SCA wins Sustainable Company of the Year award for climate-positive value chain

 Tuesday, December 16, 2025

In a pivotal recognition of its long-term commitment to environmental and social responsibility, SCA (Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget), Europe’s largest private forest owner, was recently awarded the prestigious title of Sustainable Company of the Year at the Sundsvall Business Awards. The accolade, presented by ABB, celebrates businesses in the Sundsvall region of Sweden that demonstrate clear corporate social responsibility and strategic, long-term work across economic, environmental, and social sustainability pillars.

The award is a clear validation of SCA’s unique business model, which places the forest at the heart of the transition to a fossil-free society.

Vanessa Pihlström, Head of Marketing Communication and Sustainability at SCA Wood, accepted the honor at the gala. “For SCA, this award clearly recognises the monumental contributions of our employees, customers, and suppliers to our sustainability management,” she stated. “Our business model fundamentally contributes to climate benefits, and we are delighted that this has been recognised by an award of this kind.”

The jury’s justification for the award was rooted in SCA’s holistic approach and its proven ability to combine commercial success with tangible societal benefits seamlessly. This approach is built on two central pillars: a responsibly managed, growing forest, and a highly efficient, integrated value chain that actively works to reduce society’s reliance on fossil fuels.

1. The climate-positive value chain

SCA’s sustainability strategy is fundamentally based on the concept of substitution. The growing forest acts as a massive natural carbon sink, absorbing and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. But the climate benefit extends far beyond the forest itself.

• Wood products replace fossil-intensive materials: A core element of SCA’s strategy is the efficient use of resources to produce high-quality, long-lived wood products. These products—used in everything from construction beams and floors to packaging paper—act as carbon storage for decades and, critically, replace highly emissions-intensive materials like steel, concrete, and plastic.
• Renewable bioenergy: The parts of the tree that cannot be made into solid wood products—such as bark, sawdust, and residues—are utilised for energy production. SCA is one of Europe’s largest producers of forest-based bioenergy, generating thermal and electric power that is used in its own mills, thereby reducing its operational dependence on fossil fuels and providing green energy to the wider grid.

In total, this integrated value chain makes SCA a profoundly climate-positive company. Their actively managed forests and bio-based products sequester and prevent the emission of millions of tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually, significantly exceeding the fossil emissions from their own operations.

2. Resource efficiency and sustainable forestry

SCA prioritises making use of the entire tree, minimising waste, and maximising the value obtained from every single log harvested. Using advanced technology like 3D scanning in their sawmills, they ensure logs are sawn optimally. Over 90% of their solid-wood products are classified as long-living, effectively keeping the sequestered carbon locked away for generations.

The company’s commitment to responsible forestry in Northern Sweden also includes long-term preservation of biodiversity. They manage their forest holdings with a focus on enhancing growth and carbon sequestration while preserving natural values, ensuring that the forest is at least as rich in biodiversity and raw materials for future generations. For every tree harvested, at least two new ones are planted.

The Sustainable Company of the Year award recognises not just environmental performance but a long-term view on economic and social issues.

• Economic sustainability: By establishing a secure, highly self-sufficient, and efficient integrated supply chain—from forest management to logistics and production—SCA ensures long-term profitability. This resilience, especially in volatile global markets, supports the economies of the communities where they operate, primarily in northern Sweden.
• Social sustainability and workplace safety: Vanessa Pihlström’s acknowledgement of employees, customers, and suppliers highlights the social pillar. SCA promotes a safe, healthy, and high-quality working environment. The business ensures that it acts with honesty, integrity, and transparency across all business practices, extending this expectation to its partners and suppliers. The shift to wood-based products also empowers end customers to live a more fossil-free life, creating a direct societal benefit.

“Our products contribute to all of us living a fossil-free life,” Pihlström emphasised. “I am proud to work at SCA and delighted to be able to represent the group in accepting this award.”

The recognition by the Sundsvall Business Awards, an institution with over 20 years of history, confirms SCA’s position not just as a leader in the forestry and pulp industry, but as a critical engine for the global green transition.

By strategically leveraging its vast renewable forest assets and innovative, integrated industrial processes, SCA offers a model for how a traditional industry can become a modern solution provider. The Sustainable Company of the Year award is a testament to the fact that commercial success and a deep, active commitment to corporate social responsibility are not mutually exclusive—they are, in fact, mutually reinforcing principles for long-term growth.

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Tags: forest value chain, fossil-free society, renewable wood products, SCA sustainability, Sundsvall Business Awards, Sustainable Company of the Year