With its predominantly wood-based solutions, the Finnish packaging industry has long been focussed on sustainability. The government organisation Business Finland supports the country's companies in exporting these products to other markets.
22 February 2023
(Image: Shutterstock/Studio GM)
According to the UN Sustainability Development Report 2021, Finland is one of the world's leading countries when it comes to sustainable development. The country's packaging industry, with its predominantly wood-based solutions, has also long been sustainable. The government organisation Business Finland supports the country's companies in exporting these products to other markets.
Heidi Kokki is a Senior Advisor at Business Finland responsible for the packaging sector. „We work with around 30 Finnish companies that have very different sustainable packaging solutions in their portfolios. These range from biodegradable packaging and sustainable tapes to wood-based material as a substitute for plastic.“ Finland occupies a leading position worldwide leading position in certified forestry, giving Finnish packaging companies a competitive advantage. Solutions made from fibre-based materials currently account for around 69 percent of packaging exports.
(Image: Business Finland)
„Here in Finland, packaging solutions based on wood as a raw material have been widely used for many years. By promoting exports worldwide, we now want to take this expertise to other countries where much more plastic is used. The demand for wood-based alternatives is there.“
Heidi Kokki, Senior Advisor at Business Finland
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In addition to the Scandinavian countries, Germany and France are currently the most important markets for the northern European country. „Germany is very interesting for the Finns and is already their largest trading partner. However, the markets in Japan, South Korea and the USA are also important for our companies, as we are also seeing increasing demand there.“
Broad portfolio of sustainable solutions
Business Finland not only helps with exports, but also grants funding to innovative companies. „We also look at whether small companies in particular have enough capacity to supply the various markets.“ Some packaging manufacturers are already going global. Paptic, for example with its fibre-based paper packaging with the properties of plastic is already supplying over 50 countries. Woodly, on the other hand, is still a small company with just a few employees, but has long been known in Finland for its wood-based film material. The company of the same name cellulose-based, recyclable and transparent bioplastic material can be processed on conventional packaging machines, is approved for contact with food and is recyclable. Heidi Kokki: „Woodly is currently conquering the DACH region, but also wants to expand to Asia and the UK, among other countries.“
Woodly is known in Finland for its cellulose-based, recyclable and transparent bioplastic material. (Image: Business Finland)
In the „Innovative and sustainable packaging solutions from Finland - Offering“, a comprehensive online catalogue, Business Finland has listed all companies in the Finnish packaging industry with their sustainable solutions. These include internationally recognised names such as Stora Enso, UPM Raflatac and Metsä Board, as well as start-ups and small companies such as Jospak, Woodly or the Finnish material developer Granulous, which produces a biomaterial based on grain waste. The first formulation is a mixture of plant-based polymers and around 40 per cent spent grains, a waste product from the brewing industry. The material from Sulapac is already well known in Germany. It is made from wood shavings from industrial waste and plant-based binders, biodegrades and leaves no microplastics behind. The company uses it to produce jars for cosmetic products, among other things.
Granulous produces packaging from a biomaterial based on grain waste. (Image: Business Finland)
Business Finland The new online catalogue also presents research institutes that are working on making packaging even more sustainable. These include, for example, the Technical Research Centre Finland VTT. The organisation participates in international and European collaborative projects and offers opportunities from laboratory to pilot scale in the development of paper-based and biopolymer-based packaging materials. In addition VTT develops and tests coating technologies for biobarrier materials.
Another example: a consortium of research institutions and Finnish companies is developing bio-based binders and coatings in the joint SUSBINCO project as a sustainable alternative for materials based on fossil raw materials. The aim is to develop innovative and bio-based product portfolios for production and commercialisation on the international market. The project is being funded by Business Finland with around 5.6 million euros.
Finland is considered one of the pioneers in the circular economy and aims to become climate-neutral by 2035 on the basis of the Finnish Circular Economy Strategy Programme. The Scandinavian country had already the world's first roadmap for the circular economy 2016-2025 and updated in 2019, and the world's first national circular economy programme for companies was published in 2022.
