Elisabet Salander Bjrklund, group executive vice president and president of Stora Ensos wood supply in Europe, said the company had decided to declare its intentions because many of its customers seemed to be unclear as to what our position was.

The Swedish-Finnish manufacturer had also seen the need for more than one forest certification scheme due to different conditions across regions, Bjrklund added.

Stora Enso will, to that end, support both the Pan European Forest Certification (PEFC) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification systems in Europe.

We can see a need for both, with PEFC working well for small forest owners, and FSC working for larger ones, she said.

Stora Enso Wood Supply Finland has started talks between FSC and the Finnish Forest Certification System (FFCS) to promote mutual recognition.

At its Wood Supply division in Sweden, where its forests are certified to FSC, Stora Enso has also decided to set up a wood certification process according to PEFC criteria.

Bjrklund said Stora Enso would promote forest certification in other regions where it operates, such as Russia, South America, Canada and Asia.

Story by Andy Scott