TORONTO,CANADA. - November 21, 2008 "“ Today RONA announced a new wood procurement policy. The RONA announcement will benefit all forests and forest-dependent communities and have a positive effect on the future condition of our air and fresh water supplies. The Forest Stewardship Council of Canada salutes this leadership position taken by RONA.

The newly announced RONA goal is that by the end of 2011, 90% of all the commodity dimension lumber and plywood that they stock should be traceable to certified forests.The goal further states that by the end of 2012, at least 25% of their supplies should come from FSC-certified forests.

The Forest Stewardship Council of Canada (FSC) applauds the message inherent in this new wood procurement policy. "RONA's new policy makes it clear to the world that the stewardship of our forests must be held to a higher standard than is the case without certification," said Antony Marcil, President and C.E.O. of FSC Canada. And just as clearly continued Marcil, "it confirms the positions of the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada, the National Aboriginal Forestry Association, 100's of Canadian printers, 1,000’s of their customers, including the five major Canadian banks, many highly respected environmental organizations, including Greenpeace and WWF Canada, and the governments of at least three Canadian provinces, including Ontario. They and many others hold up FSC as the standard that all certification systems should emulate."

There are over 26 million hectares, across all forest types, already FSC-certified in Canada and well over 100 million in the world. FSC certification is being pursued on another 12 million hectares in Canada everywhere from B.C. to NL so that by the end of 2009, some 25% of the licensed forests in Canada will be managed to the highest certification standard in the world.

The founding assembly of the international FSC movement was held in Toronto in October 1993 by individuals from all walks of life, including the forest industry, who all felt that they could no longer wait for the governments of the world to do more to protect the lifeblood of our existence on earth, our intact forests in particular and our forest cover in general. RONA's new wood procurement policy shows that same kind of leadership.

About FSC

The Forest Stewardship Council is recognized worldwide as the Gold standard for well-managed forests for its unique regional, multi-stakeholder approach to the development of standards. Founded in 1993, the Forest Stewardship Council is an international, non-governmental organization that has developed the only forest certification system recognized worldwide by native peoples, environmental groups, labour organizations and industry. The certification system requires consultations with all forest users and stakeholders, and guarantees the independent evaluation of forest management practices used by companies. For more information, please visit www.fsccanada.org or contact Maia Becker, Vice President, at 416 778 5568 ext. 25 or by e-mail at info@fsccanada.org.

About RONA

RONA inc. is the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, home renovation and gardening products. RONA operates a network of close to 700 corporate, franchise and affiliate stores of various sizes and formats. With over 27,000 employees working under its family of banners in every region of Canada and more than 15 million square feet of retail space, the RONA store network generates over $6.3 billion in annual retail sales. For more, please visit www.rona.ca or for information specific to this release, please contact Louise Dion, Edelman Canada, 514 844 6665 ext. 251 or by e-mail at louise.dion@edelman.com.

Forest Stewardship Council Canada

Forest Stewardship Council Canada

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international certification and labeling system that allows buyers to choose paper and wood products that come from responsibly managed forests, and verified recycled sources. Under FSC certification, forests are certified against a set of strict environmental and social standards, and fibre from certified forests is tracked all the way to the consumer through the Chain of Custody certification system. The end result is a product in the marketplace carrying the FSC 'check-tree' logo. Visit www.fsccanada.org for more.

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