Climate change creates risks and opportunities
E S G
While the promotion of sustainability creates business opportunities for Metsä Board, climate change and biodiversity also involve risks. At Metsä Board, these risks particularly concern the use of forests, energy and water. The identified climate-related risks and opportunities concern mainly the medium-term (1–5 years) and long-term (more than 5 years) future. Weather-related risks such as dry summers and rainy winters may also occur in the short term (0–1 years). Our reporting on these issues complies with the recommendations of TCFD.
The transition risks and opportunities arise from the transition to a low-carbon economy, i.e. compliance with the goals of the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to less than 2, or preferably to 1.5, degrees.
Risks and opportunities
Impact
Management
Regulation
The regulation aiming to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions poses significant requirements for a new kind of pro- duction technology and results in changes to the pricing of energy and greenhouse gas emissions. This can increase costs in both production and transport. Regulation that emphasises the use of forests as carbon sinks and the protection of forests to secure biodiversity limits harvesting volumes. Regulation that acknowledges that forest industry products can replace materials made from fossil-based raw materials, the production of which, furthermore, generates substantial amounts of fossil-based emissions. Consumers’ critical attitude towards the use of forests – forests are seen as carbon sinks or as needing protection.
Metsä Board has set targets for improving energy efficiency and shift to the use of entirely fossil free energy in its production. We also encourage our suppliers to set targets for emission reductions.
Metsä Group’s wood supply has set targets, the achievement of which increases the sequestration of carbon in forests and helps secure the biodiversity of forests.
We use our raw material resource-efficiently to avoid waste in pro- duction. Our aim is to make full use of the production side streams.
The main raw material of Metsä Board’s products is renewable wood fibre and our target is for all our raw materials and packaging materials to be fossil free. The use of fossil free energy in pro- duction and the light weight of the products reduce their carbon footprint. All the wood fibre we use is traceable and sourced from sustaina- bly managed forests which are certified or, at the least, meet the criteria for controlled wood. Metsä Board communicates openly on the impact of its operations and products with the help of life cycle assessments, for instance, and aims for active dialogue with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. The main raw material of Metsä Board’s products is renewable wood fibre and our target is for all our raw materials and packaging materials to be fossil free. The use of fossil free energy in pro- duction and the light weight of the products reduce their carbon footprint. All our paperboards are recyclable and/or compostable. Good packaging design allows us to further reduce the environ- mental impact of paperboard packaging and increase recyclability.
Markets and reputation
Consumers favour easily recyclable packaging made from a renewable, fossil free raw material.
Wood use is increasingly being directed to products other than paperboard products (other bio-based products). Wood is Finland’s most significant processed natural resource, providing a good basis for the bioeconomy, circular economy and innovations based on a renewable raw material.
Metsä Board participates in projects that develop new types of wood fibre-based packaging solutions (such as ExpandFibre).
Metsä Board’s main raw material is renewable and recyclable wood fibre. Paperboard already has an extensive recycling infrastructure, and Metsä Board actively participates in the activities of organisa- tions promoting recycling (including 4evergreen and the European Paper Packaging Alliance).
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