Stora Enso partners with IUCN to advance positive impacts on biodiversity

Stora Enso has, as a forest industry forerunner, developed a science-based framework to verify net positive impact on biodiversity. Through combining science, technology and data, the framework enables forecasting of biodiversity impact, which allows operations to be adapted towards a net positive goal. The partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will provide external expert insights for further development and validation of the framework.

Stora Enso’s sustainability strategy focuses on climate change, biodiversity, and circularity, and the Company’s biodiversity goal is to have a net positive impact within its own forests and plantations through active management. IUCN is the leading non-profit nature conservation organisation globally, supporting companies with nature-positive tools and practices to reverse biodiversity loss. Stora Enso’s partnership with IUCN focuses on developing a framework to measure and disclose net positive biodiversity impact.

“The world is facing a great sense of urgency to halt biodiversity loss and the forest sector has a central role in making this happen. True to our sustainability leadership ambition, we want to accelerate the pace of change through global collaboration and shared goals. Our new partnership with IUCN is an opportunity to implement new ways of working that will help guide our commitment towards a net positive biodiversity impact,” says Hans Sohlström, President and CEO, Stora Enso.

“IUCN’s collaboration with Stora Enso aims to help the forestry sector as a whole more actively manage biodiversity – reducing threats to species, and conserving and restoring ecosystems. This partnership will bring valuable insights that can help shape our evolving approach to measuring ‘nature positive’, providing a credible framework to help companies track and monitor their contributions. Together, we look forward to inspiring change throughout the forestry sector and thus deliver concrete outcomes for biodiversity,” says Dr Grethel Aguilar, Director General, IUCN.

Stora Enso will pilot the framework in its own forests in Sweden to develop the framework further and align it with other leading organisations going forward. The complete framework is expected to be launched during autumn 2025. Stora Enso’s own forest assets include 1.4 million hectares of land in Sweden, joint-venture plantations in South America, and 41% ownership of Tornator that has forest assets mainly in Finland. In addition to in-house wood supply, Stora Enso sources wood from private forest owners in the Nordics and central Europe.