Domtar recently received the new Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) recertification standard for the Canadian government lands that we manage in the Wabigoon forest. We successfully completed a surveillance audit on the Wabigoon Forest related to the new standards in July, and the auditor recommended that certification be maintained under the new Canadian FSC standard.
“Our on-the-ground management practices, coupled with a rigorous provincially-mandated forest management planning process, help to hit the mark with FSC,” says Marie Cyr, general manager of the Dryden pulp mill. “We are proud of our record of sustainable forest management. The fact that the Dryden Mill has been operating in this forest area for over 100 years demonstrates that we are managing our forests sustainably.”
The new Canadian FSC standard, which launched in June, replaces the previous National Boreal Standard and raises the bar for demonstrating sustainable forest management. It consolidates four existing regional standards into one national standard. Recommendations range from physical solutions, such as buffer zones around waterways, to social solutions that address gender equity and engagement with indigenous communities.
The FSC National Standard for Canada requires a comprehensive audit of legal compliance, protection of high conservation values, environmental impacts, management planning and community relations, including free prior and informed consent.
The audit on the land we manage in Wabigoon Forest was designed to identify opportunities for improvement. The process found four minor nonconformance issues, all of which have been addressed with action plans approved by the auditing body.
“The success of this audit demonstrates progress towards our sustainability goals,” says Paige Goff, vice president of sustainability. “Independent third-party forest certification like FSC is important to our customers and reflects our commitment to sustainability.”
We continue to support FSC and independent certification of forest management in the areas where we operate. The Wabigoon and Trout Lake Sustainable Forest Licenses are managed by Domtar on behalf of the Province of Ontario. In addition to the comprehensive and rigorous forest management framework in Ontario, our work with FSC and other stakeholders and indigenous communities assures customers, investors, communities and consumers that we are committed to sustainable forestry principles.
“We are proud to continue our work in sustainable forestry by certifying forest management practices in the Wabigoon Forest to the new standard,” says Paige Goff, vice president of sustainability at Domtar. “We are working to expand this effort to the Trout Lake Forest as well.”
https://newsroom.domtar.com/wabigoon-new-canadian-fsc-standard/