Mar 14, 2013. /Lesprom Network/. Finnish forest industries know the origin of imported wood and Finns import only verified legal wood. Finnish forest industries are major importers of wood raw material and wood products from Russia to the EU, as the Finnish Forest Industries Federation as the company said in a press release received by Lesprom Network.

Finnish forest industries comply with the new European Union Timber Regulation and combat illegal logging. Sustainability and legality are the cornerstones of this business. 

Finnish forest industries are actively developing the forest sector in Northwest Russia. Finnish companies have invested during the last 20 years over Euro 1 billion in developing wood procurement systems, infrastructure and further processing in Northwest Russia. Finnish forest industry companies are forerunners in tracing the origin and legality of wood raw material in Europe.

Finns started to develop wood traceability systems already in the 1990s. Apart from sustainability, legality was also in focus. The collected traceability data covers the entire procurement chain from the cutting area to the point where the wood comes into industry's possession. Traceability system ensures that procurement complies with national legislation and respects high ecological standards. 

Finnish forest industry companies choose their suppliers with care. Finns have developed technical tools for traceability, we offer training and cooperation to promote our suppliers' awareness and we continuously verify and control the systems with third parties. Furthermore, traceability systems are under constant improvement.