Displaying items by tag: forest

Domtar Corporation (NYSE/TSX: UFS) announced today that Mr. Daniel Buron, Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, will be presenting at the Goldman Sachs Montreal Paper and Forest Products Investor Event in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. (ET). Financial analysts, media and other interested individuals are invited to listen to the live webcast on the Domtar corporate website at www.domtar.com

The Policy and Standards Committee approved the report submitted by the Policy and Standards Unit (PSU). The standard is approved as of 24th February 2010.

The standard will come into effect for all forest management certification in Sweden from 1st June 2010.  The intervening 3 month period is in place for Certification Bodies to adapt their systems to the revised standard.  The Certification Bodies are required to inform all of their clients in Sweden that they will be assessed against the revised standard from 1st June 2010.

Certificate holders and new applicants may opt to be audited against the revised standard from the approval date, but all assessments shall be against the revised standard from 1st June 2010.

This revised standard replaces what was the first national standard to be approved in the FSC system back in 1998.  Bringing the standard into line with current FSC requirements has been a major task for FSC Sweden.  Much criticism has been leveled at the old Swedish standard, which was written prior to the introduction of Principle 9 and the concept of High Conservation Value Forest.

The revised standard is now in compliance with current FSC requirements, and is a major achievement for FSC Sweden.  Indicators for Small and Low Intensity Managed Forest have also been developed and are currently being assessed by the FSC Policy and Standards Unit.

The standard is a public document, available on request from the FSC Working Group in Sweden or the FSC Policy and Standards Unit.

For further information, please contact Richard Robertson by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Stakeholders from around the world are encouraged to comment on the revised Italian forest certification system. The global public consultation, which will last until 52010, is an important part of the assessment process of national systems seeking recognition by PEFC at international level. The current endorsement will expire on 18th October 2010.

"The revised Italian forest management standard is the product of the collaborative efforts of more the more than thirty specialists from all sectors of society that participated in the standard setting forum," said Antonio Brunori, Secretary General of PEFC Italy. "The year-long process, which also benefited from a public consultation at national level, resulted in an increase of prescriptive elements and additional normative indicators that forest managers are required to comply with in order to achieve PEFC certification."

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The first ever PEFC sustainable forest management certificate in Russia has been issued to Metsäliitto Podporozhye, PEFC announced today. The certificate was awarded after independent review and field auditing verified the company's sustainable management of their forest area in Leningrad Province northeast of St. Petersburg.

"This marks a great achievement for PEFC," commented Ben Gunneberg, Secretary General of Geneva-based PEFC International. "PEFC is the world's largest forest certification system, and increasing the area of PEFC certified forests is essential to promote sustainable management practices globally. This certificate marks the start of that growth in Russia".

"We consider PEFC certification is an excellent tool for sustainable forest management in Russia. It offers a real solution for companies wishing to demonstrate best practice in the forest industry", said Mikhail Kobelkov, Vice-Chairman of the Russian National Council of Forestry Certification, which manages the PEFC-endorsed forest certification system in Russia.

The Russian Federation contains an estimated 800 million hectares of forest, the equivalent to over 20 % of the world's forest area and more than Canada and Brazil combined.

While major forest policy reforms are now ongoing throughout Russia to safeguard the long-term management of the resource, export markets in Europe and Asia continue to demand large amounts of Russian wood and wood products. Requiring wood and wood products to be certified is one of the most credible ways to encourage sustainability in the industry.

Forest certification is a market-based, voluntary tool designed to recognize and promote sustainable forest management practices through independent, third-party verification against standards.

"The awarding of this very first forest management certificate today demonstrates to forest managers in Russia that achieving PEFC certification is possible. Furthermore, it signals to key markets in Russia, Europe and Asia, that PEFC certified material is available from Russia and now is the time to demand it," said Gunneberg.

The forest and paper sector is changing. It's a matter of survival. Take the next step towards transforming into a more profitable business by joining PricewaterhouseCoopers at our 23rd Annual Global Forest & Paper Industry Conference. Find out about emerging trends, new innovations, and other ways forest products companies are transforming to add value for customers and improve their bottom line.

