Europeans Embrace Eco-certification

February-March 2001

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by Gordon Hamilton

Andy Shaw's prime red cedar is headed for Holland. The lumber, exported under the "FSC greentree" label, is worth $1.5 million. When Shawood Lumber owner Andy Shaw was trying to sell British Columbia cedar in Europe this fall he met stiff resistance until he told his clients he had eco-certified wood.

Shaw is the first BC sawmiller to get a supply of rainforest logs certified to the most stringent world eco-standard - the Forest Stewardship Council. He was shocked at the response from his client. "They wanted to buy everything I had," he said of the Netherlands customer he was dealing with.

And not only did they buy his wood, they paid him a five-per-cent premium. It's a $1.5-million deal for 300,000 board feet of prime BC cedar and the first truckloads with the FSC greentree logo stapled on the side have begun rolling out of Shawood's Langley sawmill. It is this province's first major shipment of rainforest lumber that even Greenpeace agrees is okay.

"In terms of the kind of vision and commitment they are showing in moving quickly on this, clearly they should be supported," said Tamara Stark, forest campaigner for Greenpeace and a veteran of anti-logging campaigns from Clayoquot Sound to the central coast.

Shaw's value-added mill is the final link in a chain of certification that stretches from the front gate of the Langley operation to a Fraser River primary sawmill where the logs are cut in large planks, to the towboats that haul the logs down the coast, and finally to a small logging camp on Knight Inlet, where the timber is harvested selectively, leaving behind a complete forest eco-system.

The lumber is prime western red cedar, selling for $3,000 for 1,000 board feet. It is the best lumber BC produces, clear-grained and durable. It sells for almost 10 times the value of construction lumber.

Shaw was not a strong believer in the certification movement until he bought the eco-logs from Timfor Contractors, an FSC-certified logging operation run by long-time forester Esmond Preus.

Shaw quickly converted, however, when he saw the enthusiasm among Europeans for his new product. When he looked further, the size of the market and the determination of the Europeans to use eco-certified wood took him by surprise: He was contacted by one consortium in the United Kingdom representing companies with annual sales of $7.7 billion. They are committed to using eco-certified wood by 2003 and they prefer the stringent FSC system over other industry-initiated systems.

"It's a $7.7 billion market. That's billion -not million," he said, as if he was still trying to convince himself as much as his listener that eco-certification is for real.

Shawood has cracked the door open to that market but Shaw said his customers want assurances they can continue to buy FSC-certified wood. Promising a dependable supply is still an open question. Timfor is BC's only major logging operation to have the FCS seal of approval. The company has a non-replaceable forest licence for 175,000 cubic metres of timber. They have already logged half of it and expect to log the remaining 80,000 cubic metres in 2001. Once that is gone, there are no guarantees the province will provide them with more timber. And there is no certainty other operators will achieve FSC-certification.

The BC forests ministry has no policy recognizing FSC wood and it is costly to operators like Timfor to operate without the certainty of supply.

Forests Minister Gordon Wilson says he recognizes the dilemma BC operators face when they are seeking new markets for eco-wood. "Obviously there is a challenge to government now," he said.

Wilson said the forests ministry intends to make more timber available through open-market bidding to companies that become eco-certified but there are several hurdles to overcome first. Specifically, major licensees who control most of the province's timber must be willing to give up some of their tenure to make timber available to independents like Timfor, he said.

Also, there is still a dispute among BC producers over which eco-certification system will ultimately win out in the global marketplace. But FSC is generally considered to be more environmentally stringent. Shaw said he is convinced that is the system the European buyers want. The issue, he said, is clearcutting. "It seems highly unlikely they would buy from someone who clearcuts. That is the whole thing they are trying to stop," he said.

This article appeared in the Vancouver Sun, Dec. 5, 2000 and is reprinted here with permission. ©