Environmental incident at Stora Enso site in Finland

On 15 August, forestry machines were found to have crossed the Hukkajoki River at the Kainuu site, which is home to a population of the critically endangered freshwater pearl mussel.

In a statement released today (23 August), Stora Enso said that the company takes the matter extremely seriously and that the authorities and the company have strict responsibility requirements and comprehensive guidelines for considering the freshwater pearl mussel in harvesting operations.

“It is obvious that our policies have not been followed. What has happened is completely contrary to our values ​​and sustainability commitments,” said Seppo Parvi, Country Manager for Finland at Stora Enso.

The company said it was working with police and other authorities to find out what happened in Hukkajoki. As a result of this and its own investigation, it would refine its policies and procedures to ensure that anyone involved in harvesting in valuable natural areas in the future is aware of them.

This applies to Stora Enso's employees as well as its partners, such as contractors and forest owners, the company added.

“It is our responsibility to ensure that something like this never happens again. We took immediate action to strengthen our procedures, including forest planning, environmental training, policies and information systems,” Parvi said.

“The police investigation is ongoing, but it is clear that Stora Enso bears both environmental and financial responsibility in this case.”

The current priority is to repair the damage and prevent further damage in Hukkajoki. Stora Enso said it is supporting the restoration work led by the local forestry company Metsähallitus both financially and materially. Stora Enso has also chosen to participate in the LIFE Revives programme.

“Participating in this program will not repair the damage already done, but it is the least we can do in this case,” Parvi added.

The case led to increased monitoring of harvest areas and Stora Enso said this also applies to buffer zones.

“We cannot undo what has been done. Sustainability is an integral part of Stora Enso’s strategy and we will do everything we can to ensure that it is implemented in all our operations, both by our own employees and our partners,” added Parvi.

According to Finnish broadcaster YLE, thousands of the endangered freshwater pearl mussels were killed when forestry machines repeatedly forded the shallow river, dumping mud, sand and debris into the river, wiping out a large proportion of the mussels.

YLE reported that while the machines crushed thousands of mussels, the greatest damage was caused by silt and mud flowing downstream from the crossing point, suffocating young mussels for hundreds of metres.

In Finland, the endangered species has been protected since 1955.