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Metsäliitto Cooperative

Metsä Group

Metsä Group is a Finnish forest industry cooperative producing tissue, board, pulp and wood products from Nordic wood.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Eero Heinäluoma (Member of the European Parliament)

20 Nov 2025 · Ajankohtaiset metsäteollisuusasiat

Meeting with Kristin Schreiber (Director Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)

19 Nov 2025 · Metsä Group asked for this meeting to discuss the role of biogenic carbon dioxide capture and utilisation (bio-CCU) for the defossilisation of the material sector in the Bioeconomy Strategy

Meeting with Sacha Halphen (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné)

18 Nov 2025 · Construction

Meeting with Nicolo Brignoli (Cabinet of Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis)

17 Nov 2025 · EUDR

Metsä Group urges EU to recognize wood's carbon storage

31 Oct 2025
Topic — This consultation establishes an EU-wide framework for calculating life-cycle global warming potential of buildings.
Message — Metsä Group wants the regulation to explicitly recognise biogenic carbon storage and allow for dynamic assessments. They demand EU-wide mutual recognition of environmental data to prevent market fragmentation and protect smaller businesses. The proposal should include a mandatory roll-up calculation to ensure verifiable traceability.12
Why — A framework rewarding biogenic carbon would boost demand for their wood-based construction products.3
Impact — Mineral-based material producers may lose market share if carbon accounting heavily favors wood.4
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Meeting with Maroš Šefčovič (Commissioner) and

28 Oct 2025 · Priorities of the EU’s trade agenda

Finnish forest industry urges EU to promote wood construction

17 Oct 2025
Topic — EU initiative on sustainable, beautiful, and inclusive design in the built environment.
Message — The organization requests a holistic action plan to promote wood construction, highlighting its benefits for climate, biodiversity, and affordable housing. They want NEB to support integration of wood with other materials and improve urban planning to enable wooden solutions.123
Why — This would expand markets for their wood products and industrial prefabrication services.45
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Metsä Group urges EU recognition for bio-based industrial products

7 Jul 2025
Topic — This consultation covers a new act designed to accelerate European industrial decarbonisation.
Message — Metsä Group wants wood-based products recognized as circular content similarly to recycled materials. They also propose a carbon label distinguishing between biogenic and fossil carbon sources.12
Why — Formal recognition would create more favorable market conditions for their wood-based innovations.34
Impact — Fossil-fuel intensive industries would lose their market dominance to renewable alternatives.56
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Meeting with Elsi Katainen (Member of the European Parliament)

2 Jul 2025 · Topical issues in the forest sector

Metsä Group urges EU to treat wood as circular content

18 Jun 2025
Topic — The initiative proposes a new framework for a circular and climate-neutral bioeconomy.
Message — The group wants the EU to treat renewable wood as circular material. They seek incentives for capturing carbon and using wood side-streams. They recommend evaluating existing laws before adding new layers of forest regulation.123
Why — This would allow wood products to compete fairly against recycled fossil-based materials.4
Impact — Fossil-based industries would lose their competitive advantage over renewable wood materials.5
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Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

