Candidates for the Metsä360 Award are sought for the fifth time. With the help of the award, LUT University and the Kolli Foundation want to highlight actions aimed at increasing the added value of forests. Mari Kallioinen-Mänttäri, Dean of the LUT School of Engineering Sciences, believes that the forest industry can offer solutions to many challenges of our time.
“The forest is a hugely rich renewable resource. It offers Finnish industry a wide range of opportunities and supports our well-being as a nation. Many solutions are within our reach, and Metsä360 is one way to highlight them,” says Mari Kallioinen-Mänttäri.
Tuomo Kauranne, CEO of Arbonaut, who won the award in 2023, emphasises the importance of increasing the added value of forests for the future of the forest sector in Finland.
“In Finland, it is essential to move from the production of basic timber towards the manufacturing of processed products. This is critical in order to achieve a higher turnover and margin from the ever-diminishing supply of timber.”
According to Tuomo Kauranne, it is crucial for companies to allocate additional resources to developing their products instead of intensifying or increasing their production. This would grow their profits and employees’ professional skills in a sustainable manner.
Tilaa Curious People -uutiskirje
Tilaamalla uutiskirjeemme saat sähköpostiisi noin 1–2 kertaa kuukaudessa luettavaa tutkimuksestamme puhtaaseen energiaan, ilmaan ja veteen sekä kestävään liiketoimintaan liittyen.
Panel of experts look for candidates for the award during spring
The Metsä360 Award is rewarded on an annual basis to a solution, act or innovation that significantly increases the added value of forests. A panel of experts consisting of representatives of LUT University and the Kolli Foundation identifies suitable candidates for the award and invites the finalists. A panel of external experts is convened to select the final winner.
The representative of the Marjatta and Eino Kolli Foundation, Esko Kolli, recipient of the Finnish honorary title ‘talousneuvos’, is one of the permanent members of the expert panel. He has been able to witness at first hand the extent to which work is being done in Finland to increase the added value of forests.
“We expect that the Metsä360 Award, presented for the fifth time, will once again highlight bold and progressive strategies for finding new value-added products and operating methods. With the award, we want to support development projects and innovations in the forest and wood sector that promote sustainable development and help reduce environmental impacts,” Esko Kolli comments.
In previous years, the Award has been won by Suomen Latu’s Sleep a Night Outdoors campaign, Stora Enso’s Lignode, wood-based carbon and eniferBio’s PEKILO® protein manufacturing process that utilises industrial by-products.
Upper secondary school pupils reflect on the importance of forests in a video competition
The Metsä360 Award is accompanied by the Metsä360 competition, which is aimed at pupils in grades 7–9 of their basic education. In the video competition, young people highlight what the forest means to them.
Pre-registration for the competition for young people is open until 31 May 2024, and competition entries can be submitted until the end of September. A total of EUR 6,000 of prize money will be awarded to the winners of the competition.
Marjatta and Eino Kolli Foundation and LUT University presented the Metsä360 Award for the first time in 2020. The award honours the legacy and lifelong dedication to forests of the visionary Eino Kolli (1925–2016), recipient of the Finnish honorary title ‘teollisuusneuvos’. The award is part of the extensive cooperation between LUT University and the Kolli Foundation, which aims at increasing the added value of Finnish forests and supporting the growth of a responsible bioeconomy.
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