Certifications & Chain of Custody
Certified Standards
As a company operating in many jurisdictions with different systems for managing forest resources, West Fraser has selected certification standards that match the forest regions where we operate. The consumers of our products also recognize these high standards in the markets where our products are sold.
Explore the certification systems we participate in, and certification documentation below.
West Fraser Certificates
Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®)
North American forest certification program verifying responsible forest management and fibre sourcing.
Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)
Global certification system promoting environmentally responsible forest management and traceable supply chains.
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC)
International organization endorsing national forest certification systems.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
International standards supporting environmental and safety management systems.
Certification marks such as FSC®, SFI® and PEFC are owned by their respective organizations and are used in accordance with their trademark guidelines. West Fraser maintains certification under applicable standards and complies with the trademark and labelling requirements associated with those certifications.
Forest Management
Independent verification that forests are managed according to sustainable forestry practices that protect biodiversity, water quality and ecosystem health.
- SFI® Forest Management Standard
- FSC® Forest Management Standard
Chain of Custody
Traceability certification that tracks certified forest products from the forest through manufacturing and distribution.
- FSC® Chain of Custody
- PEFC Chain of Custody
- SFI® Chain of Custody
Fibre Sourcing
Verification that fibre sourced from suppliers meets responsible procurement standards and avoids controversial or illegal sources.
- SFI® Fibre Sourcing Standard
Environmental Management
Environmental management systems that support continuous improvement in environmental performance.
- ISO 14001 Environmental Management
Occupational Health and Safety
Safety management systems designed to protect employee health and reduce workplace risk.
- ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety
West Fraser’s Certifications
Forest Certifications
Forest certification is a voluntary tool that demonstrates West Fraser’s wood products are sourced from sustainably managed forests.
Third-party independent auditors from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) verify that we have met high standards in key criteria for fibre sourcing and forest management. This includes the sustainable growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of habitat, wildlife, water and soil quality, plants and a wide range of other conservation goals.
West Fraser follows strict forest management requirements to maintain and renew government-granted harvesting rights in Canada. All the Canadian woodlands operations directly managed by West Fraser are independently certified to the SFI® Fiber Sourcing and Forest Management Standard.
West Fraser does not directly manage forestland in the United States and Ontario, where we purchase the logs needed for our operations. In these regions, all of our timber procurement meets SFI Fiber Sourcing Standards.
In the province of Quebec, where the provincial government has full responsibility for forest management, including reforestation, West Fraser maintains SFI Forest Management certification on behalf of the provincial government under a joint agreement of collaboration for approximately 2.6 million hectares.
Chain of Custody Certifications
West Fraser remains committed to diligent implementation of chain of custody standards, which assure customers and other interested parties that the wood fibre in our supply chain is responsibly sourced and complies with applicable laws, regulations and sustainable resource standards.
West Fraser maintains the Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) Chain of Custody of Forest and Tree Based Products – Requirements (PEFC ST 2002:2020) across all operations in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, Inverness, UK and Belgium. The PEFC is a leading global alliance of national forest certification systems. PEFC endorses the SFI®
West Fraser also maintains the SFI Chain of Custody certification across oriented strand board (OSB) operations in North America. West Fraser remains committed to the diligent implementation of these standard requirements. These chain of custody standards assure customers and other interested parties that the wood fibre in the supply chain used in the manufacturing process comes from sources that have a negligible risk of originating from controversial sources and comply with applicable laws, regulations and sustainable resource standards.
The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) is another internationally recognized forest certification standard. West Fraser’s pulp operation and medium density fibreboard (MDF) mills are registered to the FSC® Standard for Chain of Custody Certification (Trademark License Code: FSC-C109667).
Our U.K. and European operations producing OSB, particleboard and MDF also hold Chain of custody certification.
In Europe, West Fraser holds both FSC® C012553 and PEFC certification.
