Forest certifications
provide assurance of environmental, social, and economic sustainability of wood
Forest certification systems set the criteria for sustainable forest management, such as enhancing ecosystems and health of forests, providing social benefits and safe working conditions, and ensuring economic viability. Certified forests undergo regular third-party audits to ensure they meet the certification standards.
For Stora Enso, certifications form a crucial part of our sustainable forest management. 99% of lands owned and managed by us are covered by certification: this means our own forests in Sweden; Tornator’s (41% Stora Enso ownership) forests in Finland, Estonia, and Romania; as well as our joint-venture plantations in South America.
In addition to these forests, Stora Enso procures wood from other forest owners in Finland, Sweden, and the Baltics as well as Central Europe. Forest owners can choose to have their forests certified, and we encourage them to do so to support the biodiversity and health of forests. Demand for certified wood is increasing continuously, which makes certification a good choice for forest owners to ensure demand and better price for their wood in addition to the environmental benefits.
Overall, 81% of all our wood supply is certified and all our wood is from sustainably managed forests and tree plantations.
99%
certification coverage
on our owned & managed land
81%
certification coverage
of all wood supply
Certification systems set minimum criteria
Forest certification is developed transparently and in cooperation with various stakeholder groups, such as forest owners, trade unions, NGOs, the academia, and other companies along the value chain. The most common forest certifications systems globally are PEFC and FSC®. The systems have many similarities with some focus differences, and both include a global generic standard as well as national standards.PEFC
Programme for the Endorsement
of Forest Certification
FSC
Forest Stewardship
Council1
All our wood is either certified or controlled.
1 Stora Enso Communications’ FSC® trademark license number is FSC-N001919
Our actions complement certification requirements
Our own company ambitions, guidelines, and sustainability programmes support legislation and certification requirements with complementary actions to enhance nature values and ensure we have a positive impact.
Read more about the focus areas and targets of our biodiversity actions programmes.
For example:
- We have set the goal to reach a net positive impact on biodiversity within our own forests and plantations.
- We work to leverage latest technologies for promoting habitats and selected species.
- Own forestland in Sweden offers an excellent platform for piloting alternative forest management methods.
- We offer forest owners a biodiversity premium if they do more actions for biodiversity in harvesting than required by certifications.
- We are involved in diverse restoration projects for waters, wetlands, and other habitats.
- Some of our biodiversity actions in harvesting as well as general biodiversity management include targets that are more ambitious than those set by certifications.
