FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1999-12-21

Standards Council of Canada accreditation will help forests and forest industry

OTTAWA - The Standards Council of Canada has launched a new accreditation initiative that will contribute to sustainable forest management (SFM) in Canada.

Under the initiative, the Standards Council will accredit Environmental Management Systems (EMS) registrars to register forest companies that conform with a published Canadian SFM standard.

The voluntary SFM standard, CAN/CSA Z809-96: A Sustainable Forest Management System: Specifications Document, has been published by CSA International. It was developed by a consensus of stakeholders, including the forest industry, woodlot owners, governments, academics, scientists, technical experts and Aboriginal, conservation, environmental and social organizations. The standard, which describes the requirements for an ISO 14000-style SFM system, was approved by the Standards Council as a National Standard of Canada in 1997.

The new accreditation initiative is an extension to the Standards Council's existing accreditation program for EMS registrars. It will verify that registrars operating in the SFM field possess the necessary capabilities, resources, programs and systems - providing the basis of confidence for SFM activities in Canada.

Registration, known in some parts of the world as certification, is a voluntary process that assesses the conformance of a company's management system with a standard. By registering their management systems to the SFM standard, the forest companies will be able to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable practices. The program will also assist in enhancing the national and international competitiveness of the forest industry.

The Standards Council is playing a key role in bringing international credibility and confidence to the implementation of the ISO 14000 series in Canada through its Environmental Management Systems Accreditation Program (EMSAP). The program was established in 1996 to enable the accreditation of organizations registering clients to the ISO 14000 series. To date, six EMS registrars have been accredited. Any of these may now apply for the extended accreditation program.

Companies interested in obtaining the SFM registration can identify accredited EMS registrars on the Standards Council's web site at http://www.scc.ca. A list of registrars accredited under the new SFM initiative will be added as they become available.

The Standards Council of Canada is the federal Crown corporation that oversees the National Standards System. It accredits organizations that provide a variety of standards and conformity assessment services and represents Canada in international standardization forums.

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