Forest certification is on the increase at Södra, with another 120,300ha of its member-owned forest land certified during 2002.
The Swedish forest industry group says certification last year was slightly ahead of target and it expects to certify a further 100,000ha in 2003. A total of 1.1 million ha of its forests are now certified to the Pan European Forest Certification (PEFC) standard and it is on track to reach a 1.4 million ha target by the end of 2005.
Södra began extensive work last autumn to ensure its major forest contractors are also PEFC-certified, in order to comply with new rules.
The group also reports rising customer interest in certified sawn timber products, citing Danish windows manufacturer Velux as an example.
Södra Skog, responsible for the group’s trading and transportation of forest raw materials, has been applying traceability certificates to its operations since 2001 to guarantee that certified consignments come from PEFC-certified forests.
When the proportion of certified raw materials delivered to sawmills exceeds 70%, Södra Timber can sell its entire production as certified, as long as the remaining 30% does not come from controversial sources.
