As a part of its global campaign to protect Northern Forests, Greenpeace has published a report entitled “How Europe’s Tissue Giant Is Wiping Away The Boreal” that calls for greater protection of boreal forests. Among other companies, the report briefly mentions Stora Enso as a purchaser of wood from the Finnish state forest enterprise Metsähallitus, which Greenpeace accuses of logging old-growth forests in the Kainuu region of Northeast Finland.
Stora Enso is committed to forest certification, wood traceability and open stakeholder dialogues and we always ensure that all the wood we use comes from sustainably managed sources. Our Wood and Fibre Sourcing, and Land Management policy ensures that Stora Enso does not purchase wood from protected areas, forests designated for conservation, or forests where High Conservation Values are threatened by logging. Furthermore, we do not buy wood or fibre from Intact Forest Landscape areas that have been designated for conservation through local stakeholder dialogue processes. We have various mechanisms in place to ensure that our suppliers comply with our policy, such as third-party-certified traceability systems.
As previously communicated, Stora Enso does not receive any roundwood from the disputed areas in Kainuu until the situation has been resolved through dialogue.
We believe that the most sustainable way to protect Intact Forest Landscapes and other High Conservation Values is through the national and regional multi-stakeholder processes that have developed these concepts. We feel it is crucial for all stakeholders to participate in these dialogues.
At Stora Enso we believe that safeguarding forest biodiversity is a cornerstone of a successful bioeconomy. We are open to discussing these issues further with NGOs, customers and any interested stakeholders.
