Stora Enso has been recognised by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for 2010. The Group is recognised for its commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility. Out of a record number of nominations for the award, Stora Enso secured its spot on the list for the third time. “Stora Enso's promotion of a sound ethical environment shines within its industry and shows a clear understanding that operating under the highest standards for business behaviour goes beyond goodwill and “lip-service” and is intimately linked to performance and profitability,” said Alex Brigham, Executive Director of the Ethisphere Institute. “This year's World's Most Ethical Companies award was more competitive than ever, because companies realise that making ethics a priority is critical amidst a tough economic environment.” The methodology for the WME ranking includes reviewing codes of ethics, evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices, looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship, and studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers. Through in-depth research and a multi-step analysis, Ethisphere reviewed thousands of nominations from companies in over 100 countries and 36 industries in order to determine the winners. A sampling of other winners include Aflac, American Express, Campbell Soup, the Ford Motor Company, General Electric, Google, L'Oréal, Nike, PepsiCo, Starbucks, T-Mobile USA, UPS, Whole Foods Market and Xerox. Read about the methodology and view the complete list of the 2010 World's Most Ethical Companies at http://ethisphere.com/wme-2010. About Ethisphere Institute The research-based Ethisphere Institute is a leading international think tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti corruption and sustainability. More information on the Ethisphere Institute, including ranking projects and membership, can be found at www.ethisphere.com. For further information, please contact: Eija Pitkänen, SVP Sustainability, tel. +358 2046 21348 Heidi Puusa, Director, Group Identity and Sustainability Communications, tel. +358 2046 21309 www.storaenso.com www.storaenso.com/sustainability Stora Enso is the world leader in forest industry sustainability. We offer our customers solutions based on renewable raw materials. Our products provide a climate-friendly alternative to many non-renewable materials, and have a smaller carbon footprint. Stora Enso is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Index. Stora Enso employs some 27 000 people worldwide, and our sales in 2009 amounted to EUR 8.9 billion. Stora Enso shares are listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki (STEAV, STERV) and Stockholm (STE A, STE R). In addition, the shares are traded in the USA as ADRs (SEOAY) in the International OTCQX over-the-counter market.