13 Jun 2025 · Site visit of Metsä Group’s bioproduct pulp mill in Kemi

Response to European Affordable Housing Plan

4 Jun 2025

Metsä Group welcomes the European Commissions initiative on the European Affordable Housing Plan and appreciates the opportunity to contribute to the consultation. As a member of the Federation of Finnish Woodworking Industries (FFWI), Metsä Group supports FFWIs and CEI-Bois' positions. In addition, Metsä Group would like to emphasize the following key points: To overcome the European housing crisis, the EU must take determined and coordinated actions. At the same time, the world is facing a climate crisis, which lies at the core of the EUs long-term goals. According to the UN, the buildings and construction sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, accounting for over one-third of global emissions. This equation is extremely challenging, but wood products can offer excellent potential to address both the climate and housing crises. Wood, as a renewable raw material, not only captures carbon from the atmosphere but also produces oxygen as it grows. The carbon is stored in wood products throughout the entire life-cycle of a building. With improved construction practices and increased recycling and reuse, the life-cycle of wood products can be extended even beyond the buildings lifespan. The forest industry is dependent on vital and resilient forests that are sustainably managed over the generations. Metsä Group is committed to the principles of regenerative forestry, aiming to measurably improve the state of Finnish forest nature by 2030. Additionally, valuable wood raw material must be used resource-efficiently and according to its highest value to ensure long-term availability. Hybrid construction offers low-carbon, energy-efficient, and cost-effective solutions for both public and private buildings. Metsä Group has developed hybrid elements in collaboration with partners, combining the strengths of Kerto® LVL and concrete. Kerto® LVL, along with other wood products, is excellently suited for off-site construction methods providing efficiency for affordable housing production. Due to its lightness, wood is also ideal for renovation and building extensions. To fully support the goals of affordable housing, the EU should recognize the positive impacts of wood products, such as climate benefits, carbon storage, and swiftness of construction. Harmonizing standards across Member States, especially regarding fire safety, acoustics, and sustainability, is essential to remove barriers to wood construction. This would enable broader use of wood products in both private and public construction and help them better meet the goals of the Affordable Housing framework. Furthermore, wood-based value chains offer significant innovation potential. It is also important to include R&D&I funding as part of the Affordable Housing framework to ensure the continued and determined development of the construction sector to meet future challenges. The bio-based industry has great potential to offer more renewable, carbon-neutral, and long-term solutions for the construction sector, contributing to a circular bioeconomy and reducing reliance on fossil-based materials. Attached is our position paper, which outlines in more detail the opportunities that wood and long-term carbon storage products offer for Affordable Housing initiatives and the broader EU climate and circular economy goals.
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Meeting with Barbara Bonvissuto (Director Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)

21 May 2025 · Exchange of views on the role of wood-based value chains in the EU industrial strategy and circular bioeconomy

Meeting with Christophe Hansen (Commissioner) and

20 May 2025 · Forestry, EU bioeconomy strategy, improvement of the EU competitiveness while reaching the climate goals, and how the industry best can contribute to this work

Meeting with Elsi Katainen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

30 Apr 2025 · EUDR and forest monitoring

Meeting with Ana Vasconcelos (Member of the European Parliament)

26 Feb 2025 · Bioeconomy Strategy

Meeting with Elsi Katainen (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Oct 2024 · Metsäkatoasetuksen tilanne

Meeting with Ville Niinistö (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Jul 2024 · Upcoming climate legislation

Meeting with Suvi Leinonen (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen)

11 Jul 2024 · Regenerative forestry, carbon management.

Meeting with Elina Laurinen (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

4 Jul 2024 · EU Green Deal and strategic autonomy

Meeting with Taru Haapaniemi (Cabinet of Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski)

22 May 2024 · Forestry and bioeconomy sectors and their relevance for the EU Green Deal and strategic autonomy.

Meeting with Maroš Šefčovič (Executive Vice-President) and European farmers and

14 Mar 2024 · High level dialogue on forest-based bioeconomy

Metsä Group calls for essential-only data in forest monitoring

7 Feb 2024
Topic — The EU initiative establishes a framework for monitoring forest health and management across member states.
Message — Metsä Group requests the Commission focus strictly on forest and land use data while excluding product and trade information. They advocate for prioritizing automated remote-sensing methods and avoiding overlapping bureaucratic systems. The organization also demands transparency regarding the new "forest unit" definition and protection of private property rights.123
Why — This would ensure a more predictable business environment while reducing administrative costs and protecting commercial data.4
Impact — Regulatory bodies and transparency groups lose access to broader information regarding timber supply chains and trade.5
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Meeting with Sirpa Pietikäinen (Member of the European Parliament)

16 Jan 2024 · Forest monitoring framework

Meeting with Elsi Katainen (Member of the European Parliament)

10 Jan 2024 · Forest monitoring

Meeting with Beatrice Covassi (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and European Environmental Bureau and

