Sustainable wood from Sweden

Build with wood. For the climate. The construction industry accounts for about 40 percent of global carbon emissions and urgently needs a transition towards green, renewable materials and circular processes to reduce climate impact and resource consumption. Building with wood contributes to a sustainable future because trees absorb carbon dioxide, which is then stored in wood products and buildings for a long time.

A forest in sunlight.

SCA maximizes value creation in and from the forest

SCA is Europe’s largest private forest owner, with 2.7 million hectares of land in northern Sweden and the Baltic region. Based on this unique resource, SCA generates the maximum possible value in and from the forest.

The forest is at the core of SCA’s operations. SCA has built an integrated and well-invested industry around this renewable resource, utilizing and maximizing the value of the entire tree. Using this raw material, SCA develops products for customers all around the world.

In 2023, SCA demonstrated that the company can deliver good profitability even in times of austerity and a challenging global economic climate. Efficient industries and a high level of self-sufficiency in wood, energy and logistics ensure good cost control. This meant the company could report an EBITDA margin of 38 % for the full year. As a customer in SCA, you are part of the positive future toward which we contribute.

The climate benefits of wood

SCA operates five sawmills in close proximity to its own forest assets. The sawmills are well-invested and are among the largest in Europe with a total annual capacity of 2.3 million m3 of solid-wood products.

Our sawmills have a high degree of automation and use x-ray technology to maximize the yield from every log. With this technology, the sawmills can sort, select and adjust the log to suit the requirements of the end product.

Wood has a positive climate impact for several reasons. Smaller carbon footprint than materials like concrete, aluminum, plastic, and steel. Being lighter than concrete and steel, wood reduces environmental impact during transport and handling. Additionally, wood stores carbon absorbed as trees grow, which remains in the wood product over its lifespan. Ninety percent of SCA's wood products are used in long-lasting products.

Our value chain

The foundation of our mission is to maximize the value of both our forest and of the products we create from it. We ensure that as great a share as possible of harvested trees becomes solid-wood products and also optimize benefits from the other parts. Waste streams and by-products also become valuable products for society’s green transition.

SCA uses all parts of the tree, which means zero waste. The most valuable parts are processed into wood products, while the other parts are made into packaging paper, pulp, renewable energy, biofuels and other sustainable products.

Watch the video about our value chain. 

Wood

100 million seedlings

Every year, over 100 million seedlings see the light of day on our own "tree nursery". Plants that grow into trees, bind carbon dioxide and form the forests of the future.

Our facility covers just over 50,000 hectares, an area equivalent to 100,000 football pitches. About half of all the plants we grow are used for regrowth in SCA's own forests, the other half we sell to external customers.

We offer plants of spruce, pine and Pinus contorta. The latter is a Canadian pine species that grows 40 percent faster than the Swedish conifer species and which provides a valuable addition of renewable raw material. Depending on the tree species and where the trees grow, it takes between 60 and 120 years from one forest generation to the next.

Contact us

Mark Beesley, Industrial Sales Area Manager, SCA Wood UK - North

Mark Beesley

Industrial Sales Area Manager, SCA Wood UK - North

Camilla Fish, Manageing Director, SCA Wood UK

Camilla Fish

Manageing Director, SCA Wood UK

SCA Wood Magazine

SCA Wood Magazine is a magazine that brings you interesting reports and interviews with fascinating people from all around the world. Everything is connected to the material of the future – wood. Read the latest issue here, and enjoy!

Read our magazine here
A girl holding Wood Magazine in her hand.

Related content

A drone image of a forest shrouded in mist.

Sustainability to us

There is an urgent need to change our society – and we have a clear picture of how to achieve this. We see a green transition, with an economy that works for both people and the environment. We see a transition to products that do not damage nature, but are instead part of the perpetual cycle. We see sustainable investments and innovations. The forest is showing the way to a fossil-free world in balance.

Closeup of one of our exterior panels.

The future is built out of wood

For generations, we at SCA have refined the art of producing sawn wood products from the forests of northern Sweden. Today, through our high-tech sawmills, we manufacture products from both spruce and pine that reach customers around the world. Through large and small projects alike, we continuously contribute, step by step, to building a more sustainable future.