{"id":88041,"date":"2024-09-05T08:55:49","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T08:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tin.happy-projects.ro\/stora-enso-faces-investor-pressure-after-conservation-crime-investigation\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T09:02:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T09:02:42","slug":"stora-enso-faces-investor-pressure-after-conservation-crime-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.timberindustrynews.com\/ro\/stora-enso-faces-investor-pressure-after-conservation-crime-investigation\/","title":{"rendered":"Stora Enso faces investor pressure after conservation crime investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stora Enso has announced a range of remedial measures after being found to have committed a serious nature conservation violation, which is under investigation by Finnish police. The forestry corporation\u2019s wood harvesters were crossing protected conservation areas, damaging habitats of the endangered freshwater pearl mussel. CEO Hans Sohlstr\u00f6m says the company\u2019s \u201ccredibility has taken a serious blow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The offense was discovered at a Stora Enso harvesting site on August 15, in Kainuu, Finland. Logging machinery was found to have been crossing the Hukkajoki river, crushing the mussels and polluting the river with tons of wood chip sediment, mud and other residues.<\/p>\n

Several Finnish pension funds are reportedly considering divesting from the company as a result. Other investors are engaging with the company\u2019s leadership to acquire answers before making any decisions.<\/p>\n

Pirkko-Liisa Luhta, a project leader and advisor for fisheries planning at Mets\u00e4hallitus, a state-owned Finnish nature conservation organization, said\u00a0that Stora Enso\u2019s harvesting machines crossed the river between 300-400 times, and that dirt dragged into the river has traveled up to 700 meters downstream.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are dead mussels that have been crushed, and there are mussels that cannot breathe anymore because of the sediment. It\u2019s very difficult to know how many will survive over winter, especially downstream,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Stora Enso offered help after the discovery, but Mets\u00e4hallitus could not find any other way to dredge the river of the pollution, so it has been removing the sediment by hand, in thousands of buckets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe water levels are rising, and it\u2019s a difficult time to deal with this issue. The river is roughly 15 meters wide,\u201d says Luhta.<\/p>\n

Stora Enso investigation<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Stora Enso\u2019s internal investigation, the events are a consequence of several factors, related to information flow, IT systems functions and individual and company miscalculations. The company states it will bear its responsibility both environmentally and financially.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is too early to comment on the actual damage impact, why it is also premature to provide estimates on the costs,\u201d Carl Norell, a Stora Enso spokesperson, tells us. \u201cFocus is still on the restoration work managed by the Finnish forest authority, which we are funding and also supporting onsite with help from Stora Enso employees.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police investigation is ongoing, and any legal repercussions will become clear once that investigation is completed. Since the violation came to our attention, we suspended wood harvesting in protected sites in Finland to assess any risks related to these sites. This assessment is a high priority and we hope to conclude it quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company has announced a number of corrective measures to ensure an \u201cuninterrupted flow of information and compliance with guidelines\u201d in the future:<\/p>\n