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Forests and wood
Sustainably managed forests serve many purposes
FORESTS AND WOOD
We always ensure the origin of the wood fibre we use, and source wood only from sustainably managed forests in which the renewal of forests and biodiversity are safeguarded.
Our 2030 target:
SHARE OF CERTIFIED WOOD FIBRE
%
100
80
60
40
20
0
18 19 20 21 >90%
TARGET
Approximately 10%
of the world’s forests are certified
MOST OF THE WOOD WE USE IS SOURCED FROM FINLAND AND SWEDEN
Finland
53% Sweden 29% Baltic countries 9% Russia 9%
Theme-related UN goals
The sustainable use of forests must account for all three criteria for sustainability: financial, ecological and social. The sustainable use of forests creates well-being, mitigates climate change, maintains biodiversity and prevents deforestation. The raw material provided by forests, wood fibre, is an important alternative to fossil-oil based raw materials, and forest industry products are significant in terms of the national economy of Metsä Board’s home market: the forest industry generates roughly a fifth of Finland’s export income.
We always verify the origin of wood fibre
Metsä Group’s wood supply and forest services is responsible for our wood supply. The pulps used in paperboard production are manufactured in Metsä Board’s own high-yield pulp and pulp mills, or our associated company Metsä Fibre’s pulp mills. Knowing the origin of the wood fibre, self-sufficiency in pulp, and the control of chemicals at all stages of production ensure the availability of fibre, the consistently high quality of the products, and an uninterrupted chain of product safety.
We source wood solely from sustainably managed forests in Northern Europe. Our wood use in 2021 totalled 8.3 million cubic metres (2020: 8.2 million m3). The volume includes the wood used in Metsä Board’s own production of pulp and high-yield pulp as well as the wood used in the pulp purchased from Metsä Fibre.
The wood we use always meets at least the criteria for PEFC Controlled Sources and FSC® Controlled Wood. This means that all parties involved in the processing of wood and pulp in our value chain comply with the requirements of the PEFC and FSC® Chains of Custody, and as a result all the wood fibre we use is traceable.
In 2021, 83% (80) of the wood fibre we used came from certified forests and 17% (20) from controlled forests. Our target is to increase the share of certified wood fibre to at least 90% of all the fibre we use by the end of 2030. The long-term wood delivery contract made with Norra Skog in 2020 increases the volume of certified wood fibre purchased from Sweden. The availability of certified wood fibre is nevertheless limited: some 10% of the world’s forests are certified. In Finland, the certification rate is approximately 90%, and in Sweden over 60%.
All the wood fibre we use is traceable
All parties involved in the processing of wood and pulp in our value chain comply with the requirements of the PEFC and FSC® Chains of Custody. The wood fibre we use is therefore traceable. In addition to sustainable forest sites, we choose our partners responsibly. PEFC/02–31–92 FSC®-C001580
Customer
Forest certification and our Chain of Custody system give our customers the opportunity to tell their own clients about a product’s sustainability. Certification and traceability ensure that the wood used in a product comes from sustainably managed forests. The pulp used in paperboard production is manufactured in Metsä Board’s own high-yield pulp and pulp mills or its associated company Metsä Fibre’s pulp mills. These mills purchase all their wood from Metsä Group’s wood supply. The mills record the volume, origin and certification of the wood they purchase, and ensure through calculations that the volume of certified products they sell corresponds with the volume of inbound certified wood. The certification details are shown in the orders and the related documents. All wood can be traced with the help of maps, the details entered in data systems, and various documents. Metsä Group’s wood supply calculates the share of certified wood and sells a corresponding volume of certified wood to the mills. We also require a sustainable origin from non-certified wood, and the wood always meets at least the requirements of PEFC Controlled Sources and FSC® Controlled Wood. Most of the wood we use comes from PEFC or FSC®-certified Northern European forests. The forest owners have agreed to the requirements of forest certification. Metsä Group and external auditors verify the sustainable forest management by auditing harvesting sites, for example.
Paperboard, pulp and high-yield pulp mills Wood supply and forest services Forest owners
Sustainability is monitored with audits
For our customers to be able to purchase certified paperboard or pulp, both the forests and the Chain of Custody system must be certified.
Forest certifications define strict criteria for the ecological, social and economic sustainability of forest management. The requirements pertain, among other things, to the safeguarding of the forests’ biodiversity, maintaining the forests’ growth, and securing the rights of Indigenous people. Forest certification requires third parties to regularly audit the certified forest areas and the implemented measures. Metsä Group implements a policy according to which requirements related to the environment and quality are also complied with and monitored in non-certified forests, so that the criteria for controlled wood are met.
