“When I joined FSCC five years ago, there were six brands of paper in Canada that carried the FSC logo; today there are more than 360 branded paper products with FSC certification, with companies using the FSC symbol as marketing tool,” Marcil relates.
“At while at that time there were four million hectares of certified forests in Canada,” Marcil adds, “today there are over 36 million hectares—meaning there are nine times more certified sources of fiber available—with another nine million hectares now awaiting certification.
“All of the major paper manufacturers in Canada today produce at least some brands of paper today that are FSC-certified,” Marcil points out. “For example, Domtar now has a full product line, called EarthChoice, that is produced exclusively from FSC-certified fiber, which did not exist five years ago.
“They started off their laser-copier paper, then followed it up with their photographic paper, later adding other higher-end papers… so that today almost every paper that Domtar makes can be purchased from this fully-certified EarthChoice product family.”
And while it is “still early days” for the FSC certification process to work itself thro
ugh the ranks of Canada’s paper packaging producers, Marcil says he’s encouraged by the enthusiastic embrace of FSC certification displayed by Norampac, the corrugated division of Kingsey Falls, Que.-based paper products group Cascades Inc., which has just completed FSC certification for all its mills.
“Cascades has always had a very robust environmental sustainability agenda throughout its history,” Marcil remarks, “so after Norampac became a fully-owned Cascades subsidiary, it took proactive steps to fulfill its parent company’s commitment to sustainable practices by having all of its mills and products certified.
“It’s just smart business—a case of seeing where the market is going.”
RULE OF LAW
Marcil says that forest management is far too complex, intricate and sensitive a field to be entrusted solely to the government or business interests.
Says Marcil: “Almost every forest in Canada is legally compliant in terms of upholding the minimal environmental regulations on the provincial level, but FSC feels that many of those regulations are simply not adequate.
“In most provinces, if I hold a licence entitling me to log, there is usually a standard legal requirement to consult with local aboriginal groups to make sure that I’m not cutting trees on sacred burial grounds,” he acknowledges, “but that doesn’t always work well in practice.
“But with FSC certification the companies wanting to obtain it are obliged to show proof that they not only invited aboriginal community leaders to participate, but that they also received all the information that will enable them to map out every hunting cabin, every track line, every burial ground, etc., that they must incorporate it into their forest management plan, with full approval of the affected aboriginal groups in the region.”
States Marcil: “Responsible forest stewardship is not a black-and-white subject: it is very much a grey area that needs to be addressed based on a wide-ranging consensus of what constitutes the best forest management practices.
“For example, if we decide that the idea of mosaic-cutting is not as effective at protecting the caribou herds as we might have thought five years ago, then we have to reassess this practice,” he relates.
“Because it is a living and continually evolving process,” Marcil states, “it would be far too arrogant of us to think that we have arrived at the ultimate definition of what constitutes a responsibly-managed forest.
“That said, I am sure that for companies who want to upgrade their environmental image in a meaningful way, obtaining FSC certification is one of the best things they can do for themselves in confirming the strength of their commitment to sustainable forestry practices to the Canadian public,” sums up Marcil.
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