Södra and the Environment: Five facts you may not know…

• Conservation premium. We have introduced a new premium for members who set aside more than 5 percent of their forest land (more than is required by forest certification schemes), rewarding them for contributing to our Group-wide nature conservation activities. The area of voluntary set-asides with nature conservation considerations (NO/NS) on land owned by Södra members (PEFC-certified) amounted to 141,000 hectares in 2022. The total value of this forest area was SEK 26 billion.
  
  
• Forest diversity. We have a research project to develop mixed coniferous stands, predominantly pine and spruce, with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. We continue to focus on non-native tree species as part of the process to promote more diversity in forestry. Identifying the non-native tree species that can grow in a warmer and drier climate is also important and we have therefore been actively testing the Douglas fir for a long time.
  
  
• Seeds and scarification. We’re building a new cold storage facility for 40 million seedlings which is scheduled for completion by summer 2023. Our BraSatt project is developing a method for scarification and planting that promotes seedling survival and has less impact on both people and soil. We have taken the first step towards a self-propelled machine and tests of both the scarification concept and the planning app have shown promising results. We’re also working on a pilot facility to develop a new method of seedling production using vegetative propagation. This will enable faster tree breeding from seedlings that are adapted to climate change and disease-resistant.
  
  
• Forest growth. We want to see a 20 percent increase in annual forest growth on membersʼ estates by 2050 compared with the base year of 2015. We have introduced many initiatives to increase forest growth responsibly, from tree-breeding projects to adapt seedlings to changing climate conditions to a concept for nutrient recycling with bio-ash.
  
  
• Sustainable harvesting. The sustainable harvest rate for Södra members is 5.8–7.1 m³fo per hectare and year, corresponding to a total of 13–17 million m³sub per year, based on the current affiliated forest area. In 2022, Södraʼs harvest rate was 6.8 m³fo per hectare and year, within the sustainable harvest rate.

Read more in our Annual and Sustainability Report, out now.

Annual and Sustainability Report