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The CFI Podcast: Jason Metnick and Francois Dufresne on forest management certification

As Canada turns its attention towards a green economic recovery from COVID-19, forestry will have an important role to play. But there are still a lot of public misconceptions about the industry’s sustainability. Yet Canada leads the world in sustainable forest management, with an estimated 164 million hectares of forests certified under one of three certification programs: the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada, and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). These certification programs play a critical role in combatting the narrative that forestry is not sustainable by raising public awareness, working with communities and key stakeholders, and more.

To get a better understanding of the different issues these certification programs cover, how the certification landscape has changed over the years, and what forestry companies need to do to become certified today, we spoke with Jason Metnick, SFI’s senior vice-president of customer affairs, and Francois Dufresne, president of FSC Canada, in the latest episode of The CFI Podcast.

As the forest certification landscape in Canada has evolved, marketplace and consumer awareness of the industry’s sustainability has increased. As a result, the industry is well-positioned to fight the narrative that forestry is not environmentally friendly.

“I think one of the perceptions that we also are trying to fight is that risk side of forestry. No question about it, there is risk when you look at deforestation, illegal logging, biodiversity issues, but sustainably managed forests can provide rewards and move that narrative away from risks to rewards,” Metnick said.

“I think now we all recognize the climate change crisis, we all recognize the Indigenous rights imperative, and we all recognize the caribou crisis, the need to maintain biodiversity and reduce fragmentation. I think we’re going in the right direction, but we still have to fully implement our solutions,” Dufresne added.

Listen to the SoundCloud link below to learn more about the FSC and SFI certification programs, the forestry sector’s sustainability journey, and more.

Have an idea for a podcast episode? Email Ellen Cools at ecools@annexbusinessmedia.com.

Music: www.purple-planet.com