Scientists are embarking on an effort to keep sanctioned Russian timber out of Europe by mapping the unique chemical fingerprints of trees, a process that could be used to vet corporate supply chains for other banned commodities. The project aims to bring science to bear in a fight by companies and governments to stop illegal wood from seeping into timber supply chains—complex, difficult-to-police networks of logging companies, sawmills, wood manufacturers and traders.

To start, a team led by the Washington-based nonprofit World Forest ID set its sights on sanctions the European Union placed on Russian and Belarusian timber following the invasion of Ukraine. The team analyzed thousands of wood samples of trees, then layered in advanced statistical models and artificial intelligence.  The result was a database allowing customs officials and corporate auditors to verify the origin of timber with a simple, lab-based test. 

Although work on the database is ongoing, furniture giant IKEA has already used it to vet suppliers for sanctioned timber after the war forced it to revamp its supply chain. Belgian authorities have also employed it to seize more than 260 tons of illegally shipped Russian timber.  If scaled up, the project could have broad implications for how companies source a range of other agricultural commodities, such as cotton and cacao, which have been linked to environmental and human rights abuses…

World Forest ID currently uses two tests to identify the chemical composition of wood samples. One measures the ratios of stable isotopes, which vary based on factors such as rainfall or temperature. The other test measures trace elements such as magnesium and copper, which vary based on the soils in which trees grow…The group interpolates results spatially using advanced statistical methods and machine learning. Those innovations on traditional forensic testing methods allow World Forest ID to predict the chemical signatures of trees harvested in areas where the group didn’t take samples.

Excerpts from Dylan Tokar, Keeping Sanctioned Russian Timber Out of the EU Is Tricky. This Nonprofit Has a Solution, WSJ, June 10, 2024