Opinel reaffirms its commitment to sustainability of forest heritage through PEFC certification

Andy McCuaig, Fibre Superintendent at our Skookumchuck mill, is leading the charge in wildfire risk reduction logging. This successful three-way partnership between the City of Cranbrook, Paper Excellence and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) means both Paper Excellence and the local community benefit. Paper Excellence gets hog and chips at competitive prices and the community of Cranbrook get reduced wildfire risk because the forests close to town are logged. “The whole angle around fire protection is a huge public interest for people,” says Gavin Baxter, General Manager of Skookumchuck. “We’ve had forest fires on our doorstep before.” In fact, Gavin and Andy toured Mayor Lee Pratt in January so he could see the impact the work is having on the community.

Illegal logging and the international trade in illicitly harvested timber is a serious crime estimated to account for 15-30% of all timber traded1. It is most prevalent and persistent in tropical forest areas worldwide. Illegal logging undermines the legal trade in forest products by depressing prices, contributes to national and global insecurity by spreading corruption and funding militias, affects the health, safety, and livelihoods of communities, and is responsible for deforestation, habitat loss, species extinction, contributions to global warming. It is arguably the greatest and most vexing challenge faced by those seeking to preserve working forests, particularly in tropical regions. Click read more below for additional detail.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) presented its 2015 Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 Sustainability Awards at AF&PA’s annual meeting on Friday, Nov. 13 in San Antonio, Texas. Designed to recognize exemplary sustainability programs and initiatives in the paper and wood products manufacturing industry, AF&PA’s annual awards are given based on the merit of entries received across multiple categories. This year, seven companies received eight awards from 26 outstanding submissions across the industry.