5. Forestry requirements 2020

Treelist 2020

Wood is a key resource for sustainable development. The forest provides many ecosystem services and is also very important in relation to global climate change. Nordic Ecolabelling, therefor sets stringent requirements regarding forestry to ensure that the timber comes from sustainably managed forests:

  • A minimum of 70% by weight of all wood raw material must origin from forest managed according to sustainable forestry management principles that meet the requirements set out by FSC or PEFC chain of custody schemes and/or originate from recycled material.
  • Remaining wood raw material must be either controlled wood (FSC) or come from controlled sources (PEFC).
  • Nordic Ecolabelling always requires the licensee to comply with current regulations and legislation. This means that the licensee may not manufacture Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products containing wood from illegal logging.
  • Apart from the forestry requirement, Nordic Ecolabelling follows ISO 14024 and sets strict requirement based on a lifecycle perspective, including environmental performance, quality, health aspects and performance/functionality.

Traceability Certification

The traceability in the production chain must be documented with a valid FSC/PEFC Chain of Custody certificate, either from the producer of the Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products or from the supplier, depending on the product group. The two schemes together cover 98 per cent of the world’s total certified sustainable managed forest area. Nordic Ecolabelling recognizes the most recent versions of the traceability standards (FSC:2017/PEFC:2020) as satisfactory guarantee that the certified wood fully meets the requirements of the EU Timber Regulation (995/2010/EC), prohibiting marketing and sales of illegal timber in the EU.

Prohibited and restricted tree species in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products

A number of tree species are restricted or not permitted for use in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products. The list of prohibited species contains species on CITES list. The restricted tree species origin mostly from tropical forests and the reason for restriction is either that they are endangered, or they are key species in Intact Forest Landscape (IFL) areas. These species can be used in Ecolabelled products, if certain strict condition on origin, certification and traceability are met.

Trees with restricted use in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products

Tree species listed on:

a)     CITES appendices I, II and III are not permitted for use in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products.

Tree species listed on the following lists and Siberian larch may be used in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products provided that strict requirements are met:

b)      IUCN red list, categorized as critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN) and vulnerable (VU).

c)      Regnskogsfondet (Rainforest Foundation Norway) tree list

d)      Siberian larch (originated in forests outside the EU)

Nordic Ecolabelling's list of restricted tree species contains endangered species or species which originate from Intact Forest Landscape (IFL). The list is only based on wood species which have the potential to be included in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products.

Listed tree species are indicated by the scientific name and the most common trade names, which is not always adequate, as there may be more than one scientific name/trade name for the listed tree species than the list indicates. From a precautionary approach, closely related or similar tree species are included in the list.

Download the complete list of prohibited and restricted tree species 2020 (xlsx sheet) here.

Criteria for restricted tree species to be used in Nordic Swan Ecolabelled products

Tree species listed on either b), c) or d) may be used if it meets all of the following requirements:

  • the tree species does not originate from an area/region where it is IUCN red listed, categorized as CR, EN or VU.
  • the tree species does not originate from Intact Forest Landscape (IFL), defined in 2000 http://www.intactforests.org/world.map.html.
  • the tree species shall originate from FSC or PEFC certified forest/plantation and shall be covered by a valid FSC/PEFC chain of custody certificates documented/controlled as FSC or PEFC 100% through the FSC transfer method or PEFC physical separation method. Tree species grown in plantation shall in addition originate from FSC or PEFC certified forest/plantation, established before 1994.