How much wood from Romania did IKEA use?

We require that suppliers use Forest Stewardship Council^® (FSC^®) certified or recycled wood in our home furnishing products. All information presented here is valid for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) with a reporting period from 1 September 2021 to 31 August 2022 and, unless otherwise specified, applies to virgin wood used in IKEA home furnishing products (excluding paper). 

Romania is an important wood sourcing market for IKEA suppliers. A country rich in forestland and innovative wood processing capabilities, the sector plays an important role for the market. The forestland is also a vital source of timber and income for local communities and industry. Overall, the forestry sector employs more than 180,000 people.

Romanian forests contain some of the richest biodiversity and high conservation values within Europe. Situated within north-western Romania, the Carpathians are home to much of the continent’s remaining old growth forests, some of which were consequently accepted by UNESCO for their outstanding universal value.

Regions and types of forests

In FY22, virgin wood of Romanian origin used in IKEA products mainly came from actively managed temperate forests in the northwest, central and western regions.

Wood species

In Romania, a mix of different wood species is sourced by sub-suppliers to mainly produce engineered composite wood-based material for IKEA home furnishing products. In FY22, the top species sourced from Romania for solid wood applications were beech and oak. 

Concerns

The risk for illegal logging is higher in Romania, so we must be extra vigilant. However, we have learned over the years that working with value-driven, honest, hard-working people, wherever they are based, is rewarding and impactful - especially when working together to drive change. Sometimes this means that we work in markets facing challenges, and we will continue to do so when we see that we can help improve forest management and support the rights and needs of people who depend on forests.

Wherever our suppliers source wood from, to minimise the risk of wood entering our supply chain that does not meet our own requirements, including legal requirements, we require our suppliers to only source FSC-certified wood-based materials. Our suppliers are also required to collect evidence across the supply chain to demonstrate compliance and our experts on the ground regularly perform IWAY forestry and wood supply chain audits.

Recent developments/actions

For several decades we have worked alongside different partners in Romania to improve forest management. One example is our partnership with WWF. Within the partnership, we have been working together to help protect high conservation value forests with a particular focus on old growth forests and promoted responsible forest management and transparency in wood trade. We have also contributed to improving legislation to reflect responsible forest management principles in line with EU regulations such as Natura 2000 and the EU Timber Regulation. Read more about our work with WWF in Romania.

In addition, we financially support and participate in a dialogue platform together with the industry, environmental organisations and research communities with a purpose to develop a vision for how the forest management in the market should develop.