Page 19 - Seafarers---_Pension_Fund_Annual_Report_2020_s

The Fund owned, through various funds, forest properties totalling Annual Report of the Board
approx.27,017 hectares of forest land at the end of 2020. Of these
forest properties, 95% are located in Finland, approx. 4.4% in the Baltic Seafarers’ Pension Fund 2020 Annual Report
countries and approx. 0.6% in Asia.
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According to calculations, our forest investments bind a total of
160,735 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The essential components
include the change of the carbon storage in the tree stand, soil and
wood products.

In our investments, we stress the preservation of the diversity and
natural values of the forests. Versatile forestry methods, including
longer rotation periods, shelterwood felling and utilisation of
undergrowth, will increase the diversity, coverage and landscape values
of forests.

The largest forest investment of the Seafarers’ Pension Fund is Forest
Holding Finland ky (FHF), which owns a total of 19,200 hectares
of forest land. In 2020, the total growth of forests amounted to
approximately 101,000 cubic metres and the fellings totalled approx.
44,000 cubic metres. For FHF, the fellings in 2020 represented less than
one half of the growth, and accordingly, the positive change in the
carbon sink was significant, approx. 57,000 CO2-eq tonnes, during the
year.

Diversity projects carried out jointly with the stakeholders
complement the biodiversity activities along with the nature
management in commercial forests and forest conservation.
For example, FHF has, during 2018–2020, protected or sold for
conservation altogether 252 hectares of forest land, mainly in the
Kainuu area. The protected areas are tree-rich, so the economic value of
the protection has been significant.

As far as infrastructure funds are concerned, the lack of portfolio
level carbon reporting is a major issue. The Seafarers’ Pension Fund
encourages the funds to develop and improve their carbon sink
reporting.

The Fund’s wind power investments yielded emission reductions of
approx. 23,800 CO2 tonnes in 2020.

Towards carbon neutrality in real investments
The Seafarers’ Pension Fund has set a target of reaching carbon
neutrality in real investments (real estate, forest and infrastructure) by
the year 2030. For this purpose, a stepwise action programme has been
created to achieve the target. We will influence our asset managers
in order to improve the coverage of the responsibility analysis in the
future.

Responsible construction
The new construction project in the Harppuunakortteli area in Turku
is exceptional both in terms of its extent and technologies. Geothermal
energy and solar energy are the main energy sources. Energy self-
sufficiency and ecological solutions have been considered from the start
in the buildings’ technological and lifecycle planning. The solutions will
translate into savings in housing costs. Our new construction projects
in Tapiola, Espoo, also emphasise environmental and energy efficiency.
For the building located at Länsituulentie 10, we seek to attain the Gold
level in the international LEED environmental certification.