Metsä Board’s Chain of Custody system is evaluated annually with Metsä Group’s internal and third-party external audits. The audits monitor the operations of the wood suppliers and harvesting contractors as well as the traceability of the wood fibre within our own processes. The auditing covers a range of aspects related to environmental and social responsibility, such as the wood’s legal origin, the securing of Indigenous people’s rights, safety at work, and traceability and calculation practices, which should be in accordance with certification standards. This allows us to ensure the wood’s sustainable origin and the share of certified wood used in our production. If deviations are observed in the audits, we implement the corrective measures immediately. In 2021, we developed our internal communications by compiling online training material which allows our mills to increase their personnel’s knowledge about forest certifications.
In 2021–2022, Metsä Group is participating in the ‘Tekopöly’ research project which studies the species relying on high biodiversity stumps in forests and which types of stumps are the most beneficial for the biodiversity of forests.
Further improvement of the ecological sustainability of forest nature is crucial. Because of this, Metsä Group has targets extending to 2030 on increasing the amount of carbon bound to forests and long-lived wood products, and safeguarding the biodiversity in forests.
To achieve these targets, Metsä Group launched an ecological sustainability programme focused on commercial forests in 2020. The programme aims to increase the carbon sinks of forests, safeguard biodiversity and develop the protection of water. In 2021, the programme’s measures were complemented with a policy concerning the management of herb-rich forests, according to which Metsä Group’s principal recommendation for herb-rich forests in commercial forests is nature management. For the best sites, it recommends voluntary conservation. Beyond commercial forests, biodiversity is promoted with the nature management programme established in 2021.
Metsä Group’s 2030 targets concerning forests
Increasing the amount of carbon stored in forests by 30% (in hectares) from 2018
Increasing the amount of carbon stored in products by 30% from 2018
Securing the biodiversity of forests: Leaving retention trees on 100% of regeneration felling sites and making high biodiversity stumps on 90% of the sites In 2021, the realisation was 3.8%.
In 2021, the amount of carbon stored in sawn timber and wood products was 1.2% smaller than in the comparison year 2018.
In 2021, retention trees were left in 94% in regeneration fellings carried out by Metsä Group, while high biodiversity stumps were made in 88% of thinnings and regeneration fellings carried out by Metsä Group.
Metsä Group’s programmes for safeguarding biodiversity
Key measures include increasing retention trees and decaying wood in forests; leaving cover thickets for animals; the mixed cultivation of pine and spruce instead of planting only one species; developing forest management, particularly on peatland; the nature site service aimed at forest owners falling under the scope of Metsä Group’s FSC® group certificate; the policy on the management of herb-rich forests; and participating in research projects focused on the development of sustainable forest management.
Nature management programme – aimed at nature beyond commercial forests
In 2021–2030, Metsä Group will support regionally material and effective development projects improving biodiversity and the state of waterbodies in Finland with financial contributions and its own expertise. The projects may involve waterfowl habitats and wetlands, watercourses, small bodies of water and riparian habitats, pollinator habitats, or new water conservation methods.
The selected methods promote biodiversity
Increasing the amount of decaying wood in forests and favouring mixed forests are especially important for biodiversity. Decaying wood is increased by retaining all dead trees, preferably in groups, and by making high biodiversity stumps at thinning and regeneration felling sites. High biodiversity stumps are made by cutting a tree trunk at a height of 2–4 metres and leaving the upright stump to decay in the forest.
Given that mixed forests increase forests’ biodiversity and resilience to storms and insect damage, Metsä Group provides forest owners with a forest regeneration service in which both spruce and pine are planted in the same area. Broad-leaved trees, such as birch, which spreads to stands naturally, should also be retained in forests.
Biodiversity can be increased by protecting habitats important for biodiversity from felling, and by leaving cover thickets for animals and buffer zones around natural waterways. Such buffer zones also prevent the run-off of soil and nutrients.
The policy concerning the nature management or protection of herb-rich forests directs management measures to where they have the most impact on biodiversity: herb-rich forests account for only 1–2% of the surface area of Finland’s forests, but approximately 45% of endangered forest-dwelling species live primarily in the herb-rich forests.
The measures increase the amount of decaying and retention trees of different ages and species. This is vitally important for many birds, insects and fungi.
Legislation acknowledges biodiversity
The legislation in Finland and in Sweden requires habitats important for biodiversity to be considered in connection to felling and harvesting. Certified and controlled forests involve additional requirements for the safeguarding of biodiversity.
