Stora Enso does not accept wood that is harvested in violation of national or regional laws. Traceability systems are the most important tools to combat illegal logging.

There is no commonly agreed definition of illegal logging, and this can confuse discussions and estimates concerning the amounts of illegally harvested wood. Stora Enso participates in various processes that aim to clarify related concepts and support law enforcement in areas such as taxation, working conditions and transportation. It is important that international and local communities also work to combat illegal logging.

One such international scheme is the EU’s initiative on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), which stresses the need to document the origin of fibre. Stora Enso supports the verification of the origin of wood. Traceability systems verified by ISO or EMAS are seen by Stora Enso as adequate for these purposes, meaning that in such cases an additional licensing system is not necessary.

In 2004 Stora Enso detected three cases of non-compliance in forestry practices.