|
|
Forest Certification
Through the 1990's a multitude of forest certification systems evolved worldwide to provide an independent third-party assessment of forest practices. These voluntary systems offered a means for companies to demonstrate their commitment to responsible forest management. For a thourough review of the certification systems please refer to the Forest Products of Canada's publication Summary Comparison of Forest Certification Standards in Canada.
In December 2002, LP's Swan Valley operations became certified under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program. The SFI program is one of the world's most widely applied standards. The SFI program is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives and performance measures developed by foresters, conservationists and scientists, that combines the growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil and water quality. Subsequent audits have occured in 2005 and 2006.
The system shares many similarities to the CCFM Criteria and Indicator framework. The SFI system uses 13 Objectives as the guiding principles of sustainable forest management. These 13 Objectives are further subdivided into 34 Performance Measures and 101 Core Indicators which can be directly evaluated during the auditing procedure. There are two documents that describe the SFI Progam: Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Program: Overview, Governance, And Historical Information document and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® Standard (SFIS) 2005-2009 Standard.
LP Swan Valley History includes 3rd party external audits in 2002, 2005. Each year a handbook is produced detailing how LP meets the SFI Program's Objectives, Performance Measures and Indicators which includes a listing of over 350 pieces of evidence that meets these criteria. The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) also produces annual reports - here is a link to LP's Swan River FPAC report.
LP Swan Valley's SFI Handbook ( 5,757 KB) details all aspects of the SFI program includes;
- LP's Policy on the Protection of the Environment
- LP Commitment to Sustainable Forestry
- FRD Mission Statement
- SFISM Principles
- LP's Corporate & Local Policies
- FRD Structure and Org Chart
- Glossary
- Regulatory Requirements
- Objectives, Performance Measures, Indicators, and Evidence
- Procedures
- Records & Record Responsibility
- Document Control
- Audit Report
The SFI certification system requires companies to annually evaluate their forest operations and have external independent audits every three years.
For more information about SFI certification, please visit the following websites:
• www.aboutsfi.org
|
|
|
