Domtar's Ontario Pineland Forest obtains FSC certification
August 16 2005 - 5:01PM
PR Newswire (US)
TICKER SYMBOL DTC (TSX, NYSE) MONTREAL, Aug. 16
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Domtar Inc. is pleased to announce that
it has obtained Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for
the Pineland Forest. Located 70 kilometres west of Timmins,
Ontario, the Pineland Forest is managed by Domtar, and represents
an important fibre supply for Domtar's Timmins Sawmill and the
Gogama Forest Products Sawmill in Ostrom. "This certification
represents the positive conclusion of our North Eastern Ontario FSC
pilot project. Following on this achievement, we have already begun
the task of certifying our other North Eastern Ontario Crown
Licenses. Certification involved a rigorous examination of all our
management practices and identified a number of conditions that
Domtar must address over the next five years. We view these
conditions as opportunities for the continual improvement of our
forest management practices," said Brian Nicks, Director,
Sustainable Forest Management. The Pineland Forest contains 390,000
hectares of Crown land, and is managed under the authority of a
Sustainable Forest License (SFL) issued by the Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources. Granted by SmartWood, an FSC- credited certifier
and a program of the Rainforest Alliance, this certification is
consistent with the Ministry's objective to have all SFL holders
independently certified to accepted performance standards by 2007.
The Pineland Forest pilot project was completed in accordance with
our Agreement on Forest Stewardship in Canada jointly signed in
November 2003 by Domtar and World Wildlife Fund Canada. With the
successful completion of the Ontario pilot project, we will now
proceed with FSC certification for our other Ontario Crown
Licenses. This certification supports Domtar's ongoing commitment
to guarantee its customers, shareholders, and the public that all
forest operations under its direct care are well managed and
sustainable. This approach is also in line with the vision of the
Boreal Leadership Council, of which Domtar is a founding member, to
make Canada's boreal region the world's best-conserved forest
ecosystem, while allowing the communities and businesses that
depend on the forest to benefit from its resources. FSC
certification promotes natural resource conservation, regeneration,
and sustainability, while balancing the interests of the forest
products industry, governments, environmental organizations, and
Indigenous peoples. The FSC is an international, independent,
not-for-profit organization made up of social, environmental, and
business representatives. It is the only forest products
certification standard accepted and endorsed by environmental and
conservation organizations worldwide, including the Rainforest
Alliance, the World Wildlife Fund, and ForestEthics. DOMTAR IS THE
THIRD LARGEST PRODUCER OF UNCOATED FREESHEET PAPER IN NORTH
AMERICA. IT IS ALSO A LEADING MANUFACTURER OF BUSINESS PAPERS,
COMMERCIAL PRINTING AND PUBLICATION PAPERS, AND TECHNICAL AND
SPECIALTY PAPERS. DOMTAR MANAGES ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONALLY
RECOGNIZED STANDARDS 18 MILLION ACRES OF FORESTLAND IN CANADA AND
THE UNITED STATES, AND PRODUCES LUMBER AND OTHER WOOD PRODUCTS.
DOMTAR HAS 10,000 EMPLOYEES ACROSS NORTH AMERICA. THE COMPANY ALSO
HAS A 50% INVESTMENT INTEREST IN NORAMPAC INC., THE LARGEST
CANADIAN PRODUCER OF CONTAINERBOARD. DATASOURCE: DOMTAR INC.
CONTACT: Christian Tardif, Manager, Corporate and Financial
Communications, (514) 848-5515, ; Source: Brian Nicks, Director,
Sustainable Forest Management, (705) 869-4020, ; To request a free
copy of this organization's annual report, please go to
http://www.newswire.ca/ and click on reports@cnw.
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