Certification of Sustainable Forestry and Environmental Practices
Internationally accepted standards now exist to judge whether a company follows responsible, sustainable forestry practices and effectively manages its environmental impacts. Weyerhaeuser supports the use of these standards, including having independent, external auditors verify a company's compliance with the standards.
Types of standards
Two types of standards promote responsible environmental practices, and Weyerhaeuser embraces them both.
The first type is unique to forestry and specifies particular environmental practices, such as prompt reforestation of logged areas and protection of streams and wildlife habitat. Three forestry standards are specific to North America:
There are also two international "umbrella" programs:
The second type of standard prescribes the management systems and practices needed to ensure that a company's environmental policies and standards are effectively implemented. The most widely accepted standard is the International Organization for Standardization ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
Sustainable Forest Management standards. In the 1990s, concern over forest conservation prompted the establishment of several different sustainable forest management standards. The differences between these standards were, and to some extent still are, a function of their origins. They were founded by different interests and tailored to national differences in government regulation. Over time, however, business realities and societal expectations have narrowed the differences. Many independent observers now believe that all of the major certification systems are credible standards for sustainable forestry. All have third-party certification procedures that validate a participant's compliance with the requirements in the standards.
Certification to all the major sustainable forest management standards ensures that forests are managed in ways that:
- Address both timber and nontimber forest values
- Maintain forest productivity and biodiversity
- Protect soil and water
- Offer aesthetic, recreational, cultural, and wildlife benefits
The development and administration of sustainable forest management standards are controlled by independent boards. These boards have representation from environmental organizations, forest products companies, and the wider forestry community and represent the environmental, social, and economic values required for sustainable practices.
With the exception of the American Tree Farm System, sustainable forest management standards also set rules for documenting the source of wood used in a product and the conditions under which a product can carry a certified product label.
As verification of our sustainable forest management practices in all forests we manage in North America, Weyerhaeuser is certified to either the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) standard or the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Standard on Sustainable Forest Management (CAN/CSA Z809). Weyerhaeuser is also a partner in managing provincial forests in Canada that are certified to the Forest Stewardship Council standard. Learn why Weyerhaeuser chose SFI and CSA.
Environmental Management System standard. This type of standard is designed to help organizations effectively manage their environmental impacts. These standards define processes and procedures for implementing and monitoring environmental practices. One standard, ISO 14001, is the internationally accepted leader in this category. Governed by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 14001:
- Defines what it means to manage effectively
- Requires steps such as setting clear objectives, documenting best practices, and establishing reliable processes that promote continuous improvement
- Provides a record of how we're keeping our commitments
ISO 14001 can be applied to manufacturing operations as well as forests.
Certification of Weyerhaeuser forests
All of Weyerhaeuser's timberlands operations have environmental management systems that are registered to the ISO 14001 standard. In addition:
- All of our U.S. timberlands have been independently certified as meeting the requirements of the SFI standard.
- All of the land we manage in Canada has been independently certified as meeting the requirements of the CSA standard or the SFI standard.
- Land we own in Australia and Uruguay is managed to the requirements of Weyerhaeuser's internal sustainable forestry standard, which ensures that all Weyerhaeuser-managed forestlands are managed to a consistently high level of stewardship.
Certification of Weyerhaeuser manufacturing operations
All Weyerhaeuser manufacturing units have implemented environmental management systems that are capable of being certified to the ISO 14001 standard. The decision to take the additional step of registering those systems with the ISO depends on the value to the business. View a list of the facilities that have taken this step.
All of our U.S. mills that use logs or wood chips as raw material are independently certified as meeting the procurement provisions of the SFI standard. This includes all primary facilities—that is, those using logs or chips to produce pulp, paper, lumber, plywood, oriented strand board, and some engineered wood products. In addition, more than 77 secondary manufacturing plants meet the fiber-sourcing provisions of the SFI standard. View a list of these facilities.
In Canada, eight of our 13 primary mills are independently certified as meeting either the chain-of-custody requirements of the CSA standard or the procurement provisions of the SFI standard.
Learn more about what certification of our procurement systems says about our products.
