4
5
Texts: Elina Hovinen, Silja Eisto and Metsä Board Photos: Metsä Group and Jussi Hellsten
AI GENERATES IDEAS FOR PACKAGING DESIGN
Metsä Board is exploring ways to use artificial intel- ligence in packaging design. Metsä Board’s pack- aging design team has been testing the use of AI in packaging design, and Northern Lights Oat Meal is an example. “We established an experimental brand and used AI to create a new oat-based granola product for it. We wanted to brand a product that represented Nordic food and clean nature,” says Ilkka Harju , Packaging Services Director at Metsä Board. AI can generate various, sometimes striking, ideas faster than humans, and prototypes can be quickly produced with digital printing. This is how AI speeds up the design process. To obtain useful ideas from AI, you need to know how to use it. Designers must understand the strengths and weaknesses of the AI solutions they use. “I’ve used various AI engines for design and have integrated them so that they interact. You must formulate explicit, clear and descriptive prompts for AI to get the desired result,” says Vesa Nurminen , Art and Creative Director of Futupack. The graphic designer refines the AI-generated alternatives to create the desired visual object, ensuring it meets the necessary requirements. Additionally, knowledge of materials remains an area where human expertise is essential.
Metsä Group is funding nature projects
Metsä Group is funding biodiversity management and restoration projects to a total of 600,000 euros in 2024. This year, 26 new projects were approved for the funding programme for nature projects. With this year’s selections, the projects’ themes are increasingly diverse, and their geographical cov- erage is expanding. The themes of the funded projects include the condition of waterbodies, the restoration of flowing waters, the removal of invasive species and pred- ators, pollinator services, the management of traditional habitats, and the restoration of bird wetlands. “Our goal is to mainstream the operating culture in which Finnish nature is the force that unites us,” says Metsä Group’s leading nature expert Timo Lehesvirta . The expansion of the funding base for nature projects was discussed at the beginning of June at an event organised by Metsä Group and the Asso- ciation for the Management and Protection of Archipelago Nature. The ex- perience and knowledge shared at the event create a basis for the develop- ment of a more diverse and stable funding base than in previous projects that strengthen the state of nature. “We are a small but active association that promotes and supports nation- ally set nature goals through voluntary activities. We welcome the fact that the private sector is getting involved in financing the wellbeing of Finnish nature,” says Tommy Arfman from the Association for the Management and Protection of the Archipelago Nature in Finland. “Metsä Group’s funding channel is an example and a welcome opening for the environmental work of the private and public sector to play towards the same goal. The expansion of the funding base in the direction of compa- nies is a welcome message. There is potential in the projects selected now,” commented Pekka Pesonen , head of the office of the Ministry of Agricul- ture and Forestry in Finland and chairman of the expert council.
WELCOME TO THE RENEWED PRO NEMUS
Metsä Group’s Pro Nemus visi- tor centre in Äänekoski offers a comprehensive presentation of the company’s products, technology and competence. In connection with the visit, visitors can learn more about the Äänekoski integrated mill site. “Pro Nemus presents Metsä Group’s products and technology extensively. We hope to see cus- tomers, partners and forest owners at the centre, as seeing things in person often prompts insights,” says Ketsia Anttila , Director of Communications, Brand and Mar- keting at Metsä Group. The Pro Nemus exhibition was renewed in the summer of 2024. The installation presenting Metsä
Group history was replaced with an elegant and interactive glass book. Meanwhile, the throne uphol- stered in the Kuura ® textile fibre for the Pulp and Beyond fair was placed in the exhibition space’s lobby. The Kuura ® throne was a huge success at the fair thanks to its photogenic appeal. “It was a surprise to us that the nest made of Kuura ® textile fibre became such a hit at the fair, so we wanted it to have another life at Pro Nemus.” The throne has also been eagerly photographed at Pro Nemus. Interested? Your Metsä Board contact person will be happy to arrange a visit for you.
Kuura ® throne has been photographed extensively.
Powered by FlippingBook