Stora Enso's position on old-growth forests in Finnish Lapland 

Conservation issues in the small vegetation zone Forest Lapland are disputed, event though nearly half of its forests are already protected. Currently, Greenpeace is criticising Stora Enso for buying wood harvested in old-growth forests in Finnish Forest Lapland from supplier Metsähallitus.

Protecting old-growth forests
Stora Enso does not buy wood from forests which have been defined as old-growth in a national stakeholder process, and this is clearly stated in our wood procurement principles. Stora Enso is committed to protecting and restoring old-growth forests and we have supported many multi-stakeholder processes to do so in Northern Finland during the past decade.

In Forest Lapland 43% of the forests are already protected and we believe that the ecological values in this region are safeguarded. Stora Enso’s position is that we can receive wood from the areas now addressed by Greenpeace since they meet FSC Controlled Wood requirements. Both external audits in relation to third party certifications and internal audits carried out by Stora Enso Wood Supply Finland in the logging areas confirm this.

Welcoming continued dialogue
Stora Enso is always open for dialogue with stakeholders. We have recently discussed logging in Forest Lapland with Greenpeace and Metsähallitus, and we will continue this dialogue face to face.