The forest has the greatest climate benefit when wood-based products replace fossil materials. In 2022, Holmen’s operations helped to cut the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 7,2 million tonnes. This is equivalent to 15 per cent of Sweden’s emissions.
We are helping the world to transition
In the drive to become less dependent on fossil raw materials, forest products have a key role to play and demand for them will increase over time. To invest in Holmen is to invest in a sustainable future.
Wood products for sustainable building
Holmen’s manufacture of wood products has become an increasingly important part of our business. The construction of Braviken Sawmill in 2010 and the acquisition of Martinsons in 2020 have prompted strong growth in our wood products business. We are now investing in Iggesunds Sawmill to increase production by another 20 percent. At the same time, we are also broadening our range of products.
With five sawmills strategically located near our forest holdings, we are maximising the value of our forest and securing the raw material supply to all of our industrial sites.
Demand for refined wood products is growing and with rising interest in wood construction, we see great opportunities to further develop the business. The next step is to increase capacity at Iggesund Sawmill by 20 per cent, and to step up the production of glulam and CLT (cross-laminated timber). Furthermore, we are exploring the viability of building a new large-scale sawmill in the county of Västerbotten.
With a broader palette of refined products, we have also increased sales to chains of builders’ merchants, while through Martinsons we are now able to offer the planning and construction of complete timber frames in CLT and glulam for everything from sports halls and schools to office blocks and apartment buildings
Increased production of renewable energy from wind power
The energy crisis in Europe has created significant difficulties in securing enough
energy for households and industry. This has had far-reaching consequences for the whole of our society and shows just how sensitive the European energy system is and how dependent we are on fossil fuels such as gas and coal.
At a time when the whole world needs to switch away from fossil energy sources, prompting a dramatic increase in electricity use, the need for more renewable energy is enormous. Having more weather dependent energy from wind and solar also increases the need for controllable power in order to secure a stable and reliable network. The benefits of Holmen’s planable hydro power are thus becoming all the clearer, as it can be managed to ensure production at times when the energy need is highest, and can help to keep the electricity grid’s frequency stable.
Large-scale investment in wind power
Our extensive land holdings mean that we also have the potential to add more renewable energy in the form of wind power. The establishment of largescale wind power provides a logical complement to our controllable hydro power. It is also a great way to derive added value from our land, as higher energy production provides a good cash flow.
2014 saw the opening of Varsvik Wind Farm in Uppland, and Blåbergsliden Wind Farm outside Skellefteå came into operation in 2022. With 26 turbines, the wind farm will boost our annual production of renewable energy to 1.8 TWh.
Reduced fossil emissions and SBT-approved targets
Holmen's new emission targets are approved by SBTi (Science Based Target initiative), which certifies that Holmen is in line with the Paris Agreement.
We began planning for the transition from fossil energy use at our industrial sites in the early 2000s. Since then we have switched to primarily using fossil free electricity and renewable energy from biofuel. Combined with energy efficiencies, emissions of fossil carbon dioxide from our production facilities have thus been cut significantly.
Since 2005, the use of fossil fuels in our production has fallen by 90 per cent. We have also increased our production of renewable electricity by building two wind farms. And we will continue to invest and grow our positive contribution where the benefit and demand are greatest – wood products for sustainable building and more green energy
Today the majority of our fossil emissions are generated from purchases of input products, along with transport to and from Holmen’s industrial sites. Therefore, we are now focusing on cutting emissions in these areas in our new SBT-approved emission targets.
