Sweden is one of the world's most densely wooded countries – made up by about 70 percent forest. Half of it is privately owned by more than 330 000 people and about 38 percent of them are women. That makes forestry one of the most common business sectors for female entrepreneurs in Sweden. Today, more than one third of forest owners live in a municipality other than the one where their woodland is situated, many having another job as their main occupation.
Even though women own a significant proportion of Swedish forest properties, their representation in decision making boards is still low. Gender balance is one of the top priorities for Spillkråkan – an organisation assembling women that are forest owners. Spillkråkan is also the Swedish name for the black woodpecker that is a symbol of environmental focus in the forest sector. The organisation was founded in 1998 and has about 400 members – women of all ages and from all over the country. Spillkråkan is working to empower women in the sector, to increase knowledge on sustainable forestry and to create networking opportunities.
Some people and organizations argue that old forests are more sustainable than new ones, no matter how responsible the forestry and harvesting. That any company who uses wood for its products is causing a major negative impact on our climate – when it comes to reduction of carbon emissions and the biodiversity of our forests. But it’s not a black and white question. As a matter of fact, there are several upsides to harvesting and managing forests to get a hold of the remarkable, renewable raw material called wood.
Alongside Gasum’s biogas plant at Nymölla mill, another sustainable initiative is in the making. All over the world, the demand for sustainable textile fibers is growing and the new facility is a demonstration plant for TreeToTextile, owned by Stora Enso, H&M Group, Inter IKEA Group, and LSCS Invest.
Gasum’s biogas plant at Nymölla Mill is now producing liquefied biogas (LBG) at full speed. We created an icon that communicates the benefits in a clear way; how we manage to, not only make use of residue from the process of turning wood into paper, but also make way for a fossil free future.