The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) points out that geolocation data will reveal what voluntary forest certification schemes have always missed
FSC certification will not be sufficient to ensure that IKEA, the third-largest consumer of timber in the world, complies with the forthcoming European Union deforestation rules. In the view of the Environmental Investigation Agency, an independent environmental watchdog, the furniture manufacturing giant needs to fundamentally rethink how the origin of its timber is traced back to the places where it is harvested.
Rick Jacobsen, EIA's commodities policy lead, warns that voluntary certification will not be enough to meet all the requirements of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR): “Fundamentally, we need laws like the EUDR because voluntary forest certification schemes have not worked,” he told the US site Mongabay. “They have failed to get enough companies in the sector, or indeed any significant share of companies in the sector, to move to more environmentally sound practices.
This comes at a time when IKEA — one of the founders of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the world's largest forest and supply chain certification organisation — processed 15 million cubic metres of timber last year. Of that, more than 96.5% was FSC certified or recycled. Jacobsen judges that voluntary certification is not the same thing as “direct evidence of where the timber came from...”
In early 2024, an investigation into IKEA's timber supply chain in Romania uncovered illegal deforestation in protected areas and fraud in timber transport documentation. FSC certified timber was involved in both cases. Significantly, this came to light thanks to the timber origin transparency portal set up by the Romanian government in 2016. Jacobsen stresses that IKEA should be urging every government in its timber sourcing regions to set up precisely such a system, rather than waiting for Brussels to force them to do so.
The EU Deforestation Regulation, whose implementation is currently postponed until 31 December 2026, requires companies to submit geolocation data proving that timber has not been sourced from land deforested after December 2020. In January 2026, an EIA investigation found evidence that illegally harvested tropical timber is still being imported into several European Union member states. The problem, according to Jacobsen, would have been far easier to tackle had the Deforestation Regulation already been in force. The situation illustrates why global timber supply chains remain so poorly prepared for the measures to come.
The Deforestation Regulation remains a subject of debate
A further review (simplification) of the regulation is planned for April, part of Brussels' familiar practice of rewriting rules that have not given businesses a clear picture of the actual costs of compliance. Last October, 29 companies, among them Nestlé and the agricultural commodities trading firm Olam International, sent a letter to Brussels calling for no further delays or amendments, warning that changes would create “considerable uncertainty and disengagement of stakeholders”. It should be noted that IKEA did not sign this letter.
“Changes to the EUDR requirements could mean additional time and investment needed to adapt our business,” an IKEA representative said, declining to give further details ahead of the review of the regulation due in April. Tim Cronin, global forests development lead at WWF, whose organisation has worked with IKEA since 2002, stresses that the regulation's traceability requirements are worth taking on board: “The transparency and due diligence process required by the EUDR is a great business opportunity to manage risks and increase resilience through a better understanding of the supply chain.”
Resilient forests make for resilient timber supply chains
Andrea Carta, legal strategy specialist at Greenpeace Europe, is not “tolerant” in her remarks, arguing that Brussels has gone astray in asking companies to innovate and compete while removing the legal clarity needed to justify those investments. “It rewards irresponsible companies and removes any incentive to innovate and improve business practices,” she says. Rick Jacobsen, for his part, puts it simply: “IKEA can do more!”
*IKEA is an international conglomerate of companies based in the Netherlands and founded in Sweden. It is the world's largest furniture retailer, specialising in the design and sale of home furnishing products.
The company is widely known for its so-called self-assembly furniture. Most of its products are sold disassembled (flat-pack), which cuts transport costs and allows for lower prices. IKEA is marked by a distinctive Scandinavian design. Its range is dominated by a modern, minimalist and functional style, covering furniture, kitchenware and home decor alike. The company's visual identity — blue and yellow — is a nod to the Swedish flag, underlining its origins. IKEA stores are famous for their showroom layouts, where products are presented in fully furnished rooms, and for their restaurants serving traditional Swedish food. The company was founded in 1943 by the Swede Ingvar Kamprad.
**The Environmental Investigation Agency is an independent campaigning organisation founded in 1984 in the United Kingdom. It is known for its bold undercover investigations exposing environmental criminals and holding them to account. The organisation campaigns against the ivory trade and protects endangered species such as tigers and pangolins. It investigates illegal timber harvesting and trade, and exposes corruption in the sector. It fights plastic pollution and advocates for the protection of whales and dolphins. It works towards phasing out the use of greenhouse gases (such as HFCs) in cooling systems.There are two separate legal entities: EIA UK (London) and EIA US (Washington). The organisation played a decisive role in securing the international ivory trade ban in 1989