Metsä360 Award is presented annually to give recognition to innovations, solutions or acts that significantly increase value added from Finnish forests. The candidates for 2023 were Fiberwood, Kääpä Biotech and Arbonaut. The candidates were selected by a group of experts from LUT University and the Kolli Foundation.
The winner of the award 2023 is Arbonaut.
The winner of the 2023 award was chosen by Petteri Taalas, Niina Kopola and Henry Tikkanen.
Arbonaut: Forest reserve information to support decision-making
Arbonaut, located in Joensuu, produces comprehensive information on forests by laser scanning air. They produce more accurate and reliable basic information locally on large forest areas than any other party in the world. Arbonaut's methods are used in dozens of countries and in international forest projects that require precision information.
The method introduced in 2010 is used, among other things, for forest inventory and monitoring of forest measures such as compliance with certification requirements and forest laws. In addition, the method can be used to monitor forest biodiversity.
Finland has the world's best knowledge of forest resources. The method used in several countries utilises laser scanning and map data to reconcile diversity and financial management objectives. The information collected with the accuracy of one tree enables, for example, the mapping of the amount of decaying wood and the identification of even very small herb-rich forests and brooksides suitable for conservation purposes.
Arbonaut also maps the carbon sequestration of forests, which requires reliable information on the initial situation and monitoring methods for verifying changes. Terrestrial carbon sequestration and their changes are measured using a method based on artificial intelligence, remote sensing and off-road measurements that follows international good practices and meets certification requirements.
Drought, forest fires, storm winds and increasing insect populations pose a threat to sustainable forest management. A method based on laser scanning and satellite image sharing can be used to identify, for example, an individual tree that has died due to insect damage and to generate predictions of the spread of damage for the purpose of combating the damage.
Other candidates
Fiberwood: Bio-based insulation sheets and packaging materials
Fiberwood Oy, located in Järvenpää, develops bio-based packaging materials and insulation sheets for the construction industry from the side streams of the mechanical forest industry. At the end of their life cycle, insulation sheets can be used as biodegradable materials, for example as soil improvers, or recycled for energy use.
The raw material for the construction board products comes from the side streams of the mechanical forest industry such as plywood and wood panel factories. Their renewable wood fibre construction boards are ecological and breathable, i.e. they transfer moisture and do not expose structures to moisture damage. The products are suitable for the needs of modern construction projects. In the future, the aim is to make the products exclusively from wood-based raw material.
https://fiberwood.com
KÄÄPÄ Biotech: Innovative fungi applications
KÄÄPÄ Biotech is a biotechnology company that studies and develops fungi applications for use in different sectors. The company is looking for new innovative ways to use the forest by processing it into high value-added products.
The company has created a cultivation network for chaga with, for example, large forest management companies. The aim is to cultivate chaga in low yielding birch forests. Then, the shelf fungus can be planted in trees with a diameter of 10-15 centimetres marked for thinning. The method is based on a study conducted by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) on the potential of chaga cultivation in Finland.
