Harwood Products has embarked on an exciting new program to produce and market lumber that has been certified as being produced in an environmentally sound manner under criteria laid out by an international organization called the Forest Stewardship Council. The movement towards certifcation has developed due to concern largely over liquidation of the Tropical Rain Forests. This environmental awareness has led consumers, particularly in Europe, to demand that wood coming from the world's Temperate Forests (which we operate in) be produced in an equally environmentally sound manner. Certification is a relatively new concept that is gaining worldwide momentum at a very rapid pace. Harwood Products has positioned itself on the leading edge of the movement and is helping provide leadership to make certification available to all those who wish to participate.

By now you are probably asking, what is certification? Third party certification is a way to assure the end consumer of wood products that the wood was produced and processed in a "sustainable" manner, without damaging the forest ecosystem. It also insures that local communities reap the socio-economic benefits of a well managed forest by keeping the jobs here.

The Forest Stewardship Council has been formed to become an international accreditation body which would "evaluate, accredit and monitor certifiers of forest products." The FSC will not certify forest products. Rather it will set international "Principles of Forest Management" to which certifiers must ahere. Harwood Products is working with local certifiers, Smart Wood and Scientific Certification System to help certify local landowners and bring their wood products to the market place.

The next obvious question is, what is in this for Harwood Products or anybody else that wants to get involved with certification? The answer is two fold. First, it is in all of our best interest that the Earth's resources are managed on a sustainable basis, thus insuring a habitable planet for future generations. Certification of forest products is a positive step towards that goal.

In addition, as consumers become more knowledgeable about where their wood products come from, given a choice, they will choose those that are produced in an environmentally sound manner. With plenty of wood in the world to choose from, certification will become a significant marketing tool for any forest landowner or lumber manufacturer looking to get top dollar for their products in the future.