Statutory protected forests account for some 10% of Finland’s total forest area. According to a report by the European Union, more than half of Europe’s strictly protected forests are located in Finland.
Forests act as carbon sinks thanks to their growth
Metsä Board’s mills are located in Finland and Sweden, which are Europe’s most forested countries. Forests cover approximately 75% of Finland’s and 69% of Sweden’s surface area. In both countries, at least half of the forests are owned privately by ordinary families, meaning that forests are a source of income for many people. This is why it is important to forest owners that their forests remain viable for future generations.
The volume of wood in the forests of Finland and Sweden has grown over the last few decades because the annual growth of forests surpasses the volume of harvesting and other removal of trees in forests. In Finland, for example, the annual growth of forests was 103.5 million cubic metres in 2014–2020, while the annual drain, including felling and trees that die for natural causes, amounted to 83% of the growth over the same period of time (Natural Resources Institute Finland).
In both Finland and Sweden, the law states that a forest must always be regenerated after harvesting. Forestry does not cause deforestation in our wood supply area. Rather, the permanent felling of trees results from other forms of land use, including infrastructure building and clearing land into fields.
Thanks to the growth of the forests, they act as carbon sinks and thereby mitigate climate change. Good forest management enhances carbon sequestration. In sustainable forest management, a forest is regenerated swiftly after harvesting, and the regeneration relies on rapidly growing seedlings or seeds that are best suited to the site. The seedling stands are thinned to create growth space for the best seedlings, and the forest is fertilised. At its best, a well-managed seedling stand in Southern Finland becomes a carbon sink at around the age of 15. Metsä Group aims to increase the amount of carbon stored in forests by actively offering forest management services to forest owners.
Different felling methods are needed
In light of current studies, periodic cover silviculture, which also includes regeneration felling, is the most risk-free option for a forest owner and yields the best financial return. Continuous cover forestry, in which only some of the trees are removed at any one time, is a good alternative, particularly on peatland, in the vicinity of waterbodies, in rugged pine stands, and in areas which already contain seedlings. There is no consensus on which method is better over the long term in terms of biodiversity and carbon sequestration, and more research is needed. Metsä Group provides forest owners with all harvesting methods – it is the forest owner who has the final say on their property.
There are several projects under way in the European Union with a direct and indirect bearing on the use of forests within our wood supply area. EU policies place a strong emphasis on the carbon sinks of forests and the safeguarding of biodiversity. The most holistic view of forest use is provided by the EU Forest Strategy, which aims to reconcile the diverse commercial use of forests, their role as carbon sinks, the climate benefits of wood-based products, and the protection of forests and the safeguarding of their biodiversity. The EU Forest Strategy is not legally binding, but together with other EU initiatives and legislation, such as the Renewable Energy Directive, the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and the EU Taxonomy, it will guide the forest-related regulation of EU member states in the coming years.
The Forest Strategy acknowledges that forest industry products mitigate climate change by replacing materials whose production generates copious amounts of fossil-based emissions. At the same time, the further measures of the Forest Strategy, such as its policies regarding regeneration felling, may limit opportunities in the commercial use of forests. From the perspective of the forest industry, the effects of the EU Forest Strategy are indeed twofold, and it is possible that EU regulation with an impact on the use of forests will start to limit the availability of wood. It would also be important to consider the role of member states and the differences between forests across Europe in the implementation of the strategy.
Biodiversity makes forests stronger
Metsä Group, which is responsible for Metsä Board’s wood supply, develops sustainable forest management methods continuously, and bases its practices on scientific studies. Together with Finnish forest owners, Metsä Group supports the retention of forests’ viability by establishing mixed forests of pine and spruce. The use of two species of coniferous trees in forest regeneration promotes a forest’s health and biodiversity. “Mixed forests of spruce and pine are more sustainable and diverse than forests of one tree species,” says Tiina Laine, Forest Management Manager at Metsä Group.
The establishment of mixed forests makes sense in areas experiencing elk damage. Elk prefer pine seedlings over spruce seedlings. In addition, climate change exposes spruce to the European spruce bark beetle. “It has already caused considerable damage in Central Europe. As the climate warms and spruces suffer from drought, northern spruce stands may also begin to see more of this damage,” says Laine. Mixed forests can also include naturally occurring broad-leaved trees left in suitable locations. “This results in the best possible growth conditions and promotes biodiversity.” Metsä Group aims to regenerate forests soon after a felling. The faster a new viable seedling stand is achieved, the earlier the forest can begin to bind carbon.
