Potlatch Corporation (NYSE:PCH) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer L. Pendleton Siegel today was presented with documentation that management of the company’s 473,000 acres of forestland in Arkansas has been third-party audited and certified under the rigorous environmental, social and economic standards of the internationally recognized Forest Stewardship Council. SmartWood, an FSC-accredited certifier, and program of the Rainforest Alliance, granted the certification.
In addition, the company’s pine sawmill at Warren, Arkansas, has received FSC’s chain-of-custody certification and is therefore authorized to market its southern yellow pine dimensional lumber products with the FSC label.
The Arkansas certification follows by one year the precedent-setting FSC certification of Potlatch’s 667,000 acres in Idaho along with chain-of-custody certification of the company’s Idaho lumber and plywood manufacturing operations.
“There appears to be a growing trend among large building products retailers, secondary manufacturers, architects, contractors and governments at all levels toward preferences for certified products, including FSC-certified products,” Siegel stated. He noted that Arkansas Governor Huckabee had recently signed legislation that promotes the conservation of natural resources through the use of sustainable building rating systems. “This trend fits well with Potlatch’s commitment to forestland stewardship, and we expect to grow with it,” he said.
Siegel added that the company’s third-party certifications continue to be instrumental in securing public and private support for cooperative conservation easements, which produce additional value for Potlatch shareholders. Conservation easements are currently under consideration in Arkansas, with the goal of maintaining private forestland for sustainable management and public access. “We expect our FSC certification to provide additional benefits in that area by making our lands more attractive candidates for easement purchases,” he said.
“By certifying its forest land in Arkansas as sustainably managed, Potlatch is once again raising the bar for the entire timber industry. This illustrates that sustainable forestry can and should be a part of any successful timber industry business plan,” stated David Carruth, a National Wildlife Federation Board Member.
Forest certification enables consumers to make informed choices when selecting wood and other forest products. The Forest Stewardship Council, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is the global and national leader in the independent certification of forests managed to exemplary standards covering environmental, social and economic issues. FSC promotes responsible forest management by evaluating and accrediting certifiers, by encouraging the development of national and regional forest management standards, and by providing public education and information about independent, third-party certification as a tool for ensuring that the world’s forests are protected for future generations. There are currently nearly 30 million acres of FSC-certified forestland in North America and more than 131 million acres globally. Further information about FSC-US can be found at www.fscus.org.
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