Georgia-Pacific, through its GP Cellulose division, announced that 2023 marks the 10-year anniversary of the company’s Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) Group Certification Program for private landowners in the United States.
The project started as a pilot in 2013 to determine whether small private landowners were willing to certify their domestic forestland to the FSC forest certification standard. The fiber from these certified lands would be used for GP customers wanting to ensure their products are sustainably sourced; they’d also benefit from FSC branding opportunities.
“Family forest landowners across the Southeast United States have traditionally done an exceptional job of managing their lands without certification. While some were hesitant to sign up for a certification program to validate what they were already doing, many were happy to join thanks to their experience working with GP through previous landowner assistance programs,” comments the company.
According to the company, the program started with two foresters – one at Brunswick and the other at Leaf River, who not only established the program and its guidelines, but also registered the landowners – and has grown over time to meet the increasing need for certified fiber.
“Due to advances in technology, we’re now able to manage this program with just one forester. To date, we have attracted landowners in Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi to participate in the certification program totaling approximately 100,000 acres.,” reports GP.
During the past ten years, customer demand for certified fiber has increased tremendously, and the company has been able to meet this demand through a combination of three major certification programs:
- Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®): FSC-123028
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®): SFI-00007
- American Tree Farm Program
“These certifications, along with our robust Stewardship program, have allowed us to meet the certified fiber demands of our customers while ensuring a sustainable and valued forestry resource on the landscape. The progress we make over the next decade will be critical as we seek to supply our customers with sustainably produced products from a rapidly changing forestry landscape. The foundations we’ve laid will help us remain a valued manufacturer and a preferred partner for our customers,” concluded Georgia-Pacific.
Visit the GP Cellulose website and learn more about the company’s commitment to sustainability and forest management.
