Responsible wood supply

The raw material from the forest is essential for replacing finite resources with renewable materials and moving towards a circular, sustainable society. But to ensure that forests can provide this in the long-term and remain healthy, we need to manage and use them responsibly.

Renewable raw materials from forests are our most important resource. We strive to source our fiber raw material as close to our production units as possible. Our European operations source almost all wood raw material from the Nordic countries and from the Baltics, whereas our North American operations mainly source from the surrounding states and Canada.

The fiber must origin from forests managed by recognized sustainable forestry practices, including careful planning with a long-term perspective. Responsibly managed forests require active forest management with high growth rates, while also considering biodiversity and social values, as well as enhanced climate benefits.

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Certifications guaranteeing sustainable forestry

Around three quarters of the wood raw material used by our Swedish operations comes from Swedish forests, while almost all the wood supplied to our US mills originates from the USA and Canada. Billerud has procedures and guidelines in place to prevent the purschase of wood from illegal logging operations, forests with high preservation values, regions experiencing serious social conflict and where harvesting leads to deforestation.

National laws and regulations for forestry are a minimum standard for Billerud. We are third-party certified to chain of custody standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), and in North America, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®).

Billerud’s due diligence system ensures that all purchases follow the procedures set out by FSC® Controlled Wood, Controlled Sources in PEFC Chain of Custody and comply with the EUTR and US Lacey Act timber legislations.

Take a closer look at our certificates and our forest management directives

Flowchart showing our control system for wood supply. If the wood comes from certified forests the product is certified and can be marked with the logo of FSC® or the PEFC logo. If the wood does not come from certified forests risk analysis and mitigating activities are made to ensure that wood does not origin from illegal harvests, harvesting damaging hgh conservation values, conflict areas, genetically modified trees or forest land converted to other land use. If the control is ok the product is handled in accordance with our chain-of-custody certification and can be marked with the logo of FSC® or the PEFC logo.

The forest and the climate

Active forestry is good for the climate

Man går med röjsåg i skogen.
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Younger trees grow more and faster than older ones and therefore bind more carbon dioxide into the biomass. The forest produces renewable climate-smart raw materials that can replace fossil and finite raw materials. Active forestry is therefore climate efficient and good for a sustainable future.

Carbon dioxide storage and emissions during the forest cycle

The principle of how forestry ecosystem takes up and releases carbon. The grey curve shows the annual growth in forest cubic metres and the green line the felling. The area shaded in green shows the carbon uptake and indicates that the forest is taking up more carbon than it releases. The area shaded in orange shows carbo release and indicates where the opposite is the case.
The principle of how forestry ecosystem takes up and releases carbon. The grey curve shows the annual growth in forest cubic meters and the green line the felling. The area shaded in green shows the carbon uptake and indicates that the forest is taking up more carbon than it releases. The area shaded in orange shows carbo release and indicates where the opposite is the case.

Biodiversity in forestry today

Billerud takes measures to protect valuable habitats, enabling naturally occurring plants and animals to continue thriving in the forest landscape. For our European wood supply, we provide forest management services for Swedish forest owners. As part of this work, Billerud carefully monitors efforts to protect, preserve and enhance biodiversity in forests. Some key actions are listed below:
  • Forest grow slowly and are harvested when the trees are around 100 years old. After harvesting, new forests are always established.
  • During felling, all the dead trees are left in place and high stumps are created to protect and replenish dead wood in the forest – an essential resource for insects, fungi and small animals.
  • Clearing and thinning operations are well-planned to ensure that the remaining trees have more space to grow.
  • To protect the ecosystems around watercourses and other sensitive biotopes, buffer zones are created and preserved where needed as a part of all such operations.
  • Deciduous trees are encouraged, supporting wildlife, and helping forests better withstand storms.
  • Individual endangered species are protected. Examples include the lady's-slipper orchid, nesting sites for northern goshawks and the creeping lady's-tresses.
  • In FSC®-certified forestry, at least 10% of the productive forest land area is set aside for conservation or social purposes.
  • Conservation burning is carried out to promote fire-dependent biodiversity.

The table below shows some of the results of the monitoring of operational indicators for biodiversity in our own forest management in Sweden for 2024.

Biodiversity indicators

Outcome 2024

Sites with acceptable buffer zones 97%
Acceptable buffer zone area 98%
Acceptable handling of sensitive habitats

98%

Acceptable sensitive habitat area

99%

Correct handling of high stumps 77%
Correct handling of green/living/preservation trees 90%
Correct handling of cultural relics 77%
Acceptable handling of individual cultural relics 89%
Correct handling of open areas 98%
Sites without rutting with a major or moderate impact 87%


What do we do with a tree?

Whenever Billerud fells a tree, we use it as effectively and intelligently as possible. Those parts of the trunk that have the broadest diameter and highest quality are delivered to the sawmill, while the thinner parts are sent to our paper and board production facilities. Bark and other bioproducts are used as fuel in the company’s plants.

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See also

Sustainability reporting

Billerud's sustainability report contains details on our sustainability work and results from the year.

Our forestry website

Learn more about how we help forest owners to manage, certify and increase the value of their forest on our forestry webpage.

Responsible supply chain

Read about our sustainability criteria when we buy raw materials, transport, products, chemicals, energy and services.