​The total global mass of all human-made materials has just exceeded the living biomass on earth. For example, the mass of all plastics is double the mass of all animals. Species extinction is a reality and the report published last autumn by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasised the urgency of climate measures and stated that this decade is a crucial time for mitigating global warming.

​Forest owners have an exceptional position: they can mitigate climate change as consumers, as maintainers of carbon sinks and as producers of renewable resources.

​Our long-term objectives ensure that we as a company create sustainable value for our business partners. 

​In Finland, sustainable forest management is based on the idea of renewing forests after regeneration felling. Since the 1800s, the guiding principle in Finnish forest legislation has been prohibiting the destruction of forests.

​Forests have always played an important role for Finnish society and the national economy. That is why they have been studied extensively.

​In the circular economy materials are used efficiently and sustainably as many times as possible. Our main raw material is renewable northern wood, which is an example of nature’s own circular economy.

​The ethics barometer was recently carried out at Metsä Group for the first time. The survey is used to identify blind spots and give the company’s management and personnel a comprehensive picture of how ethical we are. More than 6,000 Metsä Group employees from around the world responded to the survey.

When talking about digitalisation and developing applications, it is good to try to see ten years into the future, but it is equally important to look into the past to understand that even the boldest visions can be everyday phenomena in ten years’ time.

​The traditional textile industry is facing a series of major hurdles. Cotton production not only requires inordinately large quantities of water, it also competes with food production for field space. At the same time, there is a desire to find alternatives to oil-based textile fibres such as polyester. One solution to the textile industry’s dilemma can be found surprisingly close to home – in the forest.

​Metsä Fibre, a part of Metsä Group, has started pre-engineering project to build a new bioproduct mill in Kemi, Finland. If implemented, at EUR 1.5 billion, this will be the largest investment in the history of Finland’s forest industry. 

​The Rauma sawmill under construction offers an opportunity to participate in a unique, world-class project of the kind none of us see very often.

​Sustainable forest management and a sustainable forest industry represent an essential part of Finnish well-being as well as a climate solution.

​Mixed forests effectively increase the biodiversity of forests, and they are also more resistant than forests consisting of a single tree species to damage caused by climate change and other factors. On an appropriate site, they also grow at least as well and in some cases, even better, further enhancing carbon sequestration.

​When I joined Metsä Group around a year ago, the goal was clear: improve the energy efficiency index by three percentage points by the end of 2020. The goal is still clear, but now that I'm a year wiser, the ways by which to achieve it have become clearer.

​The world is changing. Mitigating climate change and supporting well-being have become daily topics in the media. Businesses and industries are assessed widely against sustainability criteria. Resource scarcity, population growth, the increase of consumption and urbanisation are steering global development. 

​Many people think that brown baking paper is more sustainable than white. Brown must be less treated with chemicals and therefore better for the environment. But is it?

​The word “brand” has an unnecessarily negative ring to it. Brands and branding are often perceived as a superficial attempt to make things look better than they really are. But a brand goes beyond a mere logo or marketing campaign – a brand is precisely the image it forms in people’s minds.