The prospect of Finnish FSC-certified timber becoming available on export markets has moved closer with UPM deciding to apply to have its forests in Finland certified to the scheme.
The company’s application follows approval of the new Finnish FSC standard by FSC International earlier this year in a move which gives an alternative forest certification route for Finnish timber suppliers in addition to the PEFC scheme.
As well as certifying its own forests, UPM will extend its forest services portfolio to cover FSC-certification services to Finnish forest owners.
“The FSC certification of company forests increases UPM’s possibilities to supply products produced from wood that is certified according to customers’ requests,” said Kari Ylönen, UPM marketing director. “This way we can better match our offering with customers’ needs.”
UPM tested the Finnish FSC standard in its forests last autumn to assess the costs and functionality of FSC certification.
It now aims to start FSC certification of its forests located in Southern Finland and will then decide on the next steps once it has gathered some experience on the FSC certification process.
UPM aims to maximise its share of certified fibre and promote forest certification globally. The share of certified fibre in UPM products was 79% in 2010.
The redrafted Finnish FSC scheme was adjusted to Finnish conditions to take better consideration of private forest owners. Earlier, the opaque content of the standard prevented the widespread adoption of the FSC system in Finland.
Forest certification, predominantly PEFC, extends to over 95% of Finland’s commercially used forests.
