Forest Certification - Main Standards

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Main Standards

Canadian Standards Association · Forest Stewardship Council ·
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative · International Organization for Standardization

Since we supply products in nearly 100 countries, it is important that the certification system selected be recognized the world over.

That is why Abitibi-Consolidated strongly supports the need for different credible SFM standards, adapted to the regional/national level, as well as the need to have international recognition of these systems. This process, now being discussed in North America and internationally, is aimed at clearly and openly establishing a comparison and an equivalency (when applicable) between the various systems. It can also prevent non-tariff barriers associated with prerequisites of specific certification systems.

Over a dozen countries, including Canada and United States, are involved in promoting a mutual recognition framework through an initiative undertaken by the International Forest Industry Roundtable (IFIR). The framework includes criteria to assess the credibility of certification standards. The proposed IFIR Mutual Recognition Framework incorporates the variety of cultures, ecosystems, ownership arrangements, and social systems in a vital network of Sustainable Forest Management programs. The proposed Framework is beneficial because it is open to all credible forest certification systems that meet high standards of performance while balancing the ecological, economic and social aspects of sustainable forest management.

The four main certification standards used in North America:

Canadian Standards Association

Canada's National Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Standard is based on international criteria for sustainable forest management and Canada's own national SFM criteria as defined by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. Approved in 1996, the CSA standard has a stringent public participation requirement, and companies are required to respect national criteria for SFM at the local level as well as address any additional local values. The CSA has recently been through the revision planned every five years and launched an optional chain-of-custody and labeling program in July 2001.

Forest Stewardship Council

The Forest Stewardship Council is an international body that accredits certification organizations and endorses national or regional standards based on ten overarching forest management principles and 56 criteria. The goal of FSC is to promote environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world's forests. Founded in 1993, by a diverse group of representatives from environmental organizations, the timber trade, forestry professionals, Aboriginal peoples, community forestry organizations and certifiers, the FSC places a strong emphasis on social and public participation elements. FSC standards are performance-based standards, developed by stakeholder groups.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative was developed by The American Forest and Paper Association for its membership, and is now available for use by any interested party through a licensing arrangement. This standard was initially developed for application in the U.S. where the vast majority of lands are privately owned and therefore, there is somewhat less of an emphasis on public participation. The SFI program is a comprehensive systems and performance-based standard that integrates the perpetual regeneration and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, soil and water quality, biodiversity, and ecologically significant sights. Over the past three years, AF&PA has strengthened the credibility of the standard by introducing a third-party certification process and an independent Sustainable Forestry Board with broad representation of interests to govern SFI.

International Organization for Standardization

The ISO 14001 standard is the most widely recognized standard for environmental management systems (EMS) in the world. Established in 1994, ISO 14001 uses a management system approach for setting measurable goals and objectives, and demonstrating environmental achievements through a cycle of planning, implementation and measurement. While not specific to forestry, ISO 14001 requires companies to have the policies and processes in place to meet or exceed all environmental regulations and to continually improve environmental performance in other areas of their operations where significant environmental aspects have been identified. In Canada, most companies using ISO 14001 for forestry are incorporating sustainable forestry criteria consistent with those set out by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, which are nationally and internationally recognized.