Stockholm, Sweden – Timber from irreplaceable Swedish forests is ending up in sawmills supplying wood for Ikea furniture production, reveals a new investigation from Greenpeace Nordic. Using tracking devices, investigators followed logs from eight logged forest areas in northern Sweden and documented links to manufacturers of Ikea’s popular IVAR and HEJNE shelving. Greenpeace is calling on Ikea, one of the world’s largest consumers of wood, to stop sourcing from forests that need protection, including in the company’s home country.
Frida Bengtsson, head of Greenpeace in Sweden said: “Ikea prides itself on high sustainability standards, and has a stated ambition to use its size to be a positive force for forests and halt biodiversity loss. It should go without saying that wood from forests that need protection has no place in Ikea’s products. No shelf or chair in the world is more important than saving irreplaceable forests. Ikea could make that decision today. All it takes is a clear instruction to its suppliers to stay away from these unique ecosystems.”
Several major international companies have already taken action over Swedish forestry practices. Between autumn 2025 and spring 2026, Nestlé, Zalando and L’Oréal announced plans to phase out wood fibre from SCA in their packaging supply chains.[1] The announcements followed criticism of the Swedish forestry company’s logging practices and their impacts on nature and the rights of the Indigenous Sámi people.
The new investigation from Greenpeace Nordic tracked logs to two sawmills operated by forestry company SCA. The logged areas are mapped as continuity forests – forests that have remained tree covered over a long period without ever being clear-cut. Wood from one of the sawmills, Munksund, was documented at Hedlunda, a manufacturer of Ikea’s IVAR shelving. The report also maps a supply chain from the other sawmill, Bollstabruk, through SCA to TräTeam, which manufactures HEJNE shelving. Tracking devices followed the logs from the forest areas to the sawmills. The onward links to furniture manufacturers and Ikea were established through company information, customs records, product labelling and field visits.
Karolina Carlsson, forest campaigner at Greenpeace Nordic and co-author of the investigation, said: “Our investigation reveals a clear pattern and maps how wood from some of Sweden’s last remaining continuity forests that need protection can end up in Ikea furniture that many of us have in our homes. I do not think this is something Ikea’s customers want, and it should be unacceptable to a company that puts so much effort into sustainability.”
Unlike the majority of the Swedish forest landscape which have been clear-cut and transformed for industrial production, continuity forests contain habitats that have developed over long periods of time, creating the best conditions for biodiversity, which cannot be replaced by planting new trees. The Swedish Forest Agency has concluded that logging of continuity forests needs to cease immediately if Sweden is to meet its national and international environmental objectives.[2]
Greenpeace Nordic is calling on Ikea to immediately stop sourcing wood from forests that need protection in Europe, including all of Sweden’s remaining continuity forests, and to verify that this requirement is met throughout its supply chain.
The Swedish investigation follows two reports published on 13 October 2026. The Missing Manual examines gaps in Ikea’s sourcing rules, including their failure to exclude wood from forests that need protection.[3] A field investigation in Romania documented the logging of an approximately 170-year-old natural forest before proposed strict protection could take effect, and traced timber to a depot supplying an Ikea manufacturer.[4]
ENDS
Photos and Videos available from the Greenpeace Media Library
Vanishing forests (part 2) – How Ikea drives destruction in the boreal forest
Notes:
About the Swedish investigation: Tracking devices followed logs during spring 2026 from six logged forest areas in Norrbotten to SCA’s Munksund sawmill in Piteå, and from two areas in Västernorrland to SCA’s Bollstabruk sawmill. Onward links were documented to Hedlunda in Lycksele and TräTeam in Kramfors. Based on the combined evidence, Greenpeace Nordic assesses that wood from Swedish continuity forests that need protection is highly likely to regularly enter Ikea’s furniture production.
Previous Romanian investigation: Timber was traced to a depot supplying Masifpanel, which manufactures Ikea’s BEKVÄM step stool and SNIGLAR cot.
[1] Nestlé, Zalando and L’Oréal announce plans to phase out wood fibre from SCA in their packaging supply chains
[2] Swedish Forest Agency: Biologisk mångfald i skogen, report 2026/07, revised edition (in Swedish)
[3] The Missing Manual – new investigation from Greenpeace Nordic
[4] Europe’s Vanishing Forests (Part 1) – Romanian case study by Greenpeace CEE
Contact:
Ludvig Tillman, Communications Lead, Greenpeace in Sweden, +46 70 271 64 37, [email protected]
Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected]
