Environment and Forestry


Circular economy at three stages

1. Closed loops
  • Waste at one stage is raw material for the next one. Finnpulp uses residuals such as bark from its own production as well as from sawmills.
2. Renewable fiber sources, recyclable products
  • The annual growth of forests in Finnpulp’s procurement area exceeds clearly annual fellings.
  • One fiber, eg. in packaging, can be reused up to 5–6 times.
3. CO2 circulation
  • Well-managed forests bind carbon from atmosphere.
  • Sufficient demand of pulp wood maintains the circulation of carbon from atmosphere to growing forests. Finnpulp is part of this circulation.

Better future with bioproducts

Finnpulp’s bioproduct mill is a large scale green industrial project. It offers sustainable solutions for increasing demand, especially in packaging industry as well as in hygiene products. Biochemicals and bioenergy from renewable and abundant fiber sources are also part of Finnpulp’s portfolio.

As Finnpulp will be world’s largest single line soft wood pulp mill, it marks a great step forward in replacing fossil-based raw materials – such as plastic – with renewable and recyclable alternatives.

The mill is an energy plant itself: Finnpulp produces its own energy from renewable wood and will be Finland’s largest bio-electricity producer.

Benchmark in circular economy

Finnpulp represents state-of-the-art technology also in terms of environment. The permit for emissions will be the strictest possible, compared even to the newest pulp mills in the Nordic region. For instance, water emissions will be 40% lower compared to typical modern Finnish pulp mills.

Pulping process is the most efficient way to extract valuable biochemicals from wood. Finnpulp’s production comprice of recyclable end products.

In addition to pulp and electricity, the mill will produce valuable by-products. Finnpulp will be world’s largest producer of tall oil, a raw material for biochemical industry. Tall oil replaces fossil-based chemicals and its carbon footprint is 50% lower. Finnpulp plans to produce bio-carbon from bark residues, an interesting fuel to replace coal and peat in heat power plants.

Finland’s forests are managed in a sustainable way

The Finnish bioeconomy is based on sustainably managed forests. Finnish families own roughly 2/3 of Finland’s commercial forests. More than 80 per cent of the wood for commercial use originates from privately owned forests.

The Forest Act regulates the use of commercial forest. According to the Act, forests must be managed in an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable way.

Finnish forests are managed to promote their biodiversity. Ecologically valuable trees including dead and decaying trees are left in the forest during logging. Valuable natural features, including the habitats of endangered species are preserved. Besides that, also protected nature reserves support biodiversity protection. Over 50% of all strictly protected forests in EU region are in Finland.

Public authorities provide financial support to forest management. As financial benefit from forestry management is often only available to future generations, the society has deemed it necessary to safeguard the continuity of sustainable forestry management in Finland.

Finnpulp promotes climate-smart forestry

Finland represents state-of-the-art forestry globally. Even though the harvesting levels have risen lately, Finland is one of the EU-countries which utilize the forests moderately.

The demand for certain types of wood should be higher in Finland than it is – due to silvicultural reasons. There are almost half a million hectares of young forests in Finnpulp’s wood procurement area which should have been thinned already. Timely thinnings and well-growing forests are prerequisite to efficient carbon binding, as they steer forest growth towards high-class construction timber. Finnpulp will bring solution for this.

Climate change politics underline the significance of well-managed forests. Recent EU decisions on land use change and forestry (LULUCF) as well as directive on renewable energy (RED2) mark out policies where Finnpulp’s wood procurement can be sustainably safeguarded.

Finnpulp follows closely global political processes on climate change and environment, and has an on-going dialogue with the leading experts.

Carbon sink* remains at high level in Finnish forests
Wood procurement in Finland