Council describes urgent need for forest management

At a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, this week, a group of like-minded forest product companies reached an agreement. They agreed that reducing forest loss is a global societal priority requiring immediate and concerted action.

At its meeting, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Forest Solutions Group announced the need to significantly scale up sustainable forest management.

The 26 companies in the group, which describe themselves as committed to transforming forest-related challenges into forest-based opportunities and solutions, are responsible for nearly 40% of annual global forest product, paper and packaging sales.

The companies endorsed the announcement following an international discussion including three forest certification systems -- the Forest Stewardship Council, the Sustainable Forest Initiative and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification -- at WBCSD's Council Meeting in Istanbul, Nov. 4.

One of the companies in the group is Weyerhaeuser.

 "Our collective statement today and our stakeholder membership in PEFC aligns with our commitment to responsible fiber sourcing, especially from family-owned forests," said Weyerhaeuser VP for Sustainable Forestry Cassie Phillips.

Earlier this year, Weyerhaeuser attained international stakeholder membership in the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, the world's largest forest certification system and the certification system of choice for small, non-industrial private forests. PEFC, which is made up of large forest owners and hundreds of thousands of family forest owners around the world, has endorsed two North American certifications standards, including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. In the United States, PEFC also endorses the American Tree Farm System, which means landowners certified to SFI and Tree Farm also comply with the PEFC's internationally recognized sustainability benchmark.