15 Nov 2023 · Public Hearing - Soil Monitoring Law

Metsä Group seeks national flexibility in EU soil monitoring

3 Nov 2023
Topic — EU proposal to define healthy soil conditions and establish monitoring and restoration frameworks.
Message — The group requests that the directive allows Member States to account for national specificities. They oppose the use of delegated acts to update requirements and seek clarity on penalty provisions. Monitoring should utilize existing national systems to ensure cost-effectiveness.123
Why — This would lower costs by utilizing existing national forest inventory systems and avoiding centralized rules.4
Impact — Public access to information is reduced to protect the property rights of land owners.5
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Meeting with Sirpa Pietikäinen (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Oct 2023 · PPWR

Metsä Group calls for EU priority on biogenic carbon capture

10 Aug 2023
Topic — The initiative assesses the role of carbon capture technologies in decarbonising the EU.
Message — Metsä Group requests that capturing biogenic carbon be prioritized over fossil carbon. They propose a clear definition for renewable carbon. They argue carbon capture should remain voluntary.123
Why — This approach advantages their bioproduct mills and protects them from mandatory technology costs.45
Impact — Fossil fuel companies lose out as their carbon capture efforts are deprioritized.67
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Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

2 May 2023 · EU policies concerning forests, including nature restoration law and forest monitoring proposal

Metsä Group defends fibre packaging against mandatory reuse targets

24 Apr 2023
Topic — EU review of rules to reduce packaging waste and improve recycling.
Message — The group wants single-use and reusable packaging treated as "complementary solutions." They urge the EU to base decisions on "life cycle impact assessments." Finally, they request that "recyclability should be required" instead of mandatory reuse.123
Why — This allows the company to continue selling single-use fibre products without restriction.45
Impact — The reusable packaging industry loses market growth if single-use fibre options remain dominant.6
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Meeting with Elena Montani (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius)

28 Mar 2023 · To discuss the forthcoming forest related initiatives, such as the monitoring framework and Legislative Proposal on Soil Health

Metsä Group calls for certification of wood-based carbon storage

23 Mar 2023
Topic — The European Commission is proposing a regulatory framework for certifying carbon removals.
Message — The group advocates for recognizing wood-based products as legitimate carbon storage solutions. They request clear definitions that distinguish renewable biogenic carbon from fossil-based sources. Active forest management must be supported to ensure a steady supply of raw materials.12
Why — Certification would incentivize investments in bio-based technologies and protect production volumes.34
Impact — Environmental groups lose if policy shifts from strict protection to active management.5
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Meeting with Silvia Modig (Member of the European Parliament)

21 Mar 2023 · Regulation on packaging and packaging waste and Nature Restoration Law

Meeting with Suvi Leinonen (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen)

7 Dec 2022 · Biodiversity, taxonomy, forest monitoring law.

Meeting with Elena Montani (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius)

7 Dec 2022 · EU forest policy, including in the proposal for a Nature Restoration Regulation

Meeting with Barbara Glowacka (Cabinet of Commissioner Kadri Simson)

11 Nov 2022 · Revision of the Renewable Energy Directive; LULUCF Regulation; Deforestation Regulation; Taxonomy and Nature Restoration Regulation, Carbon Removals and REPowerEU.

Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and APCO Worldwide and

19 Oct 2022 · Circular economy and the revision of the EU packaging rules

Finnish forest cooperative warns nature restoration law undermines forestry competence

22 Aug 2022
Topic — EU regulation establishing legally binding targets for ecosystem restoration and biodiversity recovery.
Message — The organization requests that Member States retain competence to choose restoration targets and measures. They want existing forest certification schemes and voluntary actions recognized as restoration measures. They argue the proposal unfairly penalizes countries that have already succeeded in conservation.123
Why — This would preserve their operational flexibility and avoid stricter restoration requirements in their forests.45
Impact — Conservation advocates lose stronger EU-wide restoration standards and expanded habitat protection beyond current networks.67
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Response to Review of the Construction Products Regulation

