Forests at the Heart of Finnish–British Cooperation

Truly has it been said: Suomi elää metsästä… But it’s just as true that suuri osa maailmasta elää suomalaisesta metsästä. 

I’m going to start with a big example. It is thanks to Finnish forests that the British Empire once spanned the world, and that English is a global language. I have that on good authority from the city of Oulu, so it must be true! If you are wondering why, it’s because without the export of Finnish birch tar to the UK, the ships of our Royal and Merchant Navies would not have got far beyond the English Channel…

Jump forward a few years, and the paper barons of Finland are central players in the spread of ideas, political debate and free speech from Fleet Street to the world. At one time, nearly every British newspaper was printed on Finnish paper. 

And when that newspaper was used the next day to wrap up our fish and chips… well then, perhaps it became even more important

But the glory days are far from over! The UK is still the 4th largest export market for Finnish forestry products, a flow of billion euros into the Finnish economy.

Paper remains important, of course. But the profile of wood exports has changed dramatically.

Although many Londoners now read newspapers on their phone, they might enjoy Finnish wood products at least five times before even reaching work in the morning, possibly without even noticing…

They may eat their breakfast under the mellow light of Secto Design’s wooden lampshades. As they leave home, they may walk under a Finnish doorframe: Metsä UK provides the vast majority of doorframes in new build houses and flats across the country. Waiting outside the door will almost certainly be a parcel. Label and packaging kindly provided by UPM and Stora Enso. As they board a bus, they will be walking on wood composite flooring made by UPM. And whether they choose tea or coffee, their takeaway hot drink may be in a recycled and recyclable paper cup made by Huhtamäki.

So, five times before the working day even begins. Or six if they have any health issues… as the packaging of their medication is likely to be manufactured by MM Kotkamills.

Ei paha!

Finnish companies often tell me that they use London as a test bed: because it provides a large market, and one which is pleasingly fickle as it chases keenly after the next best thing. 

But the Finnish forestry industry is connected right across the UK. When UPM’s Caledonian paper mill opened outside Glasgow, it was the biggest ever inward investment project in mainland Scotland. Huhtamäki is one of the biggest employers in Northern Ireland. Metsä Wood’s production sites are in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. Stora Enso’s logistics hub is in Hull; Secto Design have over 30 distributors across the UK.

Now, even though the The Economist is printed on UPM paper, this blog is not about the British economy… But Ambassadors have to stay on message, and mine is that the UK’s 3.6 trillion dollar market is the second largest in Europe. The UK is the 4th largest importer and exporter globally, the 5th largest global investor and the 3rd biggest destination for investment. We’re the top destination for investment from Europe and the US. In other words, a brilliant place into and through which to expand. 

Finland and the UK are both obsessed with R & D: we’re side by side in the Global Innovation Index at positions 6 and 7. And when it comes to wood and forestry products, the innovation is out of this world: wound care; batteries, fabrics, even tyres! There’s a reason why we talk about the tree of life.

And there is also impressive innovation and world-leading research in forest data and bioeconomy, making Finland a true superpower in forest research. I’m thinking for example of the UNITE flagship, or VTT and partners, developing digital twins to simulate forest ecosystem development. 

We’re investing in forestry innovation on the UK side too, supporting technologies and research to improve tree resilience, climate adaptation and carbon capture through a range of Government funding streams worth over 50 million euros last year.  

Our universities are collaborating on exciting projects. LUKE recently led the €6.2m Horizon funded SafeNet project, partnering with the University of Leeds to stop biodiversity loss and boost ecosystem resilience in European forests. The Forests Partnership Programme brings together great minds from two great Northern Universities, Edinburgh and Helsinki, to address climate challenges facing our forests. Two examples of many!

I like to think that some of this extraordinary creativity around forestry and wood products flows from the equally extraordinary personal connection with forests that almost everyone in Finland enjoys. One in seven of you comes from a family that owns forest land. One in ten owns a mökki. The average distance of a Finn from a forest is 700 metres, and one half of you live less than 200 metres from one. As anyone who has ever tried to learn Finnish on Duolingo knows, a classic Finnish phrase is: Haluan olla rauhassa metsässä! 

For both of us, forests and trees fill our national consciousness. From childhood bedtime stories on, we learn that forests are special, powerful places. We draw instinctively on tree and forest imagery when we talk. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Omena ei putoa kauaksi puusta. Puupää or blockhead!

I grew up near Ashdown Forest, in the Southeast of England, famous as the home of Winnie the Pooh. Those illustrations of a small bear walking through the tall trees are as central to British childhood as the Moomins in Finland.

Science is just starting to recognise what we have all known instinctively for ever: spending time in a forest is good for your health. Given jokaisenoikeus, it’s no wonder Finland is the world’s happiest country for the eighth time in a row! In the UK, we have nearly 27,000km of footpaths, which isn’t bad, and there are plans afoot to be able to walk right round the nation’s coast, which will be amazing. But it’s not quite the same…

When the UK celebrated the Platinum Anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, we did so by planting over a million trees in the UK. After her death, this Green Canopy became also her memorial. Reflecting her deep interest in global affairs, the Canopy is also global, with 14 trees planted across Finland. His Majesty The King, meanwhile, has been championing sustainability and the environment, and drawing attention to the risks of pollution, deforestation and biodiversity loss for over 50 years.

So it’s no surprise that, at every level, the UK is committed to protecting forests nationally and globally: for the health of our planet, the strength of our economies and the well-being of our future generations. We plant around 30,000 hectares of new woodland every year, and have just pledged £1.5 billion specifically for protecting and restoring forests as part of our international climate finance package.

Forests will remain at the fore of COP30, particularly commitment to reverse forest loss by 2030. Finland is right at the forefront of this work too. As always, we are stronger together.