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WORLDWIDE
FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS
VICTORY!
84 Lumber Latest to Commit to Endangered Forest Protection
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Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org
http://forests.org/ -- Forest
Conservation Archives
http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest
Conservation
08/24/00
OVERVIEW
& COMMENTARY
Wow! Yet another home improvement company has
committed to phasing
out
products harvested from endangered ancient forests. 84 Lumber
becomes
the seventh home improvement company; joining Home Depot,
Lowe's,
Menard's, HomeBase, Lanoga, and Wickes Lumber (in order of
size)
to commit to not selling products made from remaining old growth
forests,
and to the reform of the global forest products industry.
Congratulations
to the surging forest conservation movement and all
is
diverse forces.
g.b.
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TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: 84 Lumber Affirms Environmental
Commitment
Source: 84 Lumber Press Release
Date: August 24, 2000
For
Immediate Release
Contact:
Shawn Ahearn, Public Relations (800) 664-1984 ext. 1454
(EIGHTY
FOUR, Pa.) ~ 84 Lumber Company, one of the nation's largest
suppliers
of building materials, affirmed today its continued
commitment
to preserving the environment by announcing that it intends
to
phase out sales of products from endangered forests by the end of
2003.
"84
Lumber will continue its commitment of practicing sound
environmental
wood procurement policies by phasing out sales of wood
from
endangered forests during the next three years while continuing
to
promote the sale of alternative products," said Maggie Hardy
Magerko,
84 Lumber Company President.
"We
strongly believe that practicing sound forest management is the
responsibility
of producers, distributors and ultimately consumers,"
said
Magerko. "While we currently
purchase a vast majority of our
wood
products from the most responsible producers in North America and
around
the world, we are increasing our environmental preservation
efforts
immediately to ensure that our suppliers practice responsible
forestry."
84
Lumber is in the process of conducting an extensive evaluation of
its
purchasing policies and procedures, with the intention of
implementing
environmental policies that eliminate the sale of wood
that is
harvested from endangered forests. The overwhelming majority
of 84's
current wood supply does not come from endangered areas. 84
Lumber
plans to work closely with its suppliers to implement
independent,
third-party certification systems to ensure the products
sold in
84's stores come from well-managed forests.
"Many
of our suppliers have already implemented independent
certification
systems, and we will strongly encourage those who
haven't
to join this collaborative effort as we build environmental
partnerships
that benefit everyone," said Magerko.
During
the past decade, 84 Lumber has been an industry leader in not
only
selling lumber, but also in marketing engineered wood products
such as
a composite wall panels, wood I-beams and laminated veneer
lumber
(LVL). 84 Lumber has greatly expanded
its production of
manufactured
wood products such as roof and floor trusses at its
manufacturing
plants, making builders more efficient while reducing
consumption
and waste of wood products.
-more-
84
Lumber Affirms Environmental Commitment. page 2
"We
are proud of our efforts in helping to make builders more
efficient,
not only by saving them time and money with our engineered
wood
products, but also in helping them reduce the pressure on the
world's
forests by practicing better building techniques," said
Magerko.
"The demand for engineered wood products continues to
increase
and we will market these products accordingly."
Many 84
Lumber stores also stock additional alternative products such
as Trex
decking, which is manufactured from reclaimed and recycled
products
including wood particles and grocery store sacks.
"We
will continue to seek ways to improve the way we do business, and
that
certainly includes developing and fostering partnerships with
suppliers
who strive to be responsible stewards of the environment,"
said
Magerko. "We all have a
responsibility to preserve the earth for
future
generations, and 84 Lumber is pleased to take its commitment to
a
higher level."
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