12 Jul 2022

We welcome the European Commission’s proposal to revise the Construction Products Regulation (CPR). The Commission’s aim to achieve a well-functioning single market for construction products across the European Union is highly supported. However, the Commission’s ambition of large responsibilities on the development of the construction products standardization/specifications should not lead into a situation, where there is a system with both mandatory and voluntary standards. This might end up in a very confusing environment for national administrations, industries and consumers. Therefore, we emphasize that it would be most beneficial to concentrate on the basic requirements and environmental characteristics given in Annex 1 part A only. According the proposal the current CPR is repealed with effect from 1 January 2045. This will lead to situation where there is a long transition period with two parallel systems. This would need a better clarification how these processes will work in practice. For the industry developing their construction products, the main problem is that updates of the harmonized standards are currently standstill in the citation of harmonized product standards (hEN) in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU). This has led to the situation where the development of standardized products has come to a halt. The expectations for the revision of the CPR to remedy this situation are high. However, when taking into account the prevailing situation among harmonized standards and the proposed timeline of the proposal for the revision of the CPR by the Commission, faster solutions for the transition period are needed. At the moment the lack of citation of the published harmonized standards in the OJEU is restricting, ia. the development of wood products and their applications. Wood products and wood construction have a remarkable role in achieving the Commission’s other objectives, such as the Fit for 55, the New European Bauhaus and the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. As a company manufacturing sustainable and renewable construction products we support the Commission’s overarching objectives in climate change mitigation. The CPR should also have an important role in taking into account benefits of sustainable, renewable and recyclable raw materials. The proposal does not recognize renewable products which have significant importance in climate change mitigation. Renewable materials should be recognized as inherent recycled materials on the basis of biogenic carbon to promote the sustainability benefits of wood-based construction materials better. Furthermore, it should be taken into account that not all materials can be produced using recycled content, thus prescribing mandatory percentages of recycled content in construction products is not always an effective solution and also not automatically more environmentally friendly. Crucial for the industry’s ability to comply with the environmental obligations is a uniform system for assessing and reporting sustainability. The use of the standard EN 15804 should be mandatory, especially considering that the building product industry has been widely using it for environmental product declarations (EPDs). The inclusion of the re-used construction products to the regulation is a positive direction but it is important to acknowledge that factory production control (FPC) and such quality control schemes should be developed first and only after this, standardization could happen for re-used products. For that reason, leaving the standardization of re-used products to the Member States domain at present with possible coverage by the CPR at a later stage is highly supported. We fully support the position papers provided by the European Woodworking Industry Confederation’s (CEI-Bois) and Federation of the Finnish Woodworking Industries.
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Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and Tetra Pak Group and

27 Jun 2022 · EU transition to a circular economy; fibre based packaging

Metsäliitto Cooperative urges national autonomy in EU forest monitoring

6 May 2022
Topic — The EU is establishing a framework for forest observation and long-term planning.
Message — Member States must decide the strategies and priorities for their forests. The Commission should prioritize existing national forest programs over new strategic plans. Property-level information should not be collected due to technical and privacy constraints.123
Why — The company avoids strict EU-wide management rules and maintains operational privacy.45
Impact — Environmental groups lose access to granular data required for monitoring local ecosystems.6
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Meeting with Ville Niinistö (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

27 Apr 2022 · RED Finland forests - staff level

Meeting with Martin Hojsík (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

26 Apr 2022 · LULUCF regulation

Meeting with Sirpa Pietikäinen (Member of the European Parliament)

13 Apr 2022 · Forest industries, LULUCF, other topical legislation around forests

Response to Waste Framework review to reduce waste and the environmental impact of waste management