New revenue streams, strategic partnerships, new technology or simply making the most with what you already have. . . it's on the agenda.

link to Conference media

May 11, 2010
Vancouver, Canada

For more info contact:
Erica McEvoy
Marketing
Tel: +61 (03) 8603 4827

Certified Brazil Trade Fair, a biannual event on FSC certified forest products since 2004, will now also include certified agricultural products. It will bring together producers and potential clients of products that are environmentally appropriate and socially beneficial.

Certification is a market tool that assures the consumer that the origin of the product he buys, either from the forest or the farm, is known and that it meets strict international standards. In order to obtain certification, forest and agricultural enterprises must undergo social and environmental evaluations that confirm that they are managed in a way that favor environmental conservation and social benefits.

The trade fair will focus on products certified according to two types of certification schemes: the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which develops international standards for responsable forest management and the SAN (Sustainable Agriculture Network), whose Rainforest Alliance Certified label ensures responsible agricultural practices.

During this three day event, participants will be able to take part in the Business Forum, a space designed to host discussions on environmental issues related to the agricultural and forest sectors.

Time and place
April 07-09 2010 São Paulo, SP - Brazil
General Visitors Hours: 01:00 pm to 08:00 pm

CEO Perspectives in the Forest, paper & packaging industry worldwide - 2010 Edition

PricewaterhouseCoopers recently conducted its third series of in-depth interviews with CEOs in the Forest, Paper and Packaging (FPP) industry. We interviewed 33 executives from leading companies around the world. The objective, as with the first two sets of interviews in 2006 and 2007, was to learn more about executives' opinions of the state of the industry, the key issues it faces and its future direction.

Our last edition of CEO Perspectives grappled with major changes in the world in which the FPP industry operates. The years 2008 and 2009 saw global credit markets, and then the world economy, go into freefall. The crisis exacerbated existing declines in some markets and precipitated steep drops in demand in many others, particularly in mature markets.

It has also highlighted the split between mature and emerging markets; China and India experienced much shorter and less severe shocks than did Western Europe and North America. So far, the FPP industry has seen relatively few business failures, even in struggling markets – but very few companies can point to real successes either. So how will the industry reshape itself to meet future challenges? Our study takes a look at the types of transformation needed in the industry, and elaborates on four key trends in the following discussion.

To read the full article hit the banner.

Södra Odlarna, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Södra, has started a project to develop a mechanical method for protecting plants against pine weevil infestation. The objective is chemical-free forest regeneration.

The Södra Odlarna board recently resolved to develop a proprietary - and non-toxic - method of protecting forest plants against pine weevil infestation. The project will initially run for two years and Andreas Alvehus has been employed as full-time project leader. Andreas was previously head of forest conservation in Tingsryd, Småland. The project is being jointly run by Södra Odlarna and Södra Skog.

"We are working on a broad and open-ended basis and are looking at the effect of the protection itself as well as the entire chain from seedling to planting and degradability of the protection device. Two experienced pine-weevil researchers are involved in the project and we are working with the university and specialists in the fields of material, biology and mechanisation," says Andreas Alvehus.
"Putting such an effort into mechanical protection is natural given Södra's FSC membership and our ambition to run sustainable and ecofriendly forestry," says Göran Örlander, Södra's chief forester.

The project will be evaluated in two years, and plans made to scale it up. If the project succeeds, it will be at least three or four years before a fully-functional and cost-effective mechanical plant protection device has been field-tested and can be made available for Södra members.

Pine weevil infestation is by far the biggest cause of damage to forest plants in southern Sweden, causing substantial damage to planted seedlings each year. An average of 80 per cent of plants not protected against the pine weevil die. Some 90 per cent of plants sold in Götaland are currently treated with chemical insecticide.

For further information, please contact:
Andreas Alvehus, Project manager mechanical plant protection, +46 346 29605
Per Braconier, Director of communications, +46 70 534 5166
Göran Örlander, Chief forester, +46 470 89362