Furniture retailer IKEA will need to expand its timber traceability systems to comply with the European Union\u2019s incoming deforestation rules, which introduce stricter due diligence requirements than existing certification frameworks.<\/p>\n
The EU\u2019s EU Deforestation Regulation, scheduled to apply from Dec. 31, 2026, requires companies to provide geolocation data demonstrating that wood and other commodities were not sourced from land deforested after December 2020.<\/p>\n
IKEA, one of the world\u2019s largest users of wood, processed around 15 million cubic metres of timber in its 2025 financial year. The company states that more than 96% of this volume was certified under the Forest Stewardship Council or sourced from recycled material.<\/p>\n
However, certification does not in itself provide full traceability to the point of harvest. Investigations in 2024 into supply chains linked to Romania identified cases of logging in protected areas and inconsistencies in transport documentation, including for timber carrying FSC certification.<\/p>\n
Romania\u2019s national timber tracking system, introduced in 2014 and later expanded through a public data portal, has been used to identify discrepancies in wood flows, illustrating how digital traceability tools can complement certification systems.<\/p>\n
The EUDR requires companies to collect and report precise geographic coordinates for timber origins and to conduct enhanced risk assessments across supply chains. These requirements go beyond the scope of the EU Timber Regulation, which focuses on legality but does not mandate geolocation-based traceability.<\/p>\n
IKEA has indicated that adjustments to its systems will be necessary. In its sustainability reporting, the company noted that additional requirements related to geolocation data and reporting standards would require updates to its due diligence processes and internal databases.<\/p>\n
The company has worked with the World Wide Fund for Nature on forestry initiatives for more than two decades, including certification programmes and forest mapping projects.<\/p>\n
The regulation, adopted in 2023, has been delayed twice and is subject to a further simplification review in April 2026. The current implementation date is Dec. 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
In October 2025, a group of companies including Nestl\u00e9 and Olam International called on EU institutions not to reopen or delay the regulation further, citing the need for regulatory clarity. IKEA was not among the signatories.<\/p>\n
The transition toward mandatory traceability is expected to require companies to establish more detailed visibility across supply chains, from forest origin to finished product, particularly in regions where sourcing networks are complex and involve multiple intermediaries.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98379,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n