05/12/2005
- Melbourne, Australia - WWF-Australia, the conservation
organisation, and Integrated Tree Cropping (ITC), an ASX-listed
company, have launched a new partnership to encourage
Australian business to support responsible forest and
plantation management through the choice of timber and
paper they buy.
Speaking at a launch event in Melbourne,
Greg Bourne, Chief Executive Officer, WWF-Australia, said
an alliance between the Australian arm of the world's
largest independent conservation organisation and one
of Australia's largest hardwood plantation forestry managers
might at first glance appear unusual.
But, he said, an accord between an
environmental organisation and a forestry company such
as ITC was a snapshot of constructive engagement for a
sustainable future.
The partnership seeks to encourage
Australian businesses to specify or purchase timber and
paper that is sourced from forests and plantations that
are certified by credible schemes such as the internationally
recognised Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and where
possible to increase their use of recycled fibre.
FSC certification provides consumers
of timber and paper with credible assurance that the forest
or plantation is well-managed. The FSC's Principles and
Criteria for Forest Stewardship are used to develop local
standards for responsible forest management through a
process of consultation with stakeholders.
The partnership recognises ITC's commitment
to environmental responsibility. Mr Bourne congratulated
ITC Chief Executive, James Neville Smith, on achieving
FSC certification for products drawn from close to 80
per cent of its 130,000 hectare plantation estate.
"WWF commends ITC for attaining
FSC certification, and through the partnership will be
working with ITC to have all of its sources of timber
credibly certified," Mr Bourne said.
ITC's James Neville Smith said ITC
and WWF-Australia would also partner in rolling out an
Australian arm of the Global Forest and Trade Network,
a supply chain of like-minded and committed purchasers
and suppliers of products from certified forests and plantations.
"At ITC, we're determined to
differentiate ourselves by offering superior products
based on superior environmental management," Mr Neville
Smith said.
"Certification is key to the
future, in order that Australian forest products are well-received
around the world and competitive on environmental terms,"
Mr Neville-Smith said.
Notes
• To date, over 50 million hectares of forest and plantation
is FSC certified in over 60 countries. Globally, the FSC
trademark is carried on thousands of timber and paper
products. In Australia, approximately 466,000 hectares
of plantation is FSC certified.
• In 2003-2004, Australians used over 6.6 million cubic
metres of solid timber and four million tonnes of paper,
according to the Australian Forest and Wood Product Statistics,
ABARE, November 2005. All Australian businesses can support
good forest and plantation management by specifying or
buying timber and paper that has come from forests and
plantations certified by credible schemes such as the
Forest Stewardship Council, and by using recycled fibre.
• We have prepared a Q&A document (PDF 48 KB) to accompany
this press release. |