21 Feb 2022

We welcome the revision of EU waste framework. We endorse the policy maker’s intention to optimise waste management systems to support higher recycling rates, cleaner secondary raw materials, to halve the amount of residual (non-recycled) municipal waste by 2030, and to ensure high-quality recycling. Circular economy is one of the building blocks to achieve climate neutral Europe by 2050. Fibre based packaging contributes to the circular bio-economy. It is made from renewable raw materials, it is recyclable and it can replace fossil based materials. Finally, the role of packaging is to protect the product and it also reduces wastage. Paperboard is widely collected for recycling -it has the highest recycling rate among packaging materials 82 percent. A well-functioning recycling loop needs a continuous flow of fresh fibres which are strong and can be recycled multiple times providing thus raw material for new products. We wish to address and comment on some of the policy options: Waste hierarchy: We support the objective to safeguard the waste hierarchy and implement measures supporting waste prevention. Turning waste into resources for a circular economy is key to prevent waste, and can be achieved through recycling and reuse which are equally important. Re-use and recycling should be complementary measures. Regulation should be based on scientific evidence and LCA-based facts. It should also take into account product safety and hygiene. There should not be a mandatory reuse requirements for packaging. Single use and reusable packaging complement each other. A good example is an LCA study on environmental impacts of single use and multiuse systems in European quick service restaurants commissioned by the European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA). The study was carried out by an independent consultant Ramboll. The study challenges the common perception that reusable tableware has lower environmental impacts. On the contrary the study finds that single-use paper packaging provides significant environmental benefits in terms of climate change and fresh water consumption. Support measures for harmonized separate collection: The main barrier to greater paper and board recycling is the divergence among collection systems. We support the intention to improve separate collection of waste. Separate collection of paper ensures that fibres are not lost and return back in the recycling loop and it enhances the quality of fibres. Fresh wood fibres are strong and valuable raw material in the recycling loop. Paper and board recycling is high-quality recycling: We support the optimization of recycling processes in order to achieve higher recycling rates and secondary raw materials of higher quality. In order to avoid unnecessary barriers in already well-functioning recycling processes, both in terms of environmental performance and high-quality product output, it is important that the already high quality recycling capability of certain waste streams is taken into consideration when drafting a definition of high-quality recycling.
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Response to Evaluation and revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive

18 Feb 2022

The transport system is critical to European businesses, including the forest industry, and global supply chains. At the same time, transport emissions represent around 25% of the EU's total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and these emissions have increased over recent years. The EU Commission is aiming at achieving a 90% reduction in transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Tackling the challenges of the single market, bearing in mind national needs Free movement of goods and fair conditions of competition in the single market need to be ensured by removing unnecessary regulatory and market barriers but bearing in mind different conditions within the EU. The background of the current patchwork of rules needs to be understood, as one size fits all does not work in different parts of Europe due to geographical conditions and business/industry needs. Vehicles of variable weights and dimensions are one piece of the puzzle to decarbonising transport alongside with rail and inland waterways transport. Crossing the border made simple Whilst there is a need to improve the border-crossing aspect in the single market, by clarifying and simplifying the rules, as well as using digitalisation and communication technologies, border crossing should be automatic where neighbouring states allow for higher weights and dimensions without special bilateral agreements and formalities. The harmonised EU legal framework should be a supplement to national rules, and not replacing them. Weights and dimensions important for decarbonisation Making road transport more sustainable requires that more freight is moved with less emissions. Alternative fuels and zero-emission technologies for heavy-duty vehicles are yet developing and more needs to be done for their uptake, where the lack of technological maturity increases the cost of available solutions. However, this needs to be done bearing in mind the already existing good practices within different Member States. Higher weights and dimensions should not only incentivise use of alternative fuels or zero-emission vehicles, but all CO2 savings also via low-emission vehicles and energy-efficiency gains. The Finnish experience has proved heavier and longer vehicles to be an effective tool for lowering carbon footprint of road transport. National limits have increased energy-efficiency of road transportations in the forestry sector and lowered fuel use by up to 20% since year 2013. Alone in the forestry this has reduced cargo loads by more than 25% on the national roads. The use of heavier and longer combinations should not be tied exclusively to alternative fuels or intermodal transport chains. Eco-combis have been developed to serve certain geographical conditions and business/industry needs and have a proven track of their contribution to sustainable development. It should also be noted that greening of road transport is currently pursued by several legislative proposals in the EU (e.g. REDII, road ETS, ETD, CO2 limits of commercial vehicles). Thorough evaluation is needed, how to strike a balance in order not to create less incentives to continue developing sustainable heavy-duty vehicles. Road safety cannot be compromised Measures considered to increase economic efficiency and environmental performance of heavy-duty vehicles should consider fully the road safety objectives of EU transport policy. In Finland, no significant road safety challenges have occurred considering the design or usage of national limits or in trial schemes. In practice, heavier and longer dimensions have reduced the number of vehicles in traffic which has had an overall positive effect on road safety. Modern vehicle technologies, such as stabilising driving mechanisms, ensure that heavier and longer vehicles are at least as safe as smaller ones.
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Meeting with Caroline Boeshertz (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis) and Confederation of European Paper Industries and UPM-Kymmene Oyj

