The story about Stora Enso Hackathon

On December 5th and 6th, companies and research institutes from Latvia, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, and Sweden gathered in Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences in Valmiera, Latvia and online to address Stora Enso’s challenges of sustainability and circularity. The hackathon focused on developing innovative, eco-friendly solutions to combat blue stain in sawn logs and wood-damaging insects — all while ensuring water conservation. With ambitious goals to enhance water stewardship and reduce process water discharges, Stora Enso reaffirmed its commitment to transforming the forestry sector for a more sustainable future.

About Stora Enso

Stora Enso, a leader in renewable packaging, biomaterials, and wooden construction, operates across Europe, Asia, and the USA, focusing on sustainability and the circular bioeconomy. By leveraging renewable resources like wood, the company drives innovation while promoting responsible forestry and reducing carbon emissions.

In Latvia, Stora Enso runs the Launkalne Sawmill in Smiltene municipality, processing 500,000 m³ of logs annually into sawn timber, ThermoWood, granules, and biomass. Half of its production of sawn timber remains in the Baltic region, with the rest exported globally.

Accelerating the transition to a circular bioeconomy

Circularity is central to Stora Enso’s sustainability efforts, focusing on waste reduction, resource efficiency, and recycling. The company champions a circular bioeconomy through sustainable forestry, a reduced environmental footprint, and improved recycling infrastructure.

Water stewardship is a key priority, with goals to reduce process water discharges per saleable ton by 17% by 2030 (2019 baseline) and further cut total water withdrawal (2016 baseline). These efforts aim to minimize environmental impact while enhancing operational efficiency and lowering costs.

Stora Enso faces two key challenges during the summer to maintain wood quality: preventing blue stain caused by fungi and combating wood-boring insects. Blue stain damages the appearance and quality of wood, with watering logs as the primary solution – a process that accounted for over half of Launkalne Sawmill’s water usage in recent years (76% in 2023). The company is exploring environmentally friendly alternatives to reduce water consumption while preventing blue stain. Additionally, wood-boring insects increase significantly in warmer months, degrading wood quality and doubling the amount of low-grade logs. Stora Enso aims to address both issues with sustainable, eco-friendly solutions to protect wood, reduce water use, and manage pest damage effectively.

Collaborative Solutions

A total of nine companies applied to participate in the hackathon, but only six were selected, each bringing a unique perspective to solving the challenges.

• Good Bugs (Latvia): Proposed using beneficial insects and fungi that are natural enemies of bark beetles.
• State Forest Resources Agency (Ukraine): Offered an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy combining biological control methods, such as natural predators and beneficial insects, with early detection and monitoring systems.
• Woolherd (Finland): Presented Woolherd Biowool, an innovative product made from surplus wool, which enhances water efficiency in wood manufacturing processes.
• KAGON (Sweden): Offered ProLog 3, a weather-controlled irrigation system designed to optimize water use in sawmills and pulp industries.
• SLU & Silava (Latvia and Sweden): Proposed using field and sawmill studies to determine where insects primarily colonize harvested wood by monitoring log yards, both in forests and sawmills, using traps and visual inspections to assess insect activity levels and patterns.
• Crop Genius (Turkey): Introduced the Kemursgen Mapping & Monitoring System, an AI-driven solution to safeguard storage areas from wood-boring pests.

A Win-Win Outcome

For Stora Enso, the hackathon offered more than innovative solutions – it was an eye-opening experience. “Receiving the invitation to join the hackathon was a fantastic opportunity to expand our knowledge and gain fresh ideas,” said Uldis Deisons, Director of Stora Enso Wood Products at Launkalne Mill. “We’re inspired not just to implement the winning team’s idea but to explore concepts from other teams as well. The outcome exceeded our expectations. I really encourage other companies to participate in similar events.”

The hackathon concluded with KAGON AB emerging as the winner. Their ProLog 3.0 system offers a professional, weather-adapted, and demand-controlled irrigation solution for sawmills, timber terminals, and pulp industries. This cutting-edge technology, developed through years of collaboration with the sawmill and pulp sectors, ensures both environmental sustainability and effective raw material protection.

ProLog 3.0 is recognized by environmental authorities as a sustainable technology for sawmills and pulp mills, making monitoring flexible and user-friendly. “Participating in the hackathon as a supplier is a valuable experience,” said Daniel Otterbeck of KAGON AB. “It provides an opportunity to engage directly with decision-makers, explore diverse solutions, and broaden perspectives. Coming prepared with a well-tested idea is crucial to making an impact.”

Importance for the Vidzeme planning region

The Stora Enso Hackathon also underscored the pivotal role of the forest-based industry in the Vidzeme region’s economy. “This sector is the cornerstone of prosperity for our residents, industries, and SMEs,” said Laila Gercāne, Head of the Development and Projects Department in Vidzeme Planning Region. “Its growth and development are vital for the well-being and economic sustainability of our community.”

“This marks the 2nd year of implementing the BioBoosters Model Hackathons in Latvia and Vidzeme, and we are pleased to see that they are steadily gaining recognition and credibility among both the Challenge Providers and the teams that participate. The growing interest from international teams in addressing the challenges faced by the Vidzeme planning region is particularly encouraging. Notably, this year’s challenge from Stora Enso has proven to be significant to the broader wood industry, drawing considerable anticipation for its outcomes,” Inguna Kucina, an expert of the BioBoosters project in the Vidzeme planning region, revealed. “Organizing this year’s hackathons was notably smoother, thanks to the valuable experience gained from the nine successful events held last year, which delivered tangible results and greatly expanded our network of collaborators. However, each year presents a unique set of challenges for the organizers, as the conditions and dynamics shift with every new sector and problem addressed”.

By fostering collaboration and innovation, the Stora Enso Hackathon has set a benchmark for sustainable practices in forestry, offering transformative solutions that promise lasting benefits for both the industry and the environment.

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