Tackling issues beyond forest certification in high-risk countries

In line with our Due Diligence Management System (DDMS) we mitigate risks in our wood fibre supply chains taking a risk-based approach. We start from country-risk classification based on internationally recognised indices¹. We leverage our own market knowledge and expertise, sourcing roughly 90% of our wood from domestic sources near our pulp and paper mills, we also make the best use of available forest certification schemes, taking into consideration their rigor and adaptation to a local market context.

In central and northern Europe, where we source most of our wood, risks are effectively addressed by PEFC certification, as well as by FSC^TM Controlled Wood requirements. If we source wood from high-risk countries outside of our main wood sourcing regions, then we prefer FSC^TM-certified wood to support us in addressing uncertainties such as weaker governance mechanisms or higher corruption levels.

If FSC certified wood is not available in high-risk countries, we require additional measures to ensure due diligence. In 2022 we approached a number of EU Monitoring Organisations and tested two verification programmes. We employ the services of credible third-party verification bodies as we work to further develop own in-house capacity to mitigate risks in an evolving wood fibre supply chain. This approach should help us to be more resilient to any fluctuations in global wood markets.

In high-risk countries where we have long-term wood sourcing plans, we support the development of forest certification. For example, in Bulgaria, where we have stable sourcing volumes for our local mill, we support efforts to increase the proportion of FSC-certified wood in the country. Through collaboration with WWF Bulgaria and other partners, we have enabled increase of the overall proportion of FSC-certified forests from 11% to 61% since 2014.