23 Nov 2021 · EU paper industry views on the Green Deal strategy and industry’s vision for 2030

Response to Revision of the Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001

18 Nov 2021

The EU bioenergy sustainability policy must strengthen European forest industry's position in global competition. To deliver on climate objectives requires massive investments which require a stable and facilitating regulatory framework. To minimize the investment risks, we need access to sustainable raw material and a stable approach to sustainability which applies to all forest biomass no matter what it is used for. We support a stable and predictable approach in assessing sustainability of forest biomass while respecting the Member States’ competence on forest management at the same time. The REDII should be revised in away that provides long-awaited predictability in the operating environment. The current sustainability criteria entered into force in July 2021 and their implementation has just started. The existing Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) clearly indicates that operators should be given enough time to adapt the sustainability criteria. According to the REDII the Commission shall assess in 2026 whether the criteria work effectively. If specific sustainability issues will be identified, these should be addressed in a proportional way. It is important to ensure the implementation of the current sustainability prior to introducing new additional criteria. As there are no indications of a deficiency in the criteria, we believe it is too early to amend the existing criteria on biodiversity and soil condition and to expand the existing no go area criteria of agricultural biomass to forest biomass. We fully support the risk-based approach to sustainability that takes into account national characteristics and was also largely accepted as part of the existing REDII. The proposed detailed and granular biodiversity and soil condition criterion do not recognize that forest ecosystems vary significantly between countries and within a country. As one-size fits all solutions do not take into account the differences in local forest ecosystems, the more granular criteria should be defined at country and regional level. In practise, the sustainability criteria for biomass apply to the wood procurement chain of the entire wood processing industry, as woody biomass is not cultivated only for energy production purposes. Therefore, it is important that the risk-based approach is safeguarded in the revision. Forest industry is a leader in resource efficiency and in low carbon circular economy. Each part of the wood is utilized to the most valuable purpose and we optimize the use of other resources need for our production. By-products from our operations are increasingly utilized. Wood residues and industrial side streams are used to generate energy for internal needs as well as supply electricity and heat to other users. It's important that the energy produced from industrial side streams is considered climate neutral also in the future. The Commission’s guidance on the cascade use (2018) states that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to implement cascade use of wood. The EU should promote cascade use of wood principle and ensure that State Aid rules, support schemes and regulatory incentives do not distort competition on the raw material market and incentivize direct energy use of quality roundwood. We are concerned that regulating cased use of wood would inhibit optimal use of wood and restrict research and innovations. Forest industry has a huge innovation pipeline of high value renewable products and materials that can replace fossil materials. Instead of regulating cascade use principle, wood mobilization for all wood uses should be enhanced while taken into account national characteristics. Forest industry needs a stable and predictable legislative framework so that it can still grow and continue to innovate and invest in Europe. Also the REDII revision should take fully into account the holistic large-scale contribution that forest industry and wood-based products can bring to a greener and more circular economy.
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Meeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

9 Jun 2021 · European Green Deal and the preparation of the EU Forest Strategy

Meeting with Camilla Bursi (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius)

