Forest CertificationForest Certification
All of MWV's forestry and wood procurement operations are certified to internationally recognized certification standards.
Third-party fiber certification provides assurance that paper and packaging products contain fiber from sustainably managed forests, procurement systems or with chain of custody. MWV verifies that the fiber in our paper board is managed or procured according to accepted standards for sustainable forestry.
In the United States, the company's forestry operations are certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI®), while our Rigesa forestry operations are certified to the Brazilian standard CERFLOR. Both of these certification systems require regular independent, third-party audits to assure continued conformance to these standards.
Both SFI and CERFLOR are recognized by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (PEFC™), a global assessment and mutual recognition of national certification programs. PEFC is the world's largest forest certification program, with members accounting for over 200 million hectares in 25 independent national forest certification systems. To qualify for membership, a certification system must undergo a rigorous assessment involving public consultation and independent consultants.
MWV actively supports the SFI and has chosen to certify to this group’s rigorous standards. SFI bases its fully independent program on the simple premise that we can protect and manage our forests and produce the wood and paper products that help the global economy grow. The program integrates growing and harvesting of trees with the protection of wildlife, plants, soil, water, and air quality. Over 127 million acres of land are certified by independent, third-party audits to meet the SFI standard.
In addition to having our forestlands third-party certified, at our U.S. mills we have also obtained SFI and PEFC chain of custody certification which ensures that 100% of the fiber in our paperboard products comes from certified forests or other well-managed, legal sources. We will be providing more detail about the implementation of our chain of custody programs following a public announcement on April 22, 2008.
Learn More:
- Review MWV's 2006 SFI® Data
