Traceability allows every step in a process to be tracked and verifiable. For a sawmill, this means that the raw material used must be traceable to the point of harvest.
Interest in traceability and certified products is growing steadily throughout the construction and wood products industry. One example is that several chains of builders’ merchants have decided to sell only certified timber.
“Customer demand is constantly growing. Today, about half of the timber we sell is certified. Five years ago, that figure was 36%,” says Setra’s Bioproducts and Raw material Director, Klas Flygare.
In Sweden, 66% of all productive forest land is now certified, according to the Swedish Forest Agency’s annual statistics (2020). Th is is an increase of 2% since 2019. In addition, there are certain voluntary set-asides, where non-certified forest owners undertake to be particularly protective of natural, cultural or social assets.
“All the wood purchased by Setra comes from certified suppliers and is either certified or controlled according to FSC® and PEFC ™. We’re the link between the certified forestry and the certified end product. Each year, our part of the value chain is also audited and reviewed by an independent third party. Th is involves random checks of our raw material purchases, among other things,” says Klas Flygare.
Within a few years, traceability methods in the forest industry are expected to be further refined, as increased digitalisation of information flows helps to make the details of a log’s origin even more precise.
