Operators participating in Metsä Group’s nature network met at an annual meeting organised for the third time in Espoo on 7 February 2025. The goal of the event is to share nature management and restoration best practices, and to create an operating culture in which operators engaged in nature-related activities increasingly collaborate with each other. The nature network consists of people participating in activities that improve the state of nature through various projects.
Since 2023, Metsä Group has had action plans for regenerative forestry and land use in place, with the goal of verifiably strengthening the state of nature. One of the action plans focuses on forestry and wood supply, and the other on the industrial and built environment. The action plans are being implemented through comprehensive developing cooperation networks. In addition, Metsä Group funds nature projects outside its own sphere of influence that share the goal of promoting biodiversity.
Goal-oriented and impactful nature activities require active and broad cooperation throughout society, as well as the development of new practices and innovations. In the development work, it is important to simultaneously consider the ecological, economic, social and cultural aspects.
Based on a common direction and constructive interaction
The annual meeting of nature operators has become an engaging meeting place for various parties.
“Metsä Group is funding several projects of the Saimaa Water Protection Association. Our association works locally at the interface of the private and public sectors. Strengthening a sense of community is important to us. Annual meetings – this being the third for me – offer an important and genuine meeting place in the middle of remote connections and the world of social media,” says Maarit Moisio, project coordinator at the Saimaa Water Protection Association.
Metsä Group is also collaborating with the Wild Zone association, another participant in the event, which specialises in knowledge of biodiversity in the built environment.
“For us, determination and ambitious goals are key cooperation criteria. Only practical measures can bring about the change that we are seeking in our association’s activities. Metsä Group’s regenerative land use clearly fulfils the prerequisites for cooperation. We share the same vision of nature solutions and operating methods for the built environment,” says Jere Nieminen, chair of the Wild Zone association.
“We want to participate in the development of the Finnish forestry and society across generations. Constructive dialogue and communities are crucial in this development work,” says Tomi Salo, SVP, Corporate Affairs at Metsä Group.
Metsä Group is currently preparing new biodiversity-related initiatives. Developing cooperation is a core element in all of them. The prerequisites for cooperation are created through dialogues that define a sufficient set of shared values, a view of the future and common goals. On these starting points, practical solutions and actions are built to achieve the common goals.
“The development of our operations continues. The strengthening of a sense of community creates a social foundation for the company’s resilience, while having a broader impact within society. Cooperation is the cornerstone of our operations in the rapidly changing operating environment,” Tomi Salo concludes.