Stora Enso North America’s Forest Resources Division has earned certification of its forest-management practices and wood procurement policies. The certification is part of the Sustainable Forestry InitiativeSM (SFI) of the American Forest & Paper Association. The comprehensive audit was completed this summer by BioForest Technologies, an independent multidisciplinary forest services company.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives and performance measures that integrates the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil and water quality.
Stora Enso North America owns and manages about 133,700 hectares of forestland in Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. The company obtains the fiber required for its pulp and papermaking operations from these renewable forests; from private, national, state and county forests; and from sawmill byproducts and recycled scrap paper.
Stora Enso North America’s procurement practices also directly promote sustainable forestry practices to other landowners through its Tree Farm Family Program that represents more than 1,200 members representing 86,300 hectares of non-industrial private forestland.
Beyond prudent forest management, Stora Enso North America also has pledged to voluntarily align its corporate Environmental Management System to ISO 14001 international standards and to adhere to AF&PA's Environmental Health & Safety Principles Verification Program.
To learn more about Sustainable Forestry InitiativeSM please visit www.afandpa.org/forestry/sfi_frame.html
For further information:
Tim Laatsch, Senior Vice President Communications, Tel. +1 715 422-4023, or
Scott Deitz, Vice President Communications & Investor Relations, Tel. +1 715 422-1521
