The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Applauds RONA’s Leadership in Forest Management

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Sustainable Forestry Initiative^® (SFI^®) program congratulated RONA on its new wood procurement policy, a step that positions RONA as a leader in responsible purchasing in corporate Canada.

The wood products procurement policy, which includes the SFI program, is the first phase of RONA’s forest products procurement policy and applies to wood products that are sold in all stores. An anchor of the policy is RONA’s inclusive approach to sustainable forest management certification. This is a commitment to source products from responsibly managed forests certified to one of Canada’s three major forest certification standards: the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Canadian Standards Association and the Forest Stewardship Council.

“Today’s announcement from RONA is good for the forests, good for business, and definitely good for Canadian consumers,” said SFI President & CEO Kathy Abusow. “This policy encourages responsible procurement along the supply chain, and though product labeling, educates Canadians on the importance of sustainable forest management.”

“It is also important to remember that 90 per cent of the world’s forests are not yet certified, so an inclusive policy like this can help increase demand for certified products from around the world, regardless of the system used to certify,” added Abusow.

Companies, governments and organizations around the globe are beginning to include sustainable forest management in their procurement policies. SFI has been recognized in numerous procurement related initiatives, including the rigorous assessment by the UK’s Centre Point of Expertise on Timber, the Competition Bureau of Canada, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development among many others.

Among the specific objectives in its policy, RONA plans to increase the amount of certified commodity SPF lumber and Western Red Cedar in corporate and franchise stores to 100 per cent by 2010, up from the current 90 per cent. In addition, by the end of 2011, RONA will require all suppliers to provide chain of custody or traceability of their fibre back to the area of origin.

SFI is well positioned to help RONA meet its objectives. As of November 2008, there are over 150 million acres of forest land independently certified to the SFI forest management standard across North America, up from 135 million at the end of 2007, and over 359 chain-of-custody certifications at 919 locations. This makes SFI one of the largest and fastest growing forest certification programs in the world, translating into a reliable supply of forest products from well-managed forests.

About SFI Inc.

SFI Inc. is a 501c(3) non-profit charitable organization, and is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the Sustainable Forestry Initiative program (www.sfiprogram.org), that is internationally recognized and among the largest in the world. It is one of the fast growing forest certification programs with over 150 million acres (60 million hectares) of SFI-certified forests across North America. The SFI Standard also includes unique fiber sourcing requirements that promote responsible forest management on all suppliers’ lands and a chain-of-custody certification which is used to tell buyers how much certified fiber is in a specific product. The SFI forest standard is endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, a global umbrella organization that has strict requirements for endorsement. SFI Inc. is governed by a three chamber board of directors representing environmental, social and economic sectors equally.

For more information about the SFI program, visit www.sfiprogram.org.