What do you mean, sustainable forestry? A new reference group aims to contribute to a scientifically sound assessment framework

BioMapp is being developed as part of Mistra Digital Forest. It is a tool that shows how different sustainability aspects, such as climate and biodiversity, are affected by forestry. A scientific reference group will now help to design the assessment criteria for the various perspectives on sustainability, and ensure that they are scientifically robust. "Given the diverse interests that exist in the forest, we need to strive towards an established arena for dialogue about methods for sustainability assessments in the Swedish forestry sector," says Eskil Mattsson, researcher at IVL. 

Ultimately, the way forests are managed contributes to the sustainability of milk packaging, building panels and other wood-based products. Politicians increasingly require companies to report the footprint of their products from a life cycle perspective, yet fully understanding how different measures in forestry affect sustainability is complex. In order to increase knowledge, researchers at IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute have been working for several years developing sustainability indicators for the impact of forestry on climate and biodiversity, but also for the social and financial aspects. 

- In the BioMapp tool we make these indicators comparable, and everyone from forestry companies to decision-makers can gain an understanding of how different forest management measures affect sustainability, says Eskil Mattsson, researcher at IVL. 

"I want to be sure that we have a solid scientific basis" 

A scientific reference group has now been formed; ten researchers with expertise in areas such as climate, biodiversity and economics will contribute scientifically based views and criticism. The aim is to develop a method that quantitatively, and in an integrated manner, assesses the sustainability of Swedish forestry.  

- It will be a kind of anchored arena for dialogue about methods; we want to know if we are on the right track and that we have a solid scientific foundation. The challenge is finding a method that is scientifically robust but still simple enough to use. Given the diverse interests that exist in the forest, we need to strive towards an established arena for dialogue about methods for sustainability assessments in the Swedish forestry sector, says Eskil Mattsson, researcher at IVL. 

Going forward, the project will study the potential future substitution effects of replacing fossil raw materials with bio-based ones. The climate benefits from carbon storage in wood products will also be included in BioMapp, in accordance with the regulations that apply to international climate reporting. 

First version of BioMapp launched

In parallel, an integration is underway between BioMapp and Heureka, Sweden's leading decision support system within forestry planning. Heureka contains the data that ultimately makes it possible to follow a product all the way from the forest to the shelf in the store. A first version of BioMapp has now been launched as a webbased solution.  

- New EU directives require companies to report their impact on biodiversity. The social values of forests, such as their contribution to well-being and recreation, have also acquired a stronger position. We are in dialogue with forestry companies within Mistra Digital Forest in order to make BioMapp useful in their strategy work, but the tool can also be used to contribute to better informed political decisions, says Eskil Mattsson and he continues:  

- We have gone from just looking at the forest as a financial asset to including several other perspectives. This is an exciting development where each aspect can coexist without exclusion. If we can integrate different values and show how they relate to each other, this can be of benefit to many.