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November 2010 | Angeline Albert
Canada’s
largest hardware retailer has hit its target of
sourcing 100 per cent of softwood lumber from certified sustainable forests.
The achievement means Rona met a target of sourcing a quarter of its softwood
lumber from forests certified by the ForestStewardship Council (FSC) two years ahead of schedule. In 2008, only two
per cent of this wood was FSC certified. The remaining 75 per cent of the
lumber comes from forests certified sustainable by other bodies.
Rona also received separate FSC certification from the Rainforest Alliance
for the traceability chain of wood products in 10 of its stores and three
distribution centres. Certification involves third-party analysis of its supply
chain from the forest through all production phases to the consumer. To achieve
certification, Rona’s wood products suppliers had to obtain FSC certification
for their forest management practices, which are subject to annual inspections
to verify their compliance.
The company said: “It should be noted that wood sourced from FSC-certified
forests is not widely available in Canada and that Rona intends to make it
easier for consumers to have access to such products.”
With 700 stores and 30,000 staff, Rona
generates more than $6 billion (£3.86 billion) in
annual sales in Canada.
