Metsähallitus’s updated strategy promotes green growth, Finland’s carbon neutrality target, biodiversity as well as wellbeing, safety and security. The goal is to react to topical social challenges and improve the productivity and impact of operations.
Metsähallitus’s operations have many social effects. The world has become more unstable since the last strategy update, and the government finances have also deteriorated further. The strategy update has taken into account the changes to the operating environment and the policies related to Metsähallitus’s ownership confirmed by the the Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy.
The strategy includes four social objectives that Metsähallitus’s operations aim to influence. These are green growth, carbon-neutral Finland, healthy nature and the happiest people in the world.
– Metsähallitus will not achieve these social objectives alone; state-owned land and water areas and thus our operations play a key role in promoting all these objectives. We want to foster a future where the world’s happiest people will continue to lead their lives enjoying nature and the well-being it brings, says Juha S. Niemelä, Director General of Metsähallitus.
Six main themes
In addition to social impact objectives, the strategy outlines six main themes that Metsähallitus will emphasise in its operations.
Green growth means that state-owned land and water areas are used sustainably to fulfil the needs of the Finnish society. As a state enterprise, one of our key tasks is to produce economic value to the state owner. Metsähallitus’s operations have significant impacts on regional economies as well.
– Our goal is to improve our financial performance and the group’s turnover in a sustainable and diverse manner through bioeconomy, the green transition and increasing the capacity of renewable energy, Niemelä explains.
Climate and biodiversity is one of the main themes of the strategy. Our aim is to safeguard and improve biodiversity on state-owned land and water areas, mitigate climate change and ensure that we adapt to it. The solutions to these problems are interlinked.
– We utilise research evidence and constantly seek new solutions to these challenges. We take care of biodiversity, and our goal is to increase the carbon sink of multiple-use forests and the carbon stock of state-owned land by 10% by 2035. We have begun updating the climate programme that clarifies our objectives and measures related to climate work. The environment guidelines on water areas management will also be updated, says Niemelä.
The third main theme is well-being, safety and security. Impacts on wellbeing derived from nature will be improved by promoting responsible nature and wilderness activities and by reconciling expectations set for state-owned land.
– The promotion of national security and the security of supply have become more central with the strategy update. The use of state-owned areas plays an important role here, and Metsähallitus holds a responsible position as the landowner.
Other strategic themes – customer orientation, responsibility and cooperation, competent and equal personnel as well as productivity and impact – show what succeeding in our task takes and how we want to develop our operations.
More detailed indicators have been defined for the strategic themes, and measures to promote the objectives will be listed under them.
Metsähallitus has decided to start using a rolling strategy process instead of fixed strategy periods, and the need to update the strategy will be assessed on a yearly basis.
Further information:
Juha S. Niemelä, Director General, email: juha.niemela(at)metsa.fi, tel. +358 50 5003681
Read more:
Fostering our Future strategy