Sustainable forestry

Norske Skog recognises its responsibility as a wood purchaser through our global wood purchasing policy, which states that all wood used in our paper originates from sustainably managed forests. Such forests are defined as

• certified forests – we recognise the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) systems
• forests covered by a written declaration that they are managed according to national laws and regulations (when certified volumes are insufficient).

While forest managers have systems for sustainable forest management (SFM), forest product traders rely on chain of custody (CoC) systems. These traceability systems play an important role in responsible purchasing. A CoC certificate provides an assurance that claims of “certified wood” can be substantiated. CoC systems also require responsible purchasing of non-certified wood.

At Norske Skog, we encourage both SFM and CoC certification of our suppliers. These certificates are the most credible guarantees available to us for responsible purchasing of wood. Other important tools include environmental management systems such as ISO 14001, environmental clauses in purchase contracts, supplier self-declarations, and control systems for uncertified suppliers.