Forestry

An enduring partnership with World Wildlife Fund Canada

In 2006, World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) and Tembec renewed a leading environmental partnership in the forest sector. Initiated in 2001, thousands of hectares of conservation land have been set aside and millions of hectares of forest are now certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Through the collaboration of forest practitioners and biologists, Tembec and WWF-Canada continue to identify and protect high conservation value forest containing old-growth trees, caribou habitat and rare species.

“Practitioner expertise in Tembec and WWF-Canada has resulted in real conservation gains one the FSC banner. Thanks in large part to Tembec, Canada is a world leader in FSC certification.”

Mike Russill
President and CEO, WWF-Canada
©1986 Panda symbol WWF-World Wild Fund for Nature (also known as World Wild Fund
®”www” is a WWF Register Trademark

FSC certification - the standard of choice
The Forest Stewardship Council is an independent international organization that sets standards to promote responsible forest management. The FSC certifies forest practices that meet stringent environmental, social and economic criteria established jointly by conservation, Aboriginal and business representatives. Tembec has selected FSC as the certification standard of choice for its Company operations. The SmartWood program of the Rainforest Alliance is an FSC-accredited certifier.

The Boreal Forest Conservation Framework - gaining momentum and getting results
In 2003 the Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) convened the Boreal Leadership Council, and launched the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework - a balanced approach to protect and manage Canada’s expansive Boreal forest region. There are now 13 members of the Council - a group of Aboriginal communities, resource companies and conservation organizations - joined in a unique collaboration under the Framework vision. By working together, CBI and Council have established a new national dialogue with governments and businesses to promote comprehensive land use planning and leading edge resource management. Tembec is a proud to be a founding member of the Council and signatory to the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework.

Certifying well-managed forest, chain of custody and fibre procurement
Building of FSC certification of forest land in Canada, Tembec has expanded its third-party verification to include fibre procurement and facility chain of custody. From ISO 14001 registration and FSC certification of Company-managed lands in Canada, to supporting the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) of small private forests in France and SmartLogging and Master Logger Certification in Louisiana (in partnership with SmartWood), to establishing a wood procurement policy for external suppliers, Tembec is actively pursuing the certification of its entire fibre supply.

Tembec’s Environmental Fund
Tembec continues to support local community environmental initiatives through its environmental fun. Whenever a mil or group of mills generates net after-tax profits in a given fiscal year, Tembec donates five cents for every cubic meter of wood harvested from public lands to environmental projects. These regional donations are made to non-profit organizations, allowing small-scale and large-scale project to achieve their goals. Examples of projects include building interpretive nature trails, stocking lakes, and protecting endangered species.

Manufacturing

Leadership in greenhouse gas emissions reduction

Tembec as aggressively taken action to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and actively supports the Kyoto Protocol. The Company has achieved outstanding results through creative and innovative projects, reporting an overall decrease of 27 percent in its global greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 (Canada’s Kyoto target was 6 percent below 1990 levels). For example, the new Temiscaming anaerobic effluent treatment plant produces methane gas, which displaces a large quantity of fossil fuel, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 50,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent per year.

Energy reduction

In line with achieving resource conservation and addressing environmental and economic objectives, Tembec has reduced its overall energy consumption by 18 percent since 1996 through rigorous operational controls and investments in improved equipment technologies.

Fibre utilization

In line with achieving resource conservation and addressing environmental and economic objectives, Tembec now recover more than 98 percent of all delivered fibre to manufacture products and produce energy. For example, wood residues such as bark, shavings, sawdust and chip fines are sold as by-products, or processed to make steam and electricity (thus reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions).

Clean air investments

Tembec continues to actively support joint initiatives with governments, stakeholders and industry to improve air quality. Major investment made by the Company at the Temiscaming site resulted in the reduction of particulate emission to a level of 75 percent below the limit. It also made significant investments at the Smooth Rock Falls and Saint-Gaudens sites to improve air quality.

Wastewater management

Tembec has demonstrated a strong commitment to environmental performance in the areas of wastewater management. The Chetwynd high-yield pulp mill is a zero-effluent mill; 100 percent of the process water is recycled and re-used in the mill.

Looking towards the future

Tembec is committed to continue environmental performance improvements in its manufacturing facilities and to meet its Impact Zero® vision. The Company will demonstrate its leadership by implementing proactive programs such as developing life cycle analysis tools to improve environmental planning, and establishing monitoring and reporting systems to assess environmental, social and economic indicators

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