Wood From British Columbia (B.C.) Canada
Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) is the Crown provincial agency charged with maintaining and expanding markets for British Columbia (B.C.) forest products. With a satellite location in Binh Duong, Vietnam, FII promotes B.C. and Canada as a global supplier of quality, environmentally responsible wood products from sustainably managed forests.
British Columbia (B.C.) – Canada’s Westernmost Province
B.C. is world renowned for its sustainable forest management practices. Approximately 95 percent of its forests are publicly owned and governed by stringent laws and environmental regulations. More than 41 million hectares of BC’s forestland have been certified as being sustainable.
Only 9% of the world’s forests are certified – Canada has 35% of the world’s certified forest volume. Canada is the international leader in forest certification with B.C. contributing more than any other province. Only a fraction of 1% of the total forests is harvested per annum and three new trees are planted for every tree harvested. This results in over 200 million seedlings being planted each year.
Wood is the only material with third-party certification programs in place to verify that products originate from a sustainably managed source.
There are three third-party certification systems for sustainable forest management: Canadian Standards Association’s Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CSA), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).
Certification programs are endorsed and overseen by one of two independent non-profit organizations: Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). CSA and SFI are recognized by PEFC.
B.C. forests are certified for sustainable management by independent third-party sources, giving buyers the assurance that the forest products they use are legally and responsibly sourced.