Better Forestry to follow

Better Forest Management and FSC Certification come to the US South

Four Domtar Mills Gain FSC Chain of Custody Certification

Last week’s announcement that Domtar, the largest producer of office papers in North America has achieved Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Chain-of-Custody certification at four paper mills in the South is mark of great progress in long effort to transform the pulp and paper industry in the Southern US. In
particular Domtar’s newly FSC chain of custody certified office paper mill in Kingsport, TN, the largest pulp mill in the South, will play an important role in bringing improved forest practices to the ecologically significant Cumberland Plateau area.

Several years ago we convinced all of the major office supply retailers including Staples, Office Depot and others to adopt commitments to protect Southern forests, including increasing their purchases of paper certified by FSC – the only credible forest certification system in existence today. The announcement by Domtar this week serves as confirmation that Dogwood Alliance’s work continues to effectively leverage positive change with large paper producers.

This marks an important first step in expanding the amount of FSC certified forestland in the South resulting in increased protection of endangered forests, limits on clearcutting, protection against the conversion of natural forests to plantations and better forest management overall. Along with this progress comes major climate, health and forest benefits.

At the same time, while some of the leading paper producers in the region Domtar and AbitibiBowater are making progress in the US South, (IP) the world’s largest paper producer has yet to make any real improvements to its forestry practices.  Even worse, while IP continues to destroy forests on a massive scale, the company claims to be a leader on forest sustainability, using the outdated
and discredited industry-driven Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) scheme to mislead its customers and the public.  Now that IP’s largest competitor in the office supply sector has stepped up its environmental commitment, it is time for IP to follow suit.