The company’s statement follows the release of a Greenpeace report which claims that illegal timber from Karelia, Russia was observed being transported across the Finnish border to be processed by Stora Enso and UPM (ttjonline Sept 22). The environmental group claims Karelian authorities are issuing logging licences without environmental impact assessments (EIA).
Stora Enso said all its Russian logging subsidiaries have EIA’s in place for their leaseholdings, except a recently acquired business, which is commissioning one.
To help resolve the dispute, the company has initiated a dialogue with the Karelian authorities and will meet with Greenpeace Russia to discuss questions about logging in Karelia.
“Stora Enso is of the opinion that the wood the company buys in Russia is legal,” it said. “If the conclusion from this dialogue would be that some wood is illegally harvested, Stora Enso will immediately require changes and stop the purchase of such wood.”
