|
March 20, 2001
Top Ten Wood Product Companies Could Help Make Global Sustainable Forestry a Reality
A new World Wildlife Fund report states that the largest wood processors and buyers could tip the
balance toward sustainable management of the world's forests.
SocialFunds.com --
In a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) study entitled "The Forest Industry in the 21st
Century," researchers found that a small number of leading companies account for a large
percentage of global wood processing and consumption. If these companies choose to support
sustainable forestry practices, the report states, their market power could have a domino effect on
how the world's forests are managed.
 "We recognized that ten or so large
companies can have a far more significant impact on global forest conservation than we previously
thought," said Dr. Nicholas Brown, Manager for U.S. Forest Conservation at WWF. "They potentially
can play a major role in environmental preservation by committing to better forest management," he
added.
The researchers were surprised to find that as little as 1.5 billion acres of
forest, if managed correctly, could provide the industrial wood and wood fiber needed to meet the
world's projected future demand on a sustainable basis. This would be about one-fifth of the
world's forest, an area equivalent to about twice the size of India.
The path to correct
forest management, the report states, is independent certification that forests are being managed
sustainably. WWF believes the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has established itself as the
program all stakeholders should support.
Established in 1993, the FSC is a non-profit
organization that certifies forests as being managed on sound ecological principles. It uses 56
criteria for evaluating forestry practices such as clear cutting and herbicide use. The FSC
mission also includes social goals such as creating sustainable employment and recognizing the
rights of indigenous peoples.
According to the report, the five largest wood processing
companies are International Paper (ticker: IP), Georgia Pacific (GP), Weyerhaeuser (WY),
Finland-based Stora-Enso (SEO) and Smurfit Stone Container (SSCC). These five companies
collectively process around 20 percent of the world's industrial wood.
Of the five firms,
only Stora-Enso has any amount of forests that are FSC certified. WWF was not able to obtain
Smurfit Stone Container's perspective on sustainable forestry or environmental policy, although
Smurfit is one of the world's largest recyclers of paper fiber. International Paper,
Georgia-Pacific and Weyerhaeuser all claim a commitment to sustainable forestry by supporting the
Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).
SFI is a certification program created by the
American Forest and Paper Association as an answer to FSC. Being funded by the industry it
monitors, SFI is considered to be weaker than FSC. Most environmental groups, including the WWF,
believe SFI standards do not meet the requirements of sustainable forestry.
On the
consumption side, the report names Home Depot (HD), Lowes (LOW), Sweden-based IKEA, Kimberly-Clark
(KMB), and Procter & Gamble (PG) as the five largest wood buyers in the world. Home Depot and
Lowes are both members of the Certified Forest Products Council, a U.S.-based certification
organization that works in partnership with FSC. IKEA also actively support FSC principles.
According to WWF, Kimberly-Clark has a policy not to use wood from tropical rain forests and
has implemented forestry management programs, but it has not yet made a move toward FSC
certification. Procter & Gamble releases little information about its procurement of wood fiber
and has so far indicated no intention of supporting FSC.
FSC has certified over 50 million
acres in 35 countries, but that only represents 2-3 percent of the world's timber-producing
forests. If forest destruction is to be curbed, sustainable management practices must be more
widely adopted.
"FSC remains the platinum standard for forestry certification programs,
the standard that other systems should aspire to," said Dr. Brown. "We need processors and buyers
to adopt the standard as a whole, or adjust their own programs to meet the standard's criteria."
Half of the world's original forest cover has already been destroyed. This report offers
hope that further loss from human consumption need not occur, if we only choose to do so. That
choice can be kick started by the large wood processors and buyers.
©
SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Top
| 