9 Jun 2021 · European Green Deal and the preparation of the EU Forest Strategy

Response to Guidance on REDII forest biomass sustainability criteria

28 Apr 2021

Wood-based products and sustainable forest management play an important role in achieving the EU’s 2030 climate targets and climate neutrality by 2050. The forest based industries contribute to climate change mitigation by decreasing fossil emissions and by bringing new and traditional products from renewable resources into markets while at same time forest resources keep increasing (State of Europe's forests 2020) in Europe. The importance of bio-based circular economy including the benefits of products made from renewable resources is already highlighted in the 2050 vision for A Clean Planet for All. Competitiveness of our industry is built on reliable wood supply, which is dependent on healthy and well-growing forests. The role of wood-based industries should be seen as a part of a system where it provides simultaneously carbon storing materials that also substitute fossil and other non-renewable products, but also functions as carbon sink and enhances biodiversity and adaptation through sustainable forestry. Competitive industry creates the demand for roundwood which is a crucial incentive to forest owners to make long-term investments in sustainable forest management. As highlighted by the Council and European Parliament, competence in forest policy lies with the EU Member States. To ensure coordinated decision making and coherent policies, forest-specific measures should be developed by the Standing Forestry Committee with a strong EU Forest Strategy mandate. m The draft RED II implementing regulation (draft guidance document) should be consistent with existing legislation and definitions at the EU and national level and it should also take into account the role of Member States and provide them with flexibility. The draft guidance document includes many unclear elements and inconsistencies and goes beyond the risk-based approach which takes into account national legislation and allows different possibilities to show sustainability (e.g. certification).This could have a major impact on the implementation of the new rules as it could contribute to a loss of confidence and create further uncertainty for stakeholders. The last 15 years have been a time of instability for the forest based industries due to unclarity about the sustainability rules. According to RED II, the Commission should have adopted the guidance document by the end of January 2021. The national authorities have already been obliged to give guidance to operators, as the risk-based approach and the sustainability criteria are new. The draft guidance document needs substantial re-writing so that that it is in line with the RED II sustainability criteria, LULUCF regulation and respects Member States’ competence on forestry. It should also provide operational guidance for forest owners and market operators. With the current draft, it remains unclear how the risk-based-approach is interpreted in practice. It also fails to acknolege that bioenergy is not the main purpose of forest magement. It would also increase regulatory burden and create value chain disruptions. The Commission should publish the Navigant study which could provide the needed facts to support a coherent implementation of RED II. For a more detailed comments on the draft guidance document and its articles, we refer to the position of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation. We hope that the Commission takes into account the concerns raised by the whole sector on this guidance document. The document creates a new detailed framework that goes beyond guidance, the directive and national legislation.
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Meeting with Eszter Batta (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton), Joan Canton (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

23 Mar 2021 · taxonomy, industrial strategy

Meeting with Jutta Urpilainen (Commissioner)

16 Nov 2020 · Green Deal, forests and climate policy

Meeting with Arto Virtanen (Cabinet of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen)

14 Feb 2020 · Green deal

Meeting with Timo Pesonen (Acting Director-General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs)

23 May 2019 · Discuss Bio and Circular Economy, climate change mitigation, forestry and forest management, and UN SDGs

Meeting with Risto Artjoki (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

23 May 2019 · Bioeconomy

Meeting with Peter Wehrheim (Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan)

10 Apr 2019 · European bioeconomy

Meeting with Risto Artjoki (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen) and Confederation of European Paper Industries

5 Mar 2019 · Bioeconomy

Response to Commission Regulation amending the CLP Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 and correcting Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/669

8 Feb 2019

Metsä Group is a forerunner in sustainable bioeconomy utilising renewable wood from sustainably managed northern forests. Metsä Group focuses on wood supply and forest services, wood products, pulp, fresh fibre paperboards and tissue and cooking papers. The Group operates in nearly 30 countries. Metsä Group supports the comments made by the Lead registrants that DTPA does not deserve the proposed Cat. 1B classification for developmental toxicity in the CLP Regulation. Metsä Group therefore urges the European Commission and the Member States to postpone the final decision on this until RAC has had a chance to review the new information provided by the dossier submitters and until there is additional clarity on the key concepts of the CLP involved in the classification of DTPA and chelates in general. In the pulp and paper industry chelating agents are needed in the processes to bind and remove naturally occurring manganese ions and other metals originating from the wood and soil. They are used in controlling the smell and taste properties of paper and paperboard products for food contact and in bleaching with hydrogen peroxide and ozone. The application occurs in closed systems under strictly controlled industrial operation with minimal potential for human exposure. DTPA (and/or other chelating agents) are essential for bleaching based on alternative techniques to avoid chlorine-based bleaching and have enabled drastic reduction of AOX emissions. Additionally, if paper and paperboard would no longer be able to comply with the organoleptic properties requirement of Regulation 1935/2004 for food contact materials, the alternative packaging solutions most likely would have higher environmental impacts as has been discussed in the Single Use Plastics Directive. DTPA and other chelating agents have already been used for several decades in the pulp and paper industry for the above applications. Therefore the safe handling of these agents and protection of the environment is well known and demonstrated. There are no viable alternative chelating agents in the market and they would in any case have exactly the same function of binding metal ions. Given the lack of human relevance of the effects seen in studies made with rats at the estimated exposure, and the potential severe societal and economic consequences, it is essential that the Commission and the Member States consider very carefully the classification and labelling for DTPA based chelants in accordance of Article 37.5 of the CLP Regulation.
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Meeting with Phil Hogan (Commissioner)

