The world’s largest food company, Nestlé, has announced that it will stop buying virgin fiber from controversial forestry in northern Sweden due to sustainability risks regarding environmental concerns and indigenous peoples’ rights — a decision that means that they are breaking with the forest giant SCA.
For several years, SCA, Europe’s and Sweden’s largest private forest owner, has received repeated criticism from environmental organizations and Sámi communities regarding the forest giant’s large-scale felling of forests with high conservation values and the destruction of Sámi reindeer grazing lands. Nestlé has been a customer of SCA for a long time, while testimonies and reports of SCA’s systematic violations of laws and regulations and violations of the rights of indigenous peoples have become more and more numerous.
“We share Nestlé’s assessment that northern Sweden is a very risky region to buy forest products from. This is due to the fact that Swedish forest legislation and supervision are very weak, and that the Government intends to further weaken the protection of natural and continuity forests. In addition, voluntary certification schemes such as FSC and PEFC have proven to be completely incapable of guaranteeing sustainable forest management. All these weaknesses are exploited to the maximum by forest companies, not least by SCA,” says Daniel Rutschman, international campaign manager at Protect the Forest.
Nestlé’s decision to break with controversial suppliers in northern Sweden comes after several years of campaigning by Greenpeace and Protect the Forest, which have drawn attention to SCA’s unsustainable forestry. In September 2024, the two organizations, together with Sami representatives, took Nestlé and other companies on a field trip in SCA-owned forests. Shortly thereafter, Nestlé signalled publicly that it was considering reducing the amount of forest products originating from northern Sweden in its supply chain.
Following the launch of a new call by Greenpeace and Protect the Forest on October 27, 2025, Nestlé announced that it would completely cease trading in virgin fiber linked to controversial forestry in the region. An update on their website declared:
“For several years, we have been working to address risks regarding land use, biodiversity and indigenous community rights in this region. As a result of this work, and our high standards, we have reconsidered our business relationships with suppliers involved in sourcing controversies. We have decided to cease sourcing virgin fibre from suppliers involved in controversy in Northern Sweden.”
“Nestlé has taken an important step in the right direction by removing products from SCA’s unsustainable forestry from its supply chain. Now we hope that the packaging and paper giant DS Smith as well as Essity, a giant in tissue and hygiene products, will follow suit. Consumers do not want products that are linked to destroyed natural forests or violations of indigenous peoples’ rights, and Nestlé’s decision sends a clear signal that SCA’s customers are beginning to understand this ,” says Karolina Carlsson, Campaign Manager for Forests at Greenpeace.
Sweden has a high proportion of the EU’s last remaining natural and continuity forests, but does not live up to national and international environmental and climate goals linked to forests. Unprotected natural and continuity forests with nature values are essential for the conservation of biodiversity, ecosystem services and for stabilising the climate, but they are disappearing at a high rate. Every year, tens of thousands of hectares of these valuable forests are reported for clear-felling.
“The urgency of the situation cannot be underestimated. Scientists, authorities and experts estimate that if the current high rate of felling continues as it is today, the remaining natural and continuity forests outside protected areas will be gone in just a few decades. Companies that still buy products from SCA and Swedish forestry are complicit in this scandal ,” says Daniel Rutschman, international campaign manager at Protect the Forest.
Contact:
Daniel Rutschman, International Campaign Manager at Protect the Forest
daniel.rutschman@skyddaskogen.se, 076-112 88 26
Karolina Carlsson, Forest Campaign Manager at Greenpeace
karolina.carlsson@greenpeace.org, 073-986 50 96
Attached is a pdf version of the press release with references.
Read more:
Greenpeace and Protect the Forest’s call (2025): Stop the Swedish Forest SCAndal
Instagram post “Forest SCAndal” with Greta Thunberg (2025): [link]
Greenpeace in Sweden’s report (2024): Killed by Cardboard
Protect the Forest report (2024): SCA-files – 500 single mistakes
Instagram post after our field trip with Nestlé and others (2024): [link]
Greenpeace in Sweden and Reindeer Forest Report (2025): The Battle for Reindeer Forests
Official statements from Nestlé:
In October 2025, Nestlé published the following changes and additions to its website:
Nestlé’s position on sourcing paper from northern Sweden (new statement):
https://www.nestle.com/ask-nestle/sustainable-sourcing/answers/paper-virgin-fibre-northern-sweden
“We have decided to cease sourcing virgin fibre from suppliers involved in controversy in Northern Sweden.”
Nestlé – Pulp and paper purchases (amended statement underlined):
https://www.nestle.com/sustainability/responsible-sourcing/pulp-paper
“Actions in connection with biodiversity hotspots
We are taking actions, including significantly decreasing our sourcing demand from the Swedish Northern Boreal region. […] We have identified this region as a biodiversity hotspot and is expected to benefit from higher conservation efforts and social/land rights considerations.”
(Previous formulation: “We are taking actions, including exploring the decrease of our sourcing demand from the Swedish Northern Boreal region.”)
Nestlé Supply Chain Information (addendum underlined):
https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2025-10/responsible-sourcing-disclosure-pulp-paper.pdf
The changes in Nestlé’s list of suppliers of paper and pulp only point to the Obbola paper mill outside Umeå, which is owned by SCA. The list was updated on 2025-10-31, with the following additions:
“The mill associated with the company indicated with asterisks (**) is part of our supply chain mapping. In 2025, we have requested a significant decrease in volumes from this mill. This decrease is under implementation and the situation is closely monitored.”
** only concerns SCA’s paper mill in Obbola.
Attached is Nestlé’s previous list of suppliers (downloaded 2025-10-25).
More about Swedish forests:
www.swedishforestvision.org
www.moreofeverything-film.com
Forest Monitor report 2025