Wooden Buildings Act as Carbon Sinks

Metsä Group is advocating for increased use of wood in construction, emphasizing its role as a carbon storage solution. The company states that wood is an environmentally friendly material that can replace fossil-based alternatives in building, helping to reduce the carbon footprint.

The company highlights that wood is a renewable resource, and nearly 90 percent of the wood used by Metsä Group is certified, ensuring sustainable forest management practices. Metsä Group aims to increase the amount of carbon stored in its products by 30 percent by 2030, focusing on long-lasting products like sawn timber and engineered wood.

According to industry estimates, one cubic meter of wood stores approximately one tonne of carbon dioxide. A typical wooden single-family house in Finland can store around 30 tonnes of CO2 in its wooden structures. Metsä Group actively supports forest growth by distributing 30 million seedlings annually, ensuring that four new seedlings replace each harvested tree.

Purchasing wood products is presented as a climate action. Wood's ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide continues even after a tree is felled; processed wood acts as a carbon sink for the lifespan of the product. Metsä Group suggests that increasing wood's share in urban construction could significantly lower the carbon footprint of cities without compromising construction quality.