The wood growing in well-managed Finnish forests sequesters carbon dioxide efficiently, functioning as a carbon sink. As it grows, one cubic metre of wood sequesters roughly 750 kg of carbon dioxide emissions from the air.
Finland’s forests are managed in an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable manner. The forests grow more than they are used, and forest regeneration is always well managed.
When we produce sawn timber out of wood, the carbon remains sequestered in the wood. Indeed, products made from wood serve as carbon stocks throughout their life-cycles.
The long life-cycle of sawn timber
Metsä Fibre operates responsibly and resource-efficiently in all stages of sawn timber production. We use our northern raw material in full and develop our operations continuously in a direction which is increasingly sustainable in terms of the climate and the environment. Our goal is to operate in a manner that increases the future volume of the carbon sequestered in Finnish forests and our products with a long working life.
The high-quality and sustainable sawn timber we produce is used to a particularly high degree in end uses where the carbon remains sequestered in the wood for a period spanning decades or even a century. Such end uses include various wood construction solutions and furniture.
We want to be a forerunner in our industry. This is why we also develop, in close cooperation with our customers, new end uses with a long life-cycle for sawn timber.
A sustainable choice for construction which sequesters carbon
In terms of the climate, wood is an excellent choice for construction solutions.
A Finnish single-family house built from wood, for example, sequesters carbon an average of 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide within its structures. This is equal to the carbon dioxide emissions generated by the average miles driven by one consumer over a period of 10 years.
Wood is also substantially lighter than many other construction materials. This lightness enables cost-efficient and climate-friendly solutions in both construction and logistics.
When a timber product reaches the end of its life-cycle, its treatment and recycling into renewable energy, for instance, is easy and safe.