Weyerhaeuser's BC Coastal Group Units Achieve New Certifications
Copyright 2000 Business Wire
December 5, 2000
Press Release
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2000-- Weyerhaeuser Company's West Island Timberlands near Port Alberni has achieved certification to the Canadian Standards Association's (CSA) Sustainable Forest Management system standard.
The CSA standard includes performance requirements established through a public advisory process under criteria set by the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. It is approved by the Standards Council of Canada as a National Standard of Canada.
Port McNeill at the North end of Vancouver Island and West Island Timberlands have also achieved certification to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) standard. Established under the auspices of the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 14001 certification recognizes organizations whose environmental management systems meet the comprehensive requirements of this internationally recognized standard.
Additionally, Weyerhaeuser's West Island Timberlands and Somass sawmill in Port Alberni have earned chain of custody certifications. These certifications mean certified wood can be tracked from the forest floor through the manufacturing process to the final customer.
Each of the above certifications followed a thorough independent audit by the Quality Management Institute, a division of the Canadian Standards Association.
``Weyerhaeuser's vision is to become the best forest products company in the world. This includes a strong commitment to environmental stewardship,'' said Bill Gaynor, president, Weyerhaeuser Company Limited in Canada. ``I congratulate the BC Coastal Group in its effort to help deliver products from ISO 14001 and CSA certified forests.''
``This is an important step in fulfilling Weyerhaeuser's commitment to align all of its timberlands and manufacturing operations to the ISO 14001 standard by 2005,'' said Steven R. Rogel, Weyerhaeuser chairman, president and chief executive officer. ``This international standard is well suited to our large-scale timberlands and manufacturing operations in the United States, Canada and the Southern Hemisphere. It will help ensure that reliable processes are in place in our operations to improve our environmental performance and to meet regulatory and stakeholder requirements in the years ahead.''
Weyerhaeuser Canadian timberlands expect to have all units third-party certified to the ISO 14001 EMS standard by 2002 and to the CSA's Sustainable Forest Management system standard by 2003.
More than 3.38 million hectares (8.36 million acres) of the timberlands Weyerhaeuser manages in British Columbia, Alberta and New Zealand have now been certified to the ISO 14001 EMS standard including:
Weyerhaeuser New Zealand, timberlands operations -- 78,000 hectares (193,000 acres).
Interior BC timberlands operations -- 1.2 million hectares (3.09 million acres).
North Island, Coastal BC timberlands operations -- 230,000 hectares (567,000 acres) (certified to both ISO 14001 and CSA).
Grande Prairie/Grande Cache, Alberta, forestlands -- 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres).
Chemainus sawmill on Vancouver Island was the company's first manufacturing facility to achieve ISO 14001 registration.
Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY - news), one of the world's largest integrated forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 1999, sales were Cdn$18.1 billion, (US$12.3 billion). It has offices or operations in 13 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber; the manufacture, distribution and sale of forest products; and real estate construction, development and related activities. Weyerhaeuser Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary, has Exchangeable Shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol WYL. Additional information about Weyerhaeuser's businesses, products or practices is available at www.weyerhaeuser.com.
Contact:
For Weyerhaeuser Company
Canada
Sarah Goodman, 604/661-8408
or
United States
Kathy Budinick, 253/924-3781