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Weyerhaeuser's British Columbia Coastal Mill and Timberlands Operations Reach New Environmental Certification Milestones
Weyerhaeuser's British Columbia Coastal Mill and Timberlands Operations Reach New Environmental Certification Milestones
Published 05-09-02
Submitted by Weyerhaeuser Company
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) recently added two timberlands and three mills to its growing list of certified operations, moving the company closer toward its goal of having all its operations worldwide certifiable by 2005.
With the recent certification of South Island Timberlands, all of the company's forest operations in British Columbia are now certified to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard. The company also certified three of its B.C. Coastal Group sawmills, Somass, Alberni Pacific Division and New Westminster, to the ISO 14001 standard.
Stillwater Timberlands also recently certified half of the public land portion of its operation to the Canadian Standards Association's (CSA) Sustainable Forest Management system standard. Having certified almost 2.1 million hectares (5.2 million acres), Weyerhaeuser has the largest area of CSA certified forest operations in British Columbia.
The CSA standard includes performance requirements established through a community advisory process using criteria set by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. These third-party certifications validate that these forests are managed in ways that maintain forest productivity and biodiversity; protect soil and water; and offer aesthetic, recreational, cultural and wildlife benefits. The standard is approved by the Standards Council of Canada as a national standard for Canada.
"Achieving these important certifications helps us assure people that we adhere to the highest environmental standards while making products we all use everyday," said Bill Gaynor, senior vice president, Canada. "I congratulate each of the certified operations. The employees and contractors deserve full recognition for achieving these certifications. We also want to thank the members of the Stillwater community advisory committee for their time and effort in helping us shape measures that will track our commitment to sustainability."
All of these achievements followed rigorous independent audits by the Quality Management Institute, a division of the Canadian Standards Association.
More than 9.9 million hectares (24.6 million acres) of the forests Weyerhaeuser manages in Canada, the United States and New Zealand have been certified to the ISO 14001, Sustainable Forestry Initiative(SM) (SFI) and/or CSA standards.
