Top Paper Producer Takes the Lead in Sustainable Forestry
Papermaker Domtar has agreed to certify all of its forests and mills to Forest Stewardship Council standards, subject to the successful completion of two pilot projects.
Papermaker Domtar and World Wildlife Fund Canada have signed an agreement specifying that the paper maker certify all of its forests and mills to Forest Stewardship Council standards, subject to the successful completion of two pilot projects.
"Environmentally conscious consumers demand a choice. They want paper that includes virgin fiber content, but they also want reassurance that this content comes from well-managed, sustainable forests. These same concerns for forest management also apply to forest products," said Raymond Royer, president and CEO of Domtar. "By adhering to a standard that respects the values of all forest users, including the First Nations, we believe that the public, governments, customers and investors will also see it as a serious commitment to ensure the sustainability of our operations," added Mr. Royer.
"This is an important day for forest conservation in Canada. Domtar's commitment to this agreement is significant. It has the potential to more than double the amount of hectares certified under the FSC system in North America, and provides a tremendous boost to WWF's efforts to ensure the long-term future of the Canadian boreal forest," said Monte Hummel, president of World Wildlife Fund Canada.
Domtar hopes that by certifying all its forest operations and mills to FSC standards, the company will be in a position to significantly expand its existing line of FSC-certified products.
Domtar will also be the only paper and forest products company in North America to apply FSC certification not only to its forests but to its manufacturing and distribution activities as well.
Founded in 1993, the Forest Stewardship Council has developed the only forest certification system that is widely recognized by environmental and social organizations. The certification system seeks to ensure an independent evaluation of a forest company's practices, according to rigorous, publicly available forest management standards. FSC is the only system that verifies claims from the forest all the way to the final product, a process known as "chain-of-custody" certification.
Domtar has a long-standing involvement with FSC. After completion of FSC standards for the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence forest, Domtar certified its private forests in southern Ontario and upper New York State, and subsequently developed two FSC-certified papers: Domtar Cornwall and Domtar Opaque-Plainfield. Domtar's mills and some of its forestlands were certified by the SmartWood program of the Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit organization that has certified more than 12 million hectares of forests worldwide.
"Environmentally conscious consumers demand a choice. They want paper that includes virgin fiber content, but they also want reassurance that this content comes from well-managed, sustainable forests. These same concerns for forest management also apply to forest products," said Raymond Royer, president and CEO of Domtar. "By adhering to a standard that respects the values of all forest users, including the First Nations, we believe that the public, governments, customers and investors will also see it as a serious commitment to ensure the sustainability of our operations," added Mr. Royer.
"This is an important day for forest conservation in Canada. Domtar's commitment to this agreement is significant. It has the potential to more than double the amount of hectares certified under the FSC system in North America, and provides a tremendous boost to WWF's efforts to ensure the long-term future of the Canadian boreal forest," said Monte Hummel, president of World Wildlife Fund Canada.
Domtar hopes that by certifying all its forest operations and mills to FSC standards, the company will be in a position to significantly expand its existing line of FSC-certified products.
Domtar will also be the only paper and forest products company in North America to apply FSC certification not only to its forests but to its manufacturing and distribution activities as well.
Founded in 1993, the Forest Stewardship Council has developed the only forest certification system that is widely recognized by environmental and social organizations. The certification system seeks to ensure an independent evaluation of a forest company's practices, according to rigorous, publicly available forest management standards. FSC is the only system that verifies claims from the forest all the way to the final product, a process known as "chain-of-custody" certification.
Domtar has a long-standing involvement with FSC. After completion of FSC standards for the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence forest, Domtar certified its private forests in southern Ontario and upper New York State, and subsequently developed two FSC-certified papers: Domtar Cornwall and Domtar Opaque-Plainfield. Domtar's mills and some of its forestlands were certified by the SmartWood program of the Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit organization that has certified more than 12 million hectares of forests worldwide.