22 Oct 2018 · Agri Mattrs

Meeting with Risto Artjoki (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

6 Sept 2018 · Climate and energy strategy

Meeting with Jyrki Katainen (Vice-President)

23 Apr 2018 · Investments, circular-bioeconomy

Meeting with Tatu Liimatainen (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

7 Feb 2018 · Bioeconomy and Circular Economy

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

12 Jan 2018 · Rail Baltica

Meeting with Jyrki Katainen (Vice-President)

21 Nov 2017 · Europe as an investment environment

Meeting with Juho Romakkaniemi (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

20 Nov 2017 · Current EU affairs

Meeting with Juho Romakkaniemi (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

21 Mar 2017 · Energy policy

Meeting with Nathalie Chaze (Cabinet of Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis) and Brunswick Group Limited srl

7 Mar 2017 · Food contact materials

Meeting with Jyrki Katainen (Vice-President)

5 Dec 2016 · Energy package

Meeting with Astrid Ladefoged (Cabinet of Vice-President Karmenu Vella) and Kraton Chemical B.V.

22 Nov 2016 · Energy package

Meeting with Shane Sutherland (Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan)

15 Nov 2016 · Bio Economy

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

14 Oct 2016 · reduction of transport emissions

Meeting with Dominique Ristori (Director-General Energy)

6 Oct 2016 · bio economy

Meeting with Telmo Baltazar (Cabinet of President Jean-Claude Juncker)

27 Sept 2016 · Energy Union

Meeting with Yvon Slingenberg (Cabinet of Vice-President Miguel Arias Cañete)

27 Sept 2016 · Bioenergy

Meeting with Rolf Carsten Bermig (Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska)

21 Sept 2016 · Renewable Energy Directive and, in particular, the material use of wood and the availability of wood raw material

Meeting with Nele Eichhorn (Cabinet of Vice-President Cecilia Malmström) and Finnish Forest Industries Federation (Metsäteollisuus ry)

7 Sept 2016 · Issues related to trade with Russia

Meeting with Juho Romakkaniemi (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

17 Jun 2016 · Bioeconomy

Meeting with Juho Romakkaniemi (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

15 Mar 2016 · Food packaging sustainability criteria

Meeting with Juho Romakkaniemi (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

15 Oct 2015 · Energy and Environment Policies

Meeting with Paulina Dejmek Hack (Cabinet of President Jean-Claude Juncker)

29 Sept 2015 · EFSI, Internal Market

Meeting with Juho Romakkaniemi (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen) and Confederation of European Paper Industries

30 Jun 2015 · Energy Union

Meeting with Heidi Jern (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen) and Confederation of European Paper Industries

1 Jun 2015 · Circular Economy and Energy Union

Meeting with Kaius Kristian Hedberg (Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska)

4 May 2015 · Lunch meeting

Meeting with Phil Hogan (Commissioner) and Confederation of European Paper Industries

24 Apr 2015 · Bio Economy

Meeting with Robert-Jan Smits (Director-General Research and Innovation)

24 Apr 2015 · Next- generation bio-product mill

Meeting with Shane Sutherland (Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan) and Confederation of European Paper Industries

24 Apr 2015 · Bio economy

Meeting with Juho Romakkaniemi (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

23 Apr 2015 · European Fund for Strategic Investment, Energy Union

Meeting with Heidi Jern (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

23 Apr 2015 · Energy Union

Meeting with Kaius Kristian Hedberg (Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska)

13 Apr 2015 · Bioeconomy

Meeting with Heidi Jern (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

13 Apr 2015 · Bioeconomy

Meeting with Juho Romakkaniemi (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

16 Dec 2014 · Forest Industry issues