"Market demand for third-party verification that products come from well-managed forests is increasing," said Tom Crowley, SVP of sales and marketing. "This is the latest of many steps we've taken to ensure our paper products come with an excellent and credible environmental pedigree. FSC is well-known and well-regarded by many customers and we are now able to support this certification standard at all our mills."
Catalyst will include FSC certified products under its Sage product offer that combines fiber certification with carbon-neutral manufacturing and detailed mill-level environmental disclosure.
The new FSC certification applies to Catalyst's Crofton, Port Alberni, and Powell River mills. Fiber supply comes mainly from sawmill waste (wood chips) from coastal British Columbia. Catalyst already receives some FSC-certified fiber at Port Alberni and is actively assessing potential additional sources of supply.
Catalyst can now apply the FSC controlled wood label to its Crofton pulp production, verifying that the fiber was harvested legally, with respect for traditional and civil rights, and does not come from genetically modified trees. Additionally, the FSC chain-of-custody enables Catalyst to label specific specialty printing papers as being made with fiber from FSC-certified forests.
The parallel Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) chain-of-custody systems will remain in place at Catalyst's Canadian mills to recognize fiber certified to two other widely recognized standards – Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Canadian Standards Association (CSA).
TAPPI
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