AssiDomän Joins the FSC

AssiDomän Joins the FSC AssiDomän is the first major forest products company in the world to become a member of the FSC - the Forest Stewardship Council. The FSC is an independent international organisation whose purpose is to encourage environmentally adapted, socially responsible and financially robust management of the world's forests. FSC members are environmental organisations, including the WWF and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, buyers such as IKEA, forest managers, community organisations, and certification companies from 25 countries. The FSC drafts principles and criteria at international and national levels. Based on these criteria, independent organisations can then certify forest managers. In Sweden, a working group is currently drafting a national standard for forest management. Certification will depend on matters related to reforestation, biodiversity, conservation of virgin forests and other areas of high natural value, historical value, etc. "The fact that AssiDomän is the first really large forest company in the world to join the FSC represents an historical breakthrough. AssiDomän demonstrates, not only in its forests, but also through its certification-related activities, that it really believes sustainable forest management can be achieved in co-operation with environmental organisations, companies, trade unions and indigenous populations. The WWF can only congratulate AssiDomän for acting in a brave and far-sighted manner. We hope that this will encourage many others in the forest sector," says Per Rosenberg, responsible for European forest issues at WWF International. Lennart Ahlgren, AssiDomän's President and CEO, who on many previous occasions has emphasised the importance of environmental work in the forest industry, has the following comments on the company's FSC membership: "AssiDomän has been working with forest-related environmental issues for a long time. It therefore comes naturally to us through our membership of the FSC to support constructive co-operation with the environmental movement and thereby take a further step towards independent environmental certification of our forest management. Certification which is demanded and highly valued by our customers in Europe." Olof Johansson, an ecologist at AssiDomän Skog & Trä and the company's representative on the FSC, says that the Swedish FSC working group will continue as planned, which may result in a complete proposal for nationally adjusted criteria being tabled next spring. If so, the first genuine certification work in Sweden can start in the autumn. AssiDomän AB Corporate Communications 19 December 1996 For further information, please contact: Olof Johansson, Ecologist, AssiDomän Skog & Trä, tel +46 70 586 22 58 Per Rosenberg, WWF International, tel +41 223 649 229 Lotta Möller, PR/Ecology, AssiDomän, tel +46 70 575 35 05 Johan Sillerström, PR/Ecology, AssiDomän, tel +46 10 218 65 57 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1996/12/19/19990329BIT00180/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1996/12/19/19990329BIT00180/bit0002.pdf