Biodiversity

Biodiversity means the variety of life in genes, species, and in entire ecosystems. It is vital for the humankind. Sustainable forest management safeguards forest health and productivity, and protects biodiversity – whilst securing the long-term availability of our renewable resources. 

As trees take many years or decades to mature, long-term forestry planning is essential. Such planning involves ecological landscape plans and biodiversity assessments to identify, conserve and restore vital ecosystems.

We know the origin of all the wood we use: 100% comes from sustainable sources. We use various tools to ensure this, including forest certification and third-party traceability systems such as the Forest Stewardship Council's (FSC*) Chain of Custody/Controlled Wood scheme, the Chain of Custody/Due Diligence System of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), and the ISO 14001 environmental management standard.

We always ensure that the forests we harvest from are regenerated.

* Stora Enso Communications’ FSC® trademark license number is FSC-N001919.

Protecting biodiversity in forestry operations

Compliance with national legislation is only the starting point for our work. We actively support and implement voluntary forest conservation and restoration measures on lands owned, leased, and managed by Stora Enso, and in other areas where we purchase wood.

Forest planning involves finding ways to optimise wood production and conservation. We work together with forest owners to identify sensitive forest areas in need of protection. Our experts are trained to identify such areas and we regularly consult the authorities on these matters.

Around ¾ of the wood we use is purchased from European markets and ¼ originates from forests and tree plantations owned and managed by Stora Enso. Regardless of the origin, we ensure that all wood comes from sustainable sources where biodiversity values are secured. Stora Enso closely monitors the management of the forests and plantations from which it sources wood.

Biodiversity and tree plantations

About 11% of our wood comes from tree plantations. Stora Enso never establishes plantations in natural forests, protected areas, or water-sensitive locations. We only use land with low biodiversity value, such as former pastureland.

In Brazil, our joint operation Veracel goes beyond regeneration by conserving and restoring areas of natural Atlantic Rainforest. Since the plantations were established, Veracel has worked systematically to protect and restore local biodiversity. Approximately half of Veracel’s 213 500 hectares of land are dedicated to rainforest preservation and restoration. A total of 7 217 hectares of forest has been restored between 1994 and the end of 2018. This work is part of a regional restoration programme that helps connect the remaining areas of valuable natural habitat to each other with forest corridors that enable wildlife to move more freely from one area to another.

Sustainable forestry

We follow sustainable forestry best practices, including the protection of key biotopes and leaving additional voluntary set-aside areas, restoring endangered species’ habitats and leaving decaying wood in final felling areas.