Metsä Group’s principles for forest use and management

Metsä Group is one of the largest forest industry operators in Finland. We therefore consider it especially important that our operations are based on sustainable forest management and use, and cover economic, social and ecological aspects.

We procure wood from commercial forests in northern Europe. We do not procure wood from old-growth forests or forests defined as natural forests. Our forestry measures are guided by legislation, official guidelines, the requirements of forest certification schemes and Metsä Group’s own guidelines on regenerative forestry, for example. If we operate on uncertified forest estates, we also comply at least with the criteria for PEFC certification and the criteria as defined by the Finnish Government.

Wood is a renewable and recyclable raw material that can be used to replace fossil-based products. Wood products also store carbon – for example, in construction.

We are constantly developing our operations and want to be a forerunner in promoting regenerative forestry in our owner-members’ forests. We are committed to the principles of regenerative forestry, aiming to verifiably improve the state of forest nature by 2030. We implement regenerative forestry principles through various measures in Finnish forests.

Metsä Group’s mission is to increase the value of the forests and related assets of Metsäliitto Cooperative’s owner-members. Our owner-members decide on the management of their forests.

Our operations are guided by our values: responsible profitability; reliability; cooperation; and renewal.

Legislation, certificates and management systems

We require all our cooperation partners to comply with legislation in force. Our operations comply with the European Timber Regulation (EUTR), EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and FLEGT licensing scheme, US Lacey Act and UK Timber Regulation (UKTR). All the wood we procure comes from either certified forests or forests that meet the requirements of controlled origin (PEFC Controlled Sources, FSC® Controlled Wood).
We know the origin of the wood we use and have PEFC and FSC® Chain of Custody (CoC) certification.
We actively participate in the development of global PEFC and FSC® forest management standards. We offer our owner-members the opportunity to certify their forest in accordance with the PEFC and FSC systems.
Our management system is based on our quality management system (ISO 9001), environmental management system (ISO 14001) and occupational health and safety system (ISO 45001).
We use the EFQM framework for continuous improvement and participate in external EFQM Recognized assessments. In 2024, we received a six-star Outstanding organisation award from the assessment.
We follow developments in the laws affecting our operations and implement any changes.
We systematically measure and document our operations and report our results in our annual reporting, for example.

Metsäliitto Cooperative’s FSC logo licence: FSC-C014476
Metsäliitto Cooperative’s PEFC logo licence: PEFC/02-31-03

Metsä Group's wood supply

We procure all the wood used by Metsä Group’s production units. We also supply wood to selected external customers.
Our wood supply does not cause deforestation as defined by the EU Deforestation Regulation. All the countries from which we procure wood have issued legislation requiring forests to be renewed after harvesting.
We always prioritise certified wood in our wood supply. All the wood we procure comes from certified forests or sources that meet the requirements of controlled origin.
We use wood raw material as efficiently as possible to ensure a high conversion value and minimise the forest area to be felled.
The forest management, nature management and harvesting methods we use are based on the latest research. We engage in active and long-term cooperation with a diverse research community.
We provide all our owner-members in Finland with the most up-to-date forest asset data possible. As a service, we also offer a forest plan based on the data that takes economic and ecological aspects into consideration.

Personnel, partners and local communities

Our employees are committed to sustainable operations in accordance with Metsä Group’s Code of Conduct.
We resolutely improve our owner-members’, employees’ and partners’ regenerative forestry, forest management and nature management competence by organising training and producing learning materials, for example.
We procure the work related to wood supply and forest management and nature management services from our contract entrepreneurs. We engage in long-term cooperation with them. Our contract entrepreneurs are committed to sustainable operations, having approved Metsä Group’s Supplier Code of Conduct, for example.
We actively and systematically collect feedback on our operations from our personnel, forest owners, partners and customers. This feedback guides the further development of our operations.
We actively listen to our stakeholders, aiming for long-term cooperation with them. We also have an Ethics channel that anyone can use to provide feedback on our operations.
We take into account the rights of local residents and indigenous people in our operations.

Biodiversity and climate change

Metsä Group’s strategic 2030 sustainability targets (ESG) also include goals for wood supply. We are committed to increasing the amount of decaying wood in forests, increasing mixed forests of various forest development stages, and increasing the amount of carbon stored in trees by increasing the use of forest fertilisers.
Our operations have an impact on forest nature in northern Europe, especially in Finland. We recognise our responsibility to safeguard and improve the biodiversity of forest nature. We are committed to the principles of regenerative forestry and our goal is to develop new solutions to implement them.
We recognise the significance of peatlands for wood production, the mitigation of climate change and the state of waterbodies. We encourage forest owners to use methods to coordinate aspects of wood production, climate change, biodiversity, economy and waterbodies in peatlands.
We offer comprehensive wood trade and forest and nature management services to forest owners in Finland. By providing these services, we want to promote regenerative forestry: forest growth, carbon storage, biodiversity, healthy and vibrant forests, and the good condition of waterbodies.
We develop and promote voluntary solutions to safeguarding the vitality and biodiversity of forest nature. We help forest owners adopt voluntary forest protection measures on sites of special ecological value.