Certification
Certification Demonstrating commitment
We can tell you our forests are managed sustainably and our wood products are made from sustainable sources, but it's important to back up our claim. We prove our commitment to sustainable forest management and wood fiber procurement through our forest certification, fiber-sourcing certification and chain-of-custody certification.
ENCOURAGING CERTIFICATION
Today, only 11 percent of the world's forests are certified, with the vast majority in the Northern Hemisphere. Internationally recognized forest certification standards provide customers and stakeholders with an objective, third-party determination of whether or not companies are implementing sustainable forestry practices and making products that come from legal and well-managed sources. We support the use of these standards and the use of independent, third-party audits to verify compliance.
We are the first to admit that forest certification can get complicated, quickly. In the United States and Canada, where we operate, there are multiple forest certification programs in use.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative® program is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management. It oversees the standards for the largest forest certification program in North America, with more than 300 million acres currently certified. We are a strong supporter of SFI and believe it is a consistent, science-based standard that allows us to offer a reliable supply of quality, responsibly-sourced products. One hundred percent of our timberlands are certified to the SFI® 2015-2019 Forest Management standard, our entire wood supply chain is certified to the SFI® 2015-2019 Fiber Sourcing standard and select manufacturing and export yard sites, where we have customer demand, are certified to the SFI® 2015-2019 Chain of Custody standard. We verify our conformance to these standards through a rigorous internal and third-party audit program.
The American Tree Farm System is the oldest and largest certification system for small, private landowners in the United States. These landowners, often called family forest landowners, own nearly one-third of U.S. forestlands and are a critical link in the wood fiber supply chain. We are committed to supporting these landowners and encouraging more landowners to join the American Tree Farm System. To encourage forest certification and to support more family forest owners on their journey of responsible, sustainable forest management, we have a purchasing preference for wood certified under the American Tree Farm System.
The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification is a global umbrella organization that evaluates and recognizes forest certification systems demonstrating compliance with PEFC principles. With more than 740 million acres of certified forests, PEFC endorses nearly 43 sustainable forest management standards worldwide. The SFI® Forest Management standard is recognized by PEFC. Nineteen of our manufacturing and export yard sites are dual-certified to both the PEFC 2003-2013 Chain of Custody standard as well as the SFI® Chain of Custody standard.
Forest Stewardship Council International™ sets national and regional standards for multiple independent certifiers throughout the world. FSCTM International has approximately 480 million certified acres worldwide, with 35 million acres in the United States. FSC International recognizes other FSC standards but is not recognized by PEFC.
We believe all of these certification programs have merit and encourage the acceptance of all credible certification systems. Being open to multiple certification programs is advantageous for a number of reasons:
- It encourages greater use of responsible forest management worldwide, across all types of forest ownerships.
- Different programs accommodate different situations, resources, management goals and needs of different forest managers (e.g., government, industrial, family).
- It gives manufacturers and their customers greater flexibility in meeting consumer demands.
- Competition encourages all programs to continually improve over time.
Canada
Northern United States
Southern United States
Western United States
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