AbitibiBowater recognizes and promotes the use of internationally recognized sustainable forest management (SFM) standards, and has an established history of sustainable forestry and wood procurement practices that are certified to these standards, and regularly audited by independent third parties.
Forest certification systems include principles and objectives to balance economic, environmental and social values including protection of wildlife, fish, plants, soils, water, and the conservation of biological diversity and other land uses, such as recreational opportunities and sites of cultural heritage.
We're Committed to Certification
AbitibiBowater is among the largest SFM certificate holders in the world.
We own or manage approximately 16.8 million hectares (41.6 million acres) of forestland in North America. Ninety-eight percent of this area is public land in Canada, managed through long-term forest management agreements that include a public input process and regular periodic government auditing.
100% of these lands are certified to Canadian Standards Association (CSA) or Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI), or Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sustainable forest management standards.
Responsible Wood Fiber Procurement
AbitibiBowater has implemented fiber tracking systems at its mills to ensure the wood fiber supply comes from acceptable sources, such as sustainably managed and certified forests and legal harvesting operations.
At several mills, these systems are third party certified to recognized Chain of Custody (CoC) standards and there are still others in the process of being certified. Chain of custody is the process of tracking and recording the possession and transfer of wood and fiber from the forests of origin to the product at any given stage of production, and is required for product labeling.