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“Organic”, “Earth-friendly”, “Green Energy”, “Sustainable”. Now, more than ever, industry is using such terms to promote its progress and efforts in protecting the environment. We must do all we can to make sure that these messages never lose their impact and never become just a bunch of bland and boring buzz words. The work, investment and effort are very real. To see this, let’s take at look at Tembec and some real-world examples of just what sustainability and protection of the environment really entails.

Tembec, proud manufacturer of the FSC certified Kallima® Coated Cover paperboard and one of North America’s largest forestry products companies, is at the forefront of leading industry change to greener, environmentally friendlier practices. One of Tembec’s most recent sustainability exploits was, in May 2010, being one of the major forestry companies to sign the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, a historic accord between industry, government and some of biggest environmental groups like Greenpeace, the David Suzuki foundation, The Nature Conservancy and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness society.
The agreement, as the name implies, aims to protect the Canadian Boreal Forest which stretches from the Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador, directly and indirectly employs more than 600 000 Canadians and supports more than 200 communities across Canada. Through the pact, industry and environmentalists are working together to make sure that the natural habitat is maintained for wildlife, and all those who depend on this majestic forest. Tembec is on the front lines, translating agreement policies into real action.

3 real-world examples of Tembec’s sustainability leadership

Protecting untouched, intact and continuous forests

One of the main goals of the Canadian Boreal agreement is to protect the caribou population that depends on this vast habitat. There is growing evidence that the caribou is adversely affected when numerous logging roads are created in order to access remote areas in the forest. Tembec minimizes its impact by leaving large and continuous areas of the forest undisturbed, and as much as possible using already existing power lines and roads to access its tenured forests.

Ensuring re-growth and minimizing impact

Wet ground is an ideal place for black spruce growth. Spruce trees drop seed though the years and the seeds stay viable for decades in the thick wet moss layer that covers the forest floor. In such areas, Tembec only cuts during the winter months. Logging after freeze up does not disturb the seed rich forest floor and such areas are able to re-green quite nicely.

Minimizing waste, maximizing efficiency

In the not so distant past, sawmills would turn black and white spruce logs into two-by-fours, but the rest - bark and sawdust and shavings - was considered waste and was disposed of. Now, every possible part of the harvested tree is used as efficiently as possible. Bark, for instance, is used as a fuel source. Wood chips are used to make pulp for paper. Some of the wood shavings are sold to a company that bags them for bedding for pets and livestock. Sawdust is used to make particle board. Maximizing efficiency truly has a big impact on how sustainable industry practices can be. Tembec is able to maintain its industry leadership by constantly challenging itself to find ways of using fewer trees while making more products.

There is still much work to do to ensure that the environment is preserved for future generations. Tembec, along with other industry players, government and environmental organizations are taking a hard stance on sustainability. The combined efforts are bearing fruit, leaving us optimistic about what we can achieve together in the future.

This blog post is based on a Canadian Geographic original article titled “War for the Woods “*. We thank the Canadian Geographic for their generous support and for their tremendous work in promoting the interests of wildlife throughout Canada and abroad. We kindly invite you to read the original article in its entirety and to support the Canadian Geographic. Please visit www.canadiangeographic.ca to learn more about this important publication.

*“War for the woods” by Rick Boychuk
©Canadian Geographic Jan/Feb 2011