Building growth together with our customers
PRACTISING REGENERATIVE FORESTRY
1. Native tree species and an increase in mixed forests
6. Retaining old trees
Species native to Finland – i.e. spruce, pine, birch and aspen – are used for industrial purposes. Regenerative forestry diversifies forests by growing birch in coniferous forests and spruce and pine in the same forest. Rarer tree species such as goat willow, alder, bird cherry, rowan and temperate deciduous trees are not used commercially but are left standing to support natural diversity.
Old trees are left standing because they form a habitat for many essential species. Living retention trees left untouched in forests will grow old and decay with time.
A customer-oriented approach and long-term relationships are key as Metsä Fibre seeks sustainable growth and strengthens its leading position in the global softwood pulp market. Rather than looking for short-term wins, we believe that long-term collaboration will lead to the most profitable result for us and our customers. Our company’s strengths lie in high-quality pulp, sawn timber and other bioproducts made from Nordic wood. We collaborate closely with our customers to ensure our products suit their purposes and processes. Our new bioproduct mill in Kemi and modern pine sawmill in Rauma bring additional capacity to the market so that our customers can continue growing their businesses. In terms of pulp, we have a strong market position in Europe and Asia and we are growing our presence in the United States. In the future, we will meet increasing customer demand with larger volumes. Challenges that local pulp producers face, such as issues with the availability of raw materials and capacity cuts, have created a lack of supply and opened up an opportunity for us to strengthen our position in the market. While economic cycles impact the global pulp market, in the long term we expect the demand for pulp to grow steadily, especially with regard to tissue paper and cardboard packaging as well as specialty papers. This view is supported by global megatrends. In particular, population growth, urbanisation and increasing purchasing power in developing countries as well as an interest in decreasing the use of fossil-based raw materials are driving increased consumption of tissue paper and packaging materials. In sawn timber, we have customers in Finland, elsewhere in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. We are happy to see strong interest and competence in timber construction, particularly in the Japanese market, where we deliver an increasing number of high-quality sawn timber products. Elsewhere in the world, the recovery of construction and expanding environmental awareness will increase the amount of timber construction; in turn, this will lead to increased demand for sawn timber. Thanks to our modern mills and sawmills, we can offer even larger production volumes to all markets. Our production is founded on responsibility and sustainability. In accordance with our 2030 sustainability targets, we are aiming for completely fossil fuel-free production. Our Kemi and Äänekoski bioproduct mills as well as our Rauma sawmill have already achieved this goal. We are also developing a wastewater discharge-free pulp mill concept, promoting carbon-neutral logistics solutions in close collaboration with our partners, and continuously improving the environmental efficiency of our operations. The significance of sustainability in customer collaboration will be highlighted even further in the future. Our goal is to be a global frontrunner in reducing fossil CO2 emissions and the world’s leading producer of softwood pulp, with a strong focus on long-term customer relationships.
7. Burned forest areas for species dependent on them
After a forest fire, charred wood and litter attract species typical of the area. Such forest sites can also be created artificially by burning trees under supervision.
AN EXPERIENCED GLOBAL SALES PROFESSIONAL
2. More decaying wood
We leave decaying wood in forests as a habitat for the natural predators of destructive insects and for endangered species. In felling sites, we create decaying wood with retention trees which are left to grow, die and decay in the forest. We also create high biodiversity stumps by cutting trees at a height of two to five metres. In this way, we get decaying wood and hollow trees in forests where they would otherwise be rare.
8. Special plans for special species and areas
Mikko Antsalo, SVP, Sales and Marketing at Metsä Fibre, has extensive experience of sales management in the forest industry. Antsalo started out in paper industry sales. During his career, he has worked in New York, Munich and Düsseldorf, among other places. Before transferring to Metsä Fibre, he was responsible for sales and marketing in Stora Enso’s paper division.
Certain species prefer very specific living conditions, such as dry and sunlit ridge areas. These special sites, as well as individual occurrences of species, are taken into account and protected by special measures when necessary. We also make it easier for species to move to new habitats through area-level planning and by developing diversity networks.
3. Supporting native species in herb-rich forests
9. Protecting valuable biotopes
Herb-rich forests are valuable natural sites containing many species that cannot be found elsewhere. Nature management is therefore favoured in herb-rich forests to ensure that the living conditions of these species are conserved and improved.
Valuable environments, i.e. key biotopes, are left untouched or managed in accordance with the needs of the species living there. Such environments include areas with running water and springs, stony ground and rocky sites as well as steep bluffs and forest lying directly underneath.
4. Variety in forest structure
10. Focus on peatlands
We maintain the structural variability of forests. A variable structure increases diversity as different species live in different kinds of forests. For this purpose, we leave retention trees, retention tree groups and protective thickets in forests. We use a variety of forest management methods and support cultivation that ensures the area remains covered by forest.
Peatlands form a massive carbon storage. The aim of peatland management is to ensure that the water resources remain balanced in the area in question. The goal is for the forest to grow, emissions to be as low as possible and peatlands to maintain their carbon storage capacity.
5. Buffer zones along waterways
Mikko Antsalo SVP, Sales and Marketing, Metsä Fibre
We leave buffer zones along waterways to safeguard the living conditions of species in shore areas and to absorb solid matter and nutrient washouts. The width of a buffer zone depends on the area in question. Different trees and species grow along different waterways. One typical shore tree species is common alder.
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