Thesustainableuseofrenewableresourceshasbecomeanimportantissueworldwideinthemovetowardsalessfossil-fuel-intensivefuture.Mainstreammethodforfulfillingthisaimistoincreasetheshareofrenewableenergyandmaterialstosubstitutefossilfuelsandtobecomefullyindependentfromfossilfuelsoverthelong-term.However,theenvironmentalsustainabilityofthisendeavorhasbeenquestioned.Inaddition,economicandsocialsustainabilityissuesarealsomuchdebatedtopicsinthisparticularcontext.Forestresourcesareoftenthoughttocontributepartiallytoachievingaso-called'carbon-neutralsociety'.Inthisreview,wediscusssustainabilityissuesofusingforestbiomass.Wepresentseveralsustainabilityindicatorsforecological,economicandsocialdimensionsanddiscusstheissuesinapplyingtheminsustainabilityimpactassessments(SIAs).WealsopresentanumberoftoolsandmethodspreviouslyusedinconductingSIAs.WeapproachourstudyfromtheperspectiveoftheFinnishforestry;inaddition,variousaspectsregardingtheapplicationofSIAsinabroadercontextarealsopresented.Oneofthekeyconclusionsofthestudyisthatalthoughsufficientdataareavailabletomeasuremanyindicatorsaccurately,theimpactsmaybeverydifficulttoassess(e.g.impactofgreenhousegasesonbiopersity)forconductingaholisticSIA.Furthermore,someindicators,suchas'biopersity',aredifficulttoquantifyinthefirstplace.Therefore,amixofdifferentmethods,suchasMulti-criteriaAssessment,Life-cycleAssessmentorCost-BenefitAnalysis,aswellasdifferentapproaches(e.g.thresholdsandstrong/weaksustainability)areneededinaggregatingtheresultsoftheimpacts.SIAsareimportantinsupportingandimprovingtheacceptabilityofdecision-making,butacertaindegreeofuncertaintywillalwayshavetobetolerated.
