Time to come clean about using illegal timber from Ukraine

@everyone +1? Just WATCH & SHARE Netflix' courageous Documentary BROKEN - Episode 3 about IKEA on the matter. Tonight! 🌲🌳

I haven’t heard of this being a problem in Ukraine but I can see it possibly being true. What I know though is that in its neighbor Romania, this is a real issue. IKEA is not the only one though, I am sure. I don’t think they do it intentionally necessarily but it is still a problem. Or it was some years ago, the least.

:(

It is our responsibility to ensure the legality of all wood entering our supply chains, and for this we have a substantial control system in place. Under no circumstances does IKEA accept illegally logged wood in our products. We employ an expert team of over 45 wood supply and forestry specialists around the world, working on the ground to verify that all wood used in our products meets our critical requirements. If we receive any information pointing to irregularities in our wood supply chain, we always take immediate action to investigate. In December 2021, following allegations that improper forest management practices had occurred in Ukraine, our forestry team promptly travelled to the sites in question. After careful analysis and robust investigation of all documentation, plus meetings with many stakeholders involved in the management of the different forest areas, we can confirm that the trees were legally harvested. Following further study of the documentation, site visits and our eyewitness accounts, we can confirm that sanitary felling has been correctly applied at this time. From the trees harvested at the sites, only 4% of the felled wood was purchased by our local IKEA supplier. Following our regular ways of working, the team continued to process all information concerning wood harvested from these sites. See below for more details on the investigation*. Forests are an important natural resource all over the world that provide jobs, growth and opportunity, while at the same time play a crucial role in mitigating the climate and harbouring biodiversity. We strongly believe that with correct and responsible management, the world’s forests can be overseen and protected in a way that takes care of multiple needs. Today, IKEA suppliers source wood from approximately 50 countries. Through our long-term approach and strict wood procurement requirements, we seek to use our presence and influence to advance responsible forest management, especially in forestry high risk countries. We always seek to use our presence to create change for the better. Sometimes we face challenges, but we take our responsibility very seriously to ensure that we have embedded processes to identify and minimise risks through our robust due diligence system. IKEA has had a presence in Ukraine for close to 20 years. Currently, less than 1% of the total wood harvested in Ukraine is sourced by IKEA suppliers. Recognising that the Ukraine forestry sector faces challenges, IKEA has invested significant resources to mitigate our own wood supply chain, and beyond, during this time. We partner with different stakeholders to improve legislation and the forestry sector in general, through working with non-governmental organisations, the government and other groups. Results of this long-term partnership work include the development and implementation of a new FSC national Forest Management standard, identification and protection of approximately 64000 hectares of old growth forest, either as biosphere reserves or national parks, with more to be added in 2022, piloting of new block-chain technologies for wood supply chains and a communication platform for discussion about new forest policies in the country. We remain steadfast in our commitment to contribute to improving global responsible forest management practices beyond our own material needs. *Summary of investigation: Our regional wood supply and forestry manager and our forestry specialist for Ukraine visited all 4 forest sites in question. 3 of the sites contained some trees which had been sanitary felled and one site is to be felled in 2022. Sanitary felling is a forestry practice where diseased or damaged trees are harvested to help improve the health, productivity and also protect the remaining forest. None of the sites are classified as old-growth forests in accordance with the official forest management plans and WWF Ukraine. According to the plans, these 4 forest sites were previously harvested and then naturally regenerated. Following regulatory rules for felling trees on sloped hillsides, only sanitary felling is allowed which was the case for these four sites. Two sites were felled by selective sanitary felling, which means that some trees were not harvested to contribute to the next generation of trees. One site had received clear-cut sanitary felling, which means that within the designated area for sanitary felling all the trees were harvested and are now being regenerated naturally or by planting methods. The remaining site is assigned to be sanitary felled but has not been harvested yet. For this site, we were able to verify fungal disease and the presence of dead trees, thus confirming the need for sanitary felling. It is important to note that during 17-18th of September 2017 the forests in this part of Ukraine were severely affected by an extremely powerful windstorm, damaging much of the forest. After this type of destruction, the forests naturally became weaker and more susceptible to attacks from other pathogens, leading to a higher need for sanitary felling. It is a fact that the damage from these windstorms is still visible today as it takes a long time to restore the forest. Through our investigation, the IKEA specialist team brought together foresters and forest officers responsible for each separate site. In addition, meetings were held with Velykobychkiv Forest Enterprise, our supplier VGSM and a leading conservation NGO, WWF in Ukraine. We received extensive documentation, including logging tickets, and all necessary information stating the reason for sanitary felling on the sites in question. All forest areas had the required documents for applying sanitary felling under Ukrainian forest legislation, confirming legality. Due to the complexity of different strains of fungal and insect infections it was sometimes difficult to compare the stated reasons for sanitary felling from the phytopathologist reports and our own visual inspections, made more difficult because of the wintry conditions. We also acknowledge that is challenging to fully verify sanitary felling when the trees have already been felled. However, visual inspections of all felled sites showed damage for example from fungal and insect infections, displaying the need for sanitary felling in order to maintain the overall health of the forest. Following correct use of sanitary felling - to stop the spread of pests and fungus to the remaining forest stands - some healthy trees may sometimes also need to be harvested. This has likely occurred at one of the sites also. At IKEA, we do see an opportunity to further develop and strengthen the methodology and practice for applying sanitary felling in Ukraine and beyond, especially since a changing climate will put more pressure on forests in the future, where storms and droughts may become more frequent. Ukrainian forest legislation should encourage more frequent inspections and audits prior to sanitary felling, and related logging tickets, in an efficient manner. To ensure the forestry practice is used correctly, it is advisable that inspections are performed by relevant stakeholders, including certification schemes, in sanitary felling cases both before and after as a common practice. Finally, to help improve understanding and transparency of the practice and related activities, IKEA believes the phytopathologist reports stating the cause for sanitary felling should be made publicly available across the whole country.

Dear Sarah Chabane Thank you for getting your climate warning to level 2! We have reached out to IKEA and asked for a response. I will keep you updated on any progress! /Adam We Don't Have Time

Crap falls apart after a year..

IKEA needs to answer and get serious about their commitment! I hope this leads to some action on the issue.