July 2, 2015 (Montreal) – Following the unprecedented second extension of the suspension of Resolute Forest Product’s Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certificate covering nearly 3.2 million hectares of Boreal Forest in the Lac St Jean region of Quebec, Forest Campaign Coordinator at Greenpeace, Richard Brooks, said:
“We are surprised that yet another extension has been granted, particularly when there is no evidence that the certificate holder, Resolute Forest Products, is doing any work to regain the certificate. While Resolute has already been given ample time to address the many major non-compliances with their FSC certificate, we hope Resolute’s senior management will see this extension as a last chance and use it to finally work collaboratively to strengthen their forestry practices.”
In late 2013, Rainforest Alliance, the independent FSC auditor, reported multiple failures to meet FSC Standards including insufficient protection for species at risk, lack of suitable conservation of old growth areas, inadequate plans to maintain high conservation values, and weak monitoring programs. These are entirely within the responsibility and jurisdiction of the company to address and should have been resolved by now.
The original suspension of 4 of Resolute’s FSC certificates covering over 8 million hectares of forest in both Ontario and Quebec more than a year and a half ago were unprecedented. Since then two certificates have been terminated, and none have been regained.