strengthen this focus, which will permeate all our business areas as we develop new products and services.

The focus is key to reaching our financial target – to be the most profitable steel company. Our planned investments combined with our dedicated employees give us the tools we need.