The six indicators represent biodiversity actions that are valuable for forest ecosystems and especially important considerations when harvesting. The target is to have 90% performance regarding all indicators. This means that at least 90% of audited harvesting sites should comply with the standards the company has set for each indicator. The ultimate target is to reach 100% performance in 2030.
“There are still some variations in measurement practices across the regions, and we will keep developing the indicators as we gain new knowledge. Simultaneously, we need to monitor our performance continuously to understand where and how to improve. From the 2023 results, we can see stable performance related to waters and habitats, and we have progressed well regarding deadwood, which lays good ground for further improvement. We will explore deadwood monitoring in the future to promote its role as a vital forest structure,” comments Eedla Ylikoski, Sustainability Project Manager, Stora Enso Forest Division.
Current deadwood considerations in harvesting include
- preserving deadwood on the ground
- leaving living retention trees that grow into standing deadwood later, as well as
- creating new deadwood, such as high stumps (trees cut at a few meters’ height)
The results for 2023 have been published in Stora Enso’s annual report 2023. More information about the indicators and detailed, region-specific results can be found on the company’s website.
Table: Weighted average of our biodiversity performance on harvesting sites in Finland, Sweden, and the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). Read about country-specific performance in more detail on Stora Enso’s impact indicator webpage.
Read more about our performance and development plans in each region
FINLAND
Trainings on water protection and high stump creation show results
“Our many water-related trainings and collaborations have proved effective, which we can see in the even results in preserving soils, waters, prioritised habitats, and buffer zones. However, I’m especially delighted to see that we have improved in high stump creation, increasing the amount by 40% compared to 2022. We have been able to increase the number through organized ways of working and active trainings. Also, the PEFC certification requirements changed in 2023, contributing to the result. However, despite our significant improvement, deadwood remains an important area where we still need to develop."
Janne Yrjönen, Sustainability Manager, Stora Enso Forest Finland
SWEDEN
Prioritised habitat preservation shows improvement
“In Sweden, we continued our stable performance in tree retention, buffer zone preservation, as well as soil and water protection. We performed well in preserving deadwood and creating high stumps, even though we would like to see a bit more advancement. The indicator that I am the happiest about, however, is prioritised habitat preservation where we managed to improve our performance the most. This is thanks to better avoidance of soil disturbances in the buffer zones surrounding the habitats.”
Hanna Staland, Sustainability Developer, Stora Enso Forest Sweden
BALTICS
Stable performance thanks to active communication with partners
“Our biggest improvement during these past years relates to water and soil protection, whereas deadwood preservation has seen a slight dip. Nonetheless, all the indicators are distributed evenly around the 90% target, which is a good basis for moving towards the 100% goal in 2030.”
Kristiina Räst, Sustainability and Stakeholder Affairs Manager, Stora Enso Forest Baltics
How do we collect and use the data?
The biodiversity indicator data is collected annually from randomly selected harvesting sites in Finland, Sweden, and the Baltics. The harvesting sites include both private forest owners’ land in all regions and our own forest land in Sweden.
To harmonise site assessment and data reporting across the regions, Stora Enso developed a common digital tool for data collection in the field in 2023. This increases transparency and reporting flow going forward. The impact indicator results will be used as input for development plans and adaptive forestry actions for biodiversity in the future. Active collaborations, communications, and trainings with partners and employees are an integral part of improving biodiversity performance in harvesting.
The indicators are a part of Stora Enso’s comprehensive, company-wide programme that guides the work to promote biodiversity and achieve a positive impact. While impact indicators measure the performance in harvesting, the company also has indicators to measure long-term biodiversity developments in own forests and on plantations.
