WPAC Report Leading the way Canada’s wood pellet industry is at the forefront in certified fibre By Gordon Murray C anada is a leading supplier of wood pellets from certified sustainable and legal sources. Today, electric power sta-tions in Europe and Asia are using Canadian wood pellets to displace coal and reduce fossil greenhouse gas emissions. Global customers are committed to sustainability throughout their supply chains. Ensuring the legality and sustainability of their biomass supply is critical to their business models. Canada’s wood pellet industry plays a large part helping customers meet their commitments with a growing supply of pellets produced en-tirely from the residuals of sustainably managed forests. Canada’s forests are highly regulated to comply with some of the most strin-gent regulations in the world, and Canada leads the world in forest certification with around 164 million hectares certified. INDEPENDENT ASSURANCE Canadian pellet producers typically do not directly manage for-ests. Instead, producers buy fibre as a by-product of the lumber industry or through the extraction of dead, diseased or dam-aged or low-quality trees by independent logging contractors. Canadian pellet producers ensure the sustainability of their fibre purchases by dealing exclusively with reputable suppliers and knowing where the suppliers’ timber supplies comes from. This is backed up by internationally-recognized third-party forest management certifications. The Forest Stewardship Coun-cil (FSC) has a national standard for Canada. The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) also endorses two Canadian forest management certifications: Canadian Stan-dards Association (CSA) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). The forest management certifications are supplemented by third-party certification of chain-of-custody to the standards of FSC, PEFC or SFI, which prove sustainability is maintained as fibre changes hands along the supply chain. All forest certifica-tion programs used in Canada promote principles, criteria and objectives that are viewed globally as the basis of sustainable forest management. They evaluate for basic forest stewardship by ensur-ing harvested areas are reforested, laws are obeyed and there is no unauthorized or illegal logging. They also ensure biological diver-sity is conserved and wildlife habitat, soils and water resources are conserved. Certifications are carried out by independent, interna-tionally recognized certification bodies that annually assess for-estry operations against sustainable forest management standards. ADDITIONAL ASSURANCE are also third-party certified to the standards of the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP). SBP was set up in 2013 to provide as-surance that woody biomass is sourced from legal and sustain-able sources. The program recognizes FSC and PEFC standards, including those endorsed by PEFC, and chain-of-custody-certi-fied fibre through FSC, PEFC and SFI. While the majority of fibre from Canada comes from certified forests, any uncertified fibre must be evaluated against SBP crite-ria. The wood pellet manufacturer must carry out a risk assess-ment to identify the risk of compliance against 38 SBP indicators covering 16 criteria for legality and sustainability: 1. The supply area fibre is sourced from is properly defined. 2. The forest owner or manager holds legal rights to the forest. 3. Laws are being complied with. 4. Royalties and taxes are being paid. 5. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is being complied with. 6. Harvesting does not violate traditional or civil rights. 7. Protection of exceptional forest values and species. 8. Protection of ecosystem functions. 9. Maintaining forest productivity. 10. Protecting ecosystem health and vitality. 11. Respecting legal and traditional rights of Indigenous peo-ples and communities. 12. Resolving grievances and disputes. 13. Safeguarding labour rights of forest workers. 14. Protecting health and safety of forest workers. 15. Maintaining carbon stocks. 16. Prohibiting use of genetically modified trees. SBP also has a framework for suppliers to report third-par-ty verified energy data associated with biomass production and transportation to the generators that purchase their pellets, en-abling them to calculate GHG emissions savings. The program also uses external audits and independent third-party certification. GLOBAL SUPPLIER Canadian wood pellet producers who export to Europe and Asia Canada’s framework of stringent forest laws, public involvement, skilled forestry professionals, and comprehensive monitoring, compliance and enforcement provides a solid foundation for sus-tainability. Third-party certification builds on that foundation to solidify Canada’s global reputation as a source of sustainable forest products. That’s why today, international customers can rely on Canada’s wood pellet industry for a stable supply of sustainable high-quality pellets. • SUMMER 2020 8 Canadian BIOMASS
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