Environmental responsibility

Metsähallitus’ role as the manager, user and steward of state-owned land and water areas makes responsibility for the environment a central part of our mission. Our aim is to reconcile the needs of nature, people and society. Environmental responsibility focuses on reducing environmental impacts, safeguarding biodiversity, mitigating climate change and using natural resources sustainably.

We carry out active measures to mitigate biodiversity loss on state-owned land and water areas. The aim of these measures is to maintain and strengthen biodiversity and reduce the harmful environmental impacts of our operations. Through our Climate Programme, we implement measures to strengthen carbon sinks and carbon stocks, promote opportunities for renewable energy production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We also promote adaptation to climate change by strengthening biodiversity and preparing for changing conditions in our own operations.

Environmental management system

The management of environmental issues at Metsähallitus is underpinned by our ISO 14001 certified environmental system. In environmental issues, Metsähallitus’ business is guided by social obligations imposed on Metsähallitus by legislation. Our operations in multiple-use forests are additionally guided by forest certification and an environmental guide for forestry. The management of protected areas is directed by not only legislation and decrees but also the principles of managing and using protected areas.

Biodiversity

At the heart of our biodiversity work is reconciling multiple objectives better. In our work, we examine biodiversity in terms of the large entity consisting of state-owned lands and waters, where nature reserves together with the most important nature sites in multiple-use forests make up an ecological network covering the entire country. In terms of species and landscapes, the sites of the network are vital for the preservation of biodiversity in Finland.

To safeguard biodiversity, we carry out the following measures, among others:

• Manage the most threatened habitats
• Take valuable nature sites in multiple-use forests into account and preserve them, and increase the amount of decaying wood.
• Carry out measures to improve the status of marine and inland waters.
• Protect the most threatened species
• Restore fish waters and game habitats
• Develop the network of protected areas

Climate Programme

Metsähallitus’ Climate Programme sets objectives and defines measures that support Finland’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. Climate change mitigation and adaptation are among our strategic focus areas.

Metsähallitus’ Climate Programme 2025–2030 sets objectives and defines a wide range of measures aimed at strengthening positive climate impacts, reducing negative impacts and promoting adaptation to climate change.

Our goal is to:

• Increase the carbon sinks in state-owned multiple-use forests by 10% by 2035 and the carbon storage in trees on all state-owned lands by 10% by 2030 compared to 2018.
• Promote the possibilities of producing renewable energy in state-owned areas through wind power project development and by leasing areas for renewable energy projects.
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2030 compared to 2024. The measures by which we aim to achieve these goals include developing our procurement process, choosing low-emission travel options and favouring low-emission machinery in procurements of timber harvesting and transport services.
• Promote nature’s adaptation to changing conditions, for example by means of active nature management and restoration measures, species conservation and fight against invasive alien species.
• Prepare for a changing climate in our work by developing our activities and anticipating the impacts of climate change in such areas as the management of protected areas, forestry operations and land use planning.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

The particular goals we can influence through our activities in the priority area of environmental responsibility are 13: Climate Action, 14: Life Under Water and 15: Life On Land.