In 2019, LUT University and the Marjatta and the Eino Kolli Foundation started to engage in extensive collaboration. One component of this is the new Metsä360 Award, through which we want to highlight the diverse potential of forests and spur on those aiming to increase value added from forests.
An expert panel consisting of representatives of the university and the Foundation worked for about six months to identify the candidates for the first recognition award, which was presented in autumn 2020.
The winner of the Metsä360 Award was Suomen Latu's Sleep Outdoors campaign.
The winner of the 2020 award was chosen from among the candidates by Mika Anttonen, Mari Pantsar and Peter Vesterbacka.
Suomen Latu's Sleep Outdoors campaign challenges you to spend the night in Finland’s health factory: its forests
Two-thirds of Finns’ daily physical activity takes place outdoors, and the majority of this outdoor activity takes place in nearby forests. Forests are undoubtedly our most important place for exercise, and they offer many verified health benefits.
Suomen Latu ry is a national outdoor organisation that has been promoting outdoor exercise and building our relationship with the forest since the 1930s. The organisation wants to help all Finns find a meaningful way to exercise in nature and is constantly looking for new ways to promote an active lifestyle during all seasons of the year.
One of the most impressive actions taken by the organisation to promote our relationship with the forest is its Sleep Outdoors campaign. The campaign challenges Finns to sleep outdoors on one particular night at the end of August. A key part of the campaign is the free Metsähotelli events in which shelters can be reserved and there are also possibilities to test different activities and nature experiences.
The Sleep Outdoors event, which attracted more than 130,000 participants in 2019, is widely known among Finns. The event also highlights the Finnish ‘Everyman’s Rights’, which are exceptionally broad and which enable the outdoor exercise that many Finns enjoy.
Suomen Latu is aiming to get the Everyman’s Rights added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. The association is also seeking to extend the campaign to other Nordic countries so that even more people can develop a stronger connection with the forest.
The Outdoor Association of Finland has been helping Finns to exercise more since 1938. Today, it has over 88,000 members across some 190 local associations. The association’s CEO is Eki Karlsson.
Other candidates
Woodly is challenging the traditional plastic packaging sector
Woodly Oy is a Finnish company that manufactures a new kind of wood cellulose-based plastic which goes by the same name. Woodly is a transparent granulate, a small wood-based plastic granule that is transformed into forms of recyclable packaging by industrial partners.
Woodly was established to increase the forest's value added, find alternatives to products made from fossil fuels, and export Finnish expertise to the world. Woodly is the only carbon-neutral material in the world that is based on wood cellulose and can be refined using all known plastics industry technologies. The material is also suitable for food packaging.
Montinutra accelerates the value of forest industry side streams from close to zero right up to one hundred
Montinutra Oy produces from forest industry side streams bioactive health products with high value added for the food and pharmaceutical industries. At present, the side streams produced in the largest quantities, such as sawdust and bark, are of minimal economic value, as the majority goes to energy plants for incineration. Montinutra's core idea is to increase the forest’s level of value-added not only through its own production but also through a production concept offered to other operators in the field.