Third-Party Certification - Assurance of
Sustainable Forest Management
In June 2007, British Columbia had 44.6 million hectares (more than 110 million
acres) certified to at least one of three third-party certification programs –
the Canadian Standards Association’s Sustainable Forest Management Standard,
the Sustainable Forestry Initiative or the Forest Stewardship Council. It has more
certified land than any other jurisdiction in the world, with the exception of all
of Canada.
The amount of land certified in British Columbia has grown rapidly since May 1999
when 210,000 hectares (519,000 acres) on northern Vancouver Island were certified.
Find certified products from British Columbia and identify our certified forests by using the Certification Search Tool.
Basics of Certification
Third-party forest certification is a voluntary process that began in the 1990s
in response to concerns about logging practices and forest conversion, especially
in tropical regions. Today, there are more than 50 voluntary forest certification
standards worldwide, reflecting the diversity of forest types, ecosystems and tenures.
Certification programs differ but all share the objective of improving forest management
by balancing economic, social, silvicultural and environmental goals. The Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification
schemes (PEFC) are internationally recognized agencies that endorse national and
regional forest certification standards. FSC has endorsed 23 national and regional
programs – with British Columbia represented as one of four Canadian regional
standards. PEFC has endorsed 23 independent national forest certification programs,
including two used in Canada, the Canadian Standards Association’s Sustainable
Forest Management Standard and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.
Forest certification is often complemented with a chain-of-custody certification
that follows a specific product from its certified forest source through processing
and marketing channels to the end user. The BC Market Outreach Network’s BC
Certification Search Tool allows customers to learn more about certified lands in
British Columbia and identify suppliers in the province who can offer chain-of-custody
certificates.
Many organizations with forest management responsibilities in British Columbia have
ISO 14001 EMS certification as well as third-party forest certification. While not
a forestry-specific standard, ISO provides an excellent environmental management
system foundation for implementing forestry standards and for tracking performance
against set targets and objectives.
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Certification Standards Used in British Columbia
The three standards used in British Columbia – the Canadian Standards Association’s
Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CSA), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative
(SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – all depend on independent,
third-party audits where auditors measure the planning, procedures, systems and
performance of on-the-ground forest operations against the predetermined standard.
A forest operation that is found to be in conformance with the standard is issued
a certificate.
The three programs all provide for the basics by ensuring that harvested areas are
reforested, that laws are obeyed and that there is no unauthorized or illegal logging.
They all go beyond this by ensuring the conservation of biological diversity, the
maintenance of wildlife habitat, soils and water resources, and the sustainability
of timber harvesting, all of which promote sustainable forest management.
All require annual surveillance audits and public disclosure of findings through
audit reports. They all require engagement with affected aboriginal people to ensure
traditional forest knowledge and values and rights are respected.
They address conservation values in the context of biodiversity and special sites,
which could include old-growth forests, wildlife habitat and/or ecosystem diversity
across the landscape.
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Canadian Standards Association’s Sustainable Forest
Management Standard
The Canadian Standards Association is a not-for-profit, membership-based association
serving industry, government, consumers and other interested parties in Canada and
the global marketplace. The CSA SFM standard is based on the Sustainable Forest
Management criteria defined by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, which are
consistent with international sustainable forest management criteria. CSA is an
independent non-profit organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada.
The CSA SFM Standard requires that 17 key sustainable forest management elements
be addressed at the local forest level through a rigorous public participation process.
These elements must be refined to include objectives, indicators, and targets to
ensure forest management priorities are incorporated in planning and in practice.
Auditors ensure that this is being done. The CSA SFM standard complements performance
requirements with an environmental management system based on ISO 14001 and with
an on-going public participation process. It has been endorsed under PEFC (the Programme
for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes).
The CSA SFM program involves third-party auditors who are accredited by a national
standards system body according to ISO guidelines.
CSA offers a chain-of-custody audit as well as a Forest Products Marking Program
so retailers, manufacturers, homebuilders and consumers can identify products that
come from forests certified to the CSA SFM standard.
In October 2007, British Columbia had almost 33.1 million hectares (82 million acres)
certified to CSA.
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Sustainable Forestry Initiative
SFI, Inc. is an independent organization responsible for the Sustainable Forestry
Initiative Program, with a governance structure that provides equal representation
to environmental, social and economic sectors. The SFI Program requires that auditors
are accredited by the American National Standards Institute or Standards Council
of Canada. The SFI standard has been endorsed under the Programme for the Endorsement
of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC).
SFI is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives, performance measures and
core indicators, which integrate the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with
the protection of wildlife, plants, soil, water and air quality. It offers a certified
procurement system audit as well as an on-product label option for use by third-party
certified program participants that meets the U.S. Federal Trade Commission guidelines
for environmental claims.
By October 2007, British Columbia had about 10.9 million hectares (26.9 million
acres) certified to SFI.
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Forest Stewardship Council
FSC is an international non-profit organization that promotes responsible management
of the world’s forests. FSC’s 10 overarching forest management principles
and associated criteria apply to tropical, temperate and boreal forests, and are
used as a guiding framework for national and regional standards that are developed
to reflect local ecological, social and economic factors. In Canada, there are FSC
standards for the Maritimes, the Great Lakes-St-Lawrence, the National Boreal and
British Columbia.
To carry the FSC label, a product must be verified as coming from a certified, well-managed
forest through a chain-of-custody certification and meeting FSC’s percentage-based
claims requirements.
By October 2007, British Columbia had 577,295 hectares (about 1.4 million acres)
certified to FSC.
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Delivering a Stamp of Approval
Government agencies and large companies recognize that certification programs endorsed
by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Programme for the Endorsement of
Forest Certification schemes (PEFC) give them assurance that they are buying products
that have been harvested legally from sustainably managed forests.
Products certified to FSC and PEFC are recognized by procurement policies developed
by governments in France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United
Kingdom. The European Union Parliament has stated that it considers the FSC and
PEFC equally suitable to give consumers assurance of sustainable forest management.
By implementing the chain-of-custody standards associated with the forest certification
programs used in Canada and British Columbia, buyers can avoid products that have
been harvested illegally. Illegal logging is an urgent global problem that leads
to the loss of wildlife habitat, undermines good forest governance and reduces the
potential of forests to contribute to sustainable livelihoods in developing countries
and countries in transition.
Sources
Canadian Standards Association:
www.csa.ca
Certification Canada: www.certificationcanada.org
Forest Stewardship Council: www.fsc.org
Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes:
www.pefc.org
Sustainable Forestry Initiative: www.sfiprogram.org
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