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LISTENING
STUDY Question 67:
How can a purchaser verify that a paper meets an expectation
that it is the end product of a sustainably managed
harvest?
LISTENING
STUDY: Responses reference many methods of purchasers
verifying sustainability, including Sustainable Forestry
Initiative certification, Forest Stewardship Council
certification, and other labeling schemes.
Trust.
And a healthy dose of skepticism, with verification.
- Michael Snyder, Forester
Clear
and unambiguous labeling with percent content by source.
- Robert R. Bryan, Forest Ecologist, Maine Audubon
Currently,
FSC is the only widely accepted international certification
program among independent environmental advocacy groups.
- Victoria Mills, Project Manager, Corporate Partnerships,
Environmental Defense
Third
party certification to a recognized standard such as
the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is a good
way to guarantee that sustainably harvested materials
are being used. - International Paper
Only
through a third-party certification scheme that has
standards that are widely accepted by conservation organizations,
Indigenous people, and communities. Currently only the
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) system meets these
criteria. - Susan Hammond, Executive Director, Silva
Forest Foundation
While
consumers already select forest products based on species,
grade, visual characteristics, etc., they now can identify
products that provide an assurance of social and environmental
responsibility on the part of the producer. To do this,
the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) system requires
that material be tracked from the certified source,
through the Chain-of-Custody (COC). This aspect of the
system is the basis for any credible certification system
and is the link between consumer preference and responsible,
on the ground performance. - Forest
Stewardship Council, Chain-of-Custody Fact Sheet
When
you see the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) checkmark
on furniture or lumber, you know that a trustworthy
team of professionals has traced the story of that product
back to the tree. FSC stands for the Forest Stewardship
Council, an international nonprofit that sets standards
for responsible forestry and is supported by prominent
environmental groups, as well as scientists and far-sighted
business leaders. You can trust the FSC checkmark to
identify products that meet high environmental and ethical
standards and have been independently certified.
More and more concerned
consumers care about the stories behind their wood products
and are asking for FSC-certified items. To meet this
demand, more companies are seeking certification, making
it easier to spot the FSC label on wood products from
pencils to furniture. The FSC checkmark will always
help you identify lumber and products made by companies
that take care of forests, protect wildlife, and help
local communities prosper. - Co-op America 2001
Chain-of-custody
documentation. - Frank Locantore, Co-op America
If
it carries a label meeting the requirements of a forest
certification standard. - Stora Enso
Sustainably
Harvested Virgin Fiber: Recently, some United States
forests have undergone a sustainable harvest certification
process overseen by the highly regarded Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC), a non-profit set up to spread the use
of sustainable practices in forestry worldwide. In October,
1998, New Leaf manufactured the first FSC certified
recycled paper (50% FSC certified virgin fiber, 30%
post-consumer, 50% total recycled).
New Leaf Paper has a strong
commitment to helping create a market for sustainably
harvested virgin fiber. The best system out there is
the Forest Stewardship Council or FSC system. This is
a set of independent standards for sustainable forestry.
New Leaf paper launched the first coated FSC paper in
North America. - Mendelsohn
Our
goals as purchasers should always include minimizing
the non-certified virgin wood content in the paper products
we buy. This can be done by maximizing the amount of
alternative tree-free fibers and post-consumer content
in any paper products we purchase. (When you do choose
a paper with wood-based content, look for Forest Stewardship
Council certification). Generally speaking, less harmful
pulping procedures that use less water and energy to
convert fibers to paper are the added benefits of choosing
paper with a lower virgin wood content. Third-party
validation of fiber sources and pulping processes can
bolster your assurance about a paper's origin. - Imhoff
1999
The
issue of forest certification is becoming increasingly
important as consumers realize that their purchasing
decisions can help change how the world's forests are
managed. Among the various certification schemes, FSC
(Forest Stewardship Council) certification is the only
system which carries the support of environmental and
social activist groups and which attempts to balance
the forests' values through a multi-stakeholder process
that addresses environmental, social, and economic interests.
- Taiga Rescue Network 2001
Based
on market research and requests from customers, the
American Forest & Paper Association developed an on-product
labeling program. The label may be used on products
manufactured at facilities that procure raw or processed
material in compliance with the label use requirements
of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program.
These requirements first and foremost provide that if
the manufacturer owns or controls forestland, a qualified
independent third party must certify that the land is
managed in conformance with the SFI Standard. However,
the requirements also recognize that most of these manufacturers
must also purchase wood and fiber material from other
sources. The label may only be used on products containing
these materials if a qualified independent third party
has certified that the system for procuring the materials
is in conformance with the SFI Standard. - American
Forest and Paper Association
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