Full disagreement over FSC

A major and sensitive debate has flared up around where the real climate value of forests lies. Should forests be left standing to absorb carbon dioxide, or should they be harvested to replace fossil-based materials in the next step?

Henrik Sjölund, CEO of Holmen, goes so far in an op-ed in Dagens Nyheter as to call FSC a “brake on the green transition.”

Just days earlier, the same newspaper revealed that forestry company SCA will leave the Swedish branch of FSC on June 1. SCA’s forest holdings in Sweden account for almost one-fifth of all FSC-certified forest in the country.

Holmen’s CEO Henrik Sjölund has confirmed that Holmen is also considering doing the same. “The situation is untenable – we too are considering leaving FSC,” Sjölund writes.

In his article, Sjölund points to the core of the issue:

“Fundamentally, it’s a divide between two views: does the forest contribute most to the climate by being left untouched to store carbon, or by being actively managed and used to create products that replace fossil-based materials?”

SCA shares this position. In an email obtained by Dagens Nyheter , Jonas Mårtensson, Head of Forestry at SCA, writes that FSC’s rules ultimately threaten access to climate-friendly, renewable bio-based products on the global market.

SCA argues that current FSC standards place too much focus on “conservation and biodiversity,” and that the “critical role” forest products play in the climate transition must be acknowledged.

Pushback Against Forestry Companies

However, several voices are pushing back against the forestry companies. Bengt-Gunnar Jonsson, professor of biology at Mid Sweden University, disagrees with SCA:

“This is part of a narrative claiming that we need to use forest biomass instead of fossil fuels for the sake of the climate. But that’s exactly what it is – a narrative. The fastest effect for the climate would actually be to significantly reduce logging. There is now strong scientific understanding supporting this,” the biology professor told DN .

The Swedish Sami Association (Samernas Riksförbund) has also strongly criticized SCA, stating in a release that “SCA is choosing the easiest way to harvest as much as possible.”

SCA will remain a member of FSC International and retain certification in the Baltics and in parts of its global supply chain, according to Dagens Nyheter .

FSC is one of the most recognized environmental certifications in the forestry and paper industries. The certification aims to ensure sustainable forest management with respect to biodiversity, water quality, carbon storage, and indigenous rights. Its goal is to prevent deforestation and to protect forest ecosystems over the long term. Now, however, FSC finds itself in conflict with two of Sweden’s largest forest owners — SCA and Holmen.