Holmen and the Sustainable Development Goals

Global goals for a sustainable development

Holmen is an export company and part of Sweden’s primary industries. With high carbon absorption and exports of climate-smart products, our contribution to sustainable development is global. The challenges and the direct impact we have on the environment and people are largely local.

Illustration based on a design from Azote Images (Jerker Lokrantz) for Stockholm Resilience Centre.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015 the UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda, a universal agenda that encompasses 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). These goals cover social, economic and environmental sustainability.

We only have one planet and it is only by sustainable use of the Earth’s resources that humanity can survive. This is made clear by Johan Rockström and Pavan Sukhdev from the Stockholm Resilience Centre in their ‘wedding cake’ model, produced to show the importance of protecting the world’s resources to secure food supplies. The lowest level, the base, represents goals linked to environmental sustainability. The centre contains the social goals, with the economic ones higher up. The planet sets the limits and these are non-negotiable.

Even if Holmen’s operations are more geared towards sustainable consumption than sustainable food supplies, the principle of the importance of sustainable management of the world’s resources remains the same. Sustainable bio-based operations and innovation within the planet’s limits are crucial to combat climate change and thus fundamental to attaining the social and economic goals.

Holmen and the SDGs

The basis of Holmen’s operations is active forestry where the growing forest absorbs carbon and provides industry with renewable raw materials. The forest raw material is turned into products that bind carbon and can replace fossil-based plastic packaging and climate-negative construction material. We protect biodiversity and we work actively to cut emissions to air and water.

Although we have come a long way in our work on sustainability, challenges still remain. Water consumption, transport and the right to manage our forests are key questions that Holmen, like other forest industry businesses, is actively monitoring and working on.

Holmen’s mission is to create a sustainable future. One of the ways in which we do this is by contributing towards several of the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). With carbon-positive operations, climate-smart products and a long-term environmental approach, our foremost contributions are linked to SDGs 13, 14 and 15. These are goals that are fundamental to all life on Earth. But our work cannot stand alone. For the climate and environmental benefits to be realised, our partnerships and relationships with customers and suppliers are central. For this reason, SDG 17, which covers implementation and partnership, is an important aspect of our work for a sustainable future.

Holmens objectives connected to the SDG

Please read more about how Holmens business objectives contributes to UN’s sustainable development goals hear.

Examples of how Holmen contributes to the SDG's

SDG 3: Good health and well-being

We are committed to our employees and our local communities. We invest in development and community because when people and communities grow, we can
grow too. We create a positive working climate through development and teamwork in equal measures, with goal-oriented work on health and safety, diversity and inclusion. Forestry also fosters thriving rural communities and enables people to live, work and enjoy quality of life outside the urban regions.

SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

Holmen’s production of renewable hydro and wind power contributes towards a sustainable energy supply in Sweden and towards Europe’s transition to fossil-free energy sources. In 2022, we took another step in developing our renewable energy business, with the construction of the wind farm in Blåbergsliden and the acquisition of Varsvik.

SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth

Our target is to be an attractive employer with a healthy work environment free from industrial accidents, discrimination or harassment, and where employees recommend Holmen as a workplace.

SDG 9: Industry, innovtion and infrastructure

To avoid linear flows, we need to use renewable raw materials. But if the circular society is to become a reality, phasing out fossil raw materials won’t be enough. We will also need more renewable products, and even better ones. This is why we are working with our customers and industry organisations to develop products and processes that can make recycling easier and do their bit for the green transition.

SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

We create the greatest benefit for the climate together with our customers. Their choice of renewable products from forests, wind and water means that the
world is avoiding fossil emissions. We make our customers part of a circular business that creates value at several stages of the chain.

SDG 13: Climate action

Growth in Holmen’s forests exceeds harvest, which means that large quantities of carbon are stored in our forests every year. Holmen’s wood products that are used as joinery and construction timber also contribute a substitution effect when used to replace climate-negative construction materials. Our investments in higher production of wood products create greater opportunities for sustainable construction. We contribute towards a sustainable energy supply by producing renewable energy in the form of hydro power and wind power.

SDG 14: Life below water

The environmental situation in the water outside Holmen’s mills has improved considerably over the past 40 years thanks to new process technology and technical water treatment measures. Holmen engages in industry-wide environmental research to investigate steps that lead to lasting environmental improvements. Replacing products made from plastic with paperboard products means we also reduce dependence on fossil raw materials, while reducing the amount of plastic waste that can end up in the sea.

SDG 15: Life on land

Holmen’s aim is to ensure that all naturally occurring species are able to thrive in the forest landscape. Historically, biodiversity was not a priority issue in forestry, but in the last 30 years there have been major changes. Since the early 1990s, when the issue of nature conservation received great focus, we have learned a lot and we continue to learn how we can improve biodiversity and at the same time increase growth in the forest. We also restore the environment at sites of discontinued operations, which has resulted in reinstating environments that previously suffered negative impacts. Our products based on fresh fibre provide the recovered paper industry with a necessary injection of raw materials in the form of fresh fibre from sustainably managed forests in which biodiversity is safeguarded.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals

The climate and sustainability challenges faced by our planet cannot be tackled by an individual company like Holmen alone. This is why we work with our suppliers and customers to meet the ambitions of the SDGs. In many cases the environmental benefit first manifests itself in our customers’ processes or products, making greater cooperation to exchange knowledge and ideas central to attaining the sustainable development goals.

Global goals for a sustainable development

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Holmen and the SDGs

Holmens objectives connected to the SDG

Examples of how Holmen contributes to the SDG's

SDG 3: Good health and well-being

SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth

SDG 9: Industry, innovtion and infrastructure

SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

SDG 13: Climate action

SDG 14: Life below water

SDG 15: Life on land

SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals

How we grow a sustainable future

We contribute to a better climate

Committed to our employees and local communities

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