Weyerhaeuser Prefers American Tree Farm System-Certified Wood

WASHINGTON — One of the world's largest forest products companies has announced a supply chain preference for certified material sourced from the American Tree Farm System® (ATFS).

For more than 89,000 family forest owners sustainably managing 27 million acres of forestland in America, the Weyerhaeuser preference for their certified wood can make a real difference in the viability of the Tree Farms and the economic health of rural communities.

ATFS, a program of the American Forest Foundation, is the largest and oldest woodland system in America, and certified Tree Farmers meet the highest standards of sustainability and manage their lands for water, wildlife, wood, and recreation.

“Weyerhaeuser’s announcement is just what certified Tree Farmers have been waiting for,” said Tom Martin, President and CEO of the American Forest Foundation. “Healthy forests need healthy markets because protecting your trees against pests, pathogens and catastrophic fire can be expensive. These landowners are hardworking people who want to keep their forests, as forests, and keep them in their family.

“Weyerhaeuser’s continued commitment to ensuring woodland owners have the tools to manage sustainably is laudable,” added Martin.

Weyerhaeuser’s corporate sustainability goals include demonstrating forest stewardship by certifying at least 99 percent of its timberlands in North America to sustainable forestry standards like those of ATFS.

“Most of our customers want certified wood. There’s a widespread understanding of the value of certification—encouraging corporate best practices remains by far the most important role for certification. Buyers want to know their wood comes from sustainably managed forests,” said Dan Fulton, President and CEO of Weyerhaeuser Company.

“To give our customers what they want, we need more ATFS certified wood,” added Futon.

Weyerhaeuser supports the use of internationally accepted sustainable forestry standards, including the use of independent, external auditors that verify a company's commitment to responsible sourcing. Weyerhaeuser’s responsible fiber sourcing practices are guided by its wood procurement policy and implementation guidelines.

The preference for ATFS wood will be implemented at Weyerhaeuser through a number of measures, including:

•Incentives – Such as maintaining a priority market for Tree Farm certified material, especially when suppliers are put on quotas.