The company lost its certificate after a Rainforest Alliance audit uncovered six breaches of FSC rules for the 700,000-acre area. However, after the Alliance's independent appeals panel reviewed the initial findings, it decided two non-conformities could be dropped from consideration. A third was downgraded to minor status. As a result, the FSC certificate was reinstated.
Consultancy NEPCon, Swedwood's certification service provider in this instance, said that it was its first experience of the FSC complaint and appeals process, but that the episode showed it was effective.
"And it is not surprising that our first appeal case should occur in Russia," said NEPCon executive director Peter Feilberg. "There are fierce debates over what defines sustainable forestry there."
He added that news media coverage of the certifate suspension, including allegations that 600-year-old trees had been felled in Karelia and used in Ikea flatpack furniture, were wrong.
"It appears to have been a hoax," he said. "The truth is that we have not seen any evidence for the felling of trees of that age at Swedwood's Karelian concession. The non-conformities that were raised concerened other apsects of FSC certification, such as safety and environmental impact assessments."
Ikea is the biggest user of FSC-certified forest products in the retail sector worldwide, while Swedwood, which had earlier pledged to remedy all the problems with its Karelian operation, issued a statement it was committed to environmental certification under schemes such as the FSC and PEFC.
