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Sustainable forest management (SFM) certification is a voluntary market tool that demonstrates to forest products customers, via an independent, third-party audit, that their purchases are derived from sustainably-managed forests. Third-party auditors verify the quality of on-the-ground forest practices, against defined standards relating to key indicators such as biodiversity, habitat protection, reforestation and harvest levels.
Environmental management systems for all of West Fraser’s Canadian woodlands operations have been certified to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 standard.
In addition, we have certified all of our Canadian woodlands operations to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) standard, which is a market-leading and internationally recognized sustainable forest management standard.
With our comprehensive certification program in place, customers can have confidence – based on strict verification by third-party auditors – that the products we manufacture are derived from sustainably-managed forests.
Certification Options and Status
We recognize the particular strengths and weaknesses of all valid certification programs.
As a company operating in various jurisdictions, we believe that choice is important. Companies should be able to choose from all of the recognized certification systems according to their regional circumstances.
Certification options are important because of the diversity of forest types, tenure arrangements and legal frameworks around the world.
For example, in BC, tenure is often awarded for a volume of timber, which may be dispersed across a region rather than located in a defined area. SFI standards can comprehensively address forest management under these circumstances.
In Alberta, woodlands operations are typically carried out in defined forest management areas. These circumstances are also well-suited to SFI certification.
SFI is endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), a global organization that provides a mutual recognition framework for national certification systems.
PEFC’s endorsement of SFI, along with many other national certification systems, assures customers that differing national systems are mutually recognized as guaranteeing a level of sustainable forest management according to stringent PEFC criteria.
Chain of Custody Certification
Many customers in Asia and Europe are increasingly seeking verification that products they purchase are derived from fibre that has been legally harvested from a certified sustainably-managed forest.
To meet this anticipated demand, we are utilizing a system known as “Chain of Custody,” which is designed to track the legality and the certification of our timber sources. This system, is based on the PEFC volume-credit method, which is internationally-recognized and widely-accepted.
West Fraser’s PEFC Chain of Custody system was recently introduced at all Canadian manufacturing operations.
FSC Chain of Custody and Controlled Wood
As well as the PEFC Chain of Custody certification, West Fraser’s Hinton Pulp operation was registered to the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) Standard for Chain of Custody Certification (FSC-STD-40-004 v2-0) and the Standard for Company Evaluation of FSC Controlled Wood (FSC-STD-40-005 v2-0) in June 2008. Certification under the same standards was granted in March 2009 to Slave Lake Pulp followed by certification of Quesnel River pulp in July 2009 and Cariboo Pulp and Paper in August 2009.
Wood Sourcing Policy for Hinton Pulp, Slave Lake Pulp, Quesnel River Pulp and Cariboo Pulp and Paper
Hinton Pulp, Slave Lake Pulp, Quesnel River Pulp and Cariboo Pulp and Paper will to the best of their ability, endeavor to avoid trading and sourcing wood and wood fibre from the following:
- Illegally harvested wood;
- Wood harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights;
- Wood harvested in forests where high conservation values are threatened by management activities;
- Wood harvested in forests being converted to plantations or non-forest use; and
- Wood from forests in which genetically modified trees are planted.
Fibre sources that can not be confirmed to be controlled wood will be excluded from the fibre supply chains of Hinton Pulp, Slave Lake Pulp, Quesnel River Pulp and Cariboo Pulp and Paper.
The risk assessments used to determine that fibre is not used from one of the above noted controversial sources is provided below for Hinton Pulp, Slave Lake Pulp, Quesnel River Pulp and Cariboo Pulp and Paper. Also included below is the map of ‘Canadian Ecoregions Containing Forest Landscapes’ which details the extent of the ecoregions that are used to define the fibre supply District for each risk assessment.
FSC Product Groups, Product Types and Input Material Category
Hinton Pulp produces a ‘FSC Controlled Wood’ product group comprised entirely of a Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) product type. The input material category is 100% virgin fibre comprised of the following species:
- Lodgepole Pine – Pinus contorta var. latifolia
- White Spruce – Picea glauca
- Black Spruce – Picea mariana
- Balsam Fir – Abies balsamea
Slave Lake Pulp produces a ‘FSC Controlled Wood’ product group comprised entirely of a Bleached Chemi-Thermomechanical Pulp (BCTMP) product type. The input material category is 100% virgin fibre comprised of the following species:
- Trembling Aspen – Populus tremuloides
- Balsam Poplar – Populus balsamifera
- Paper Birch – Betula papyrifera
Quesnel River Pulp produces a ‘FSC Controlled Wood’ product group comprised entirely of a Bleached Chemi-Thermomechanical Pulp (BCTMP) product type. Cariboo Pulp and Paper produces a ‘FSC Controlled Wood’ product group comprised entirely of a Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) product type. The input material category for both pulp mills is 100% virgin fibre comprised primarily of the following species:
- Lodgepole Pine – Pinus contorta var. latifolia
- White Spruce and hybrids – Picea glauca
- Engelmann Spruce and hybrids – Picea Engelmannii
- Subalpine Fir - Abies lasiocarpa
- Interior Douglas Fir – Pseudotsuga menziesii
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