Swedish Company, SCA, Releases New Figures
1/27/99
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Swedish Company, SCA, Releases New Figures
Source: Environment News Service (ENS) 1999
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: January 27, 1999
LONDON, UK, (ENS) - New figures were released today by the multi-
national Swedish Company, SCA (Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget)
announcing that more than two million hectares of its forests have
been certified under the auspices of the Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC). This brings the total number of hectares worldwide to 15
million hectares (37 million acres).
The World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) Forests For Life Campaign's
certification target is to have 25 million hectares (61.7 million
acres) certified by the year 2001. The campaign also aims to
establish an ecoloigically representative network of protected areas
covering at least 10 percent of the world's forests by the year 2000.
SCA relies on forestry as a central part of its international
business, owning 2.3 million hectares of forests - roughly half the
size of Wales. The Swedish FSC standard ensures that areas of old
growth forest will be protected and that forest management will
enhance biodiversity.
"We have set aside all old growth forests," says Communications
Manager for SCA, Bjorn Lynjfelt, "and maintain that biodiversity is a
major priority in our nature conservation strategy."
WWF's Global Forests and Trade Initiative was set up in September
1998 to promote the establishment of an international network of
buyers' groups who encourage improved forest management by turning
certification into commercial reality.
Nine buyers' groups now operate in Europe, North America, and
Australia and several countries including France, Hong Kong, and
Japan are now working towards establishing buyers' groups this year.
Buyers' groups are responsible for creating demand for certified
products and SCA is a major supplier of forest products to buyer's
groups.
This year many new products bearing the FSC logo will be available on
the world market, adding to the thousands currently available around
the globe, according to Steve Howard, head of WWF's Global Forests
and Trade Initiative.
Prudhoe Mill in Northumberland, part of SCA Hygiene Products groups,
recently won FSC chain of custody certification for tissue paper.
Tissue paper is the second biggest category in supermarket non-food
sales and Prudhoe alone manufactures enough toilet paper to wrap
around the world 500 times. This certification means that Prudhoe
Mill can now supply Buyers' Group companies such as Sainsbury's with
tissue products bearing the FSC logo.
"We are following the developments at SCA very closely and welcome
the certification of SCA Forests and Prudhoe Mill," says George White
from Sainsbury's Environmental Department.
Forest certification is becoming an increasingly complex topic
because of the growing number of certification initiatives around the
world and the intricate interplay amongst international environmental
groups, forest industries, traders and retailers of forest products,
governmental agencies and international organisations.
A new publication created to monitor sustainable forestry and
certification worldwide has been established to keep track of the
emerging field. Based in Montreal, Canada, the nonprofit organisation
Sustainable Forestry & Certification Watch will publish a newsletter,
"Forest Certification Watch." It is aimed at forest owners, the
forest product industry, traders and retailers in forest products,
governments, environmental groups, indigenous groups, workers unions,
and consumer associations.
The Forest Stewardship Council is an independent, non-profit, non-
governmental organisation founded in 1993. The FSC supports
environmentally friendly, socially beneficial and economically viable
management of the world's forests. Its main activity is to accredit
organisations which certify the quality of forest management. Forest
products derived from forests certified within the FSC framework are
allowed to carry the FSC trademark.
Countries with certified forests under the auspices of the FSC
include Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech
Republic, Germany, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, The
Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Papa New Guinea, Poland,
Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, United
Kingdom, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
FSC-accredited certifiers include The Soil Association (UK), SGS
Forestry (UK), Rainforest Alliance (USA), SGS (USA), and SKAL
(Netherlands).