Virgin fibre sourcing and assured wood traceability
The issues of responsible forest management and illegally logged timber are becoming increasingly important in society and among customers.
"SCA has started to enact procedures to ensure that wood and virgin fibre-based materials used in its processes are not derived from controversial sources."
Customers want products that are derived from legal and environmentally-friendly sources. Stronger measures are being discussed at both the national and international level to combat the trade in timber from controversial sources. Responsible timber-sourcing helps mitigate risks to business relationships and reduce the probability of costly legal controls.
Over the years, SCA has worked closely with the WWF and other stakeholders to develop a widely supported and viable chain-of-custody standard for FSC certification that allows customers to support responsible forest management through their choice of certified products.
Controversial sources as defined by WWF:
- illegally logged timber
- timber from forests with high conservation value
- timber from areas where human rights or traditional rights of indigenous persons are being violated
- timber from genetically modified trees
- timber from areas undergoing transformation from natural forests to plantations
SCA has started to enact procedures to ensure that wood and virgin fibre-based materials (also semiproducts such as purchased pulp and containerboard) used in its processes are not derived from controversial sources. Suppliers have been contacted but not all have responded yet. After suppliers have documented how their operational standards meet SCA requirements, SCA will evaluate them based on their responses. When necessary, SCA will audit the supplier in order to obtain complete information.