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2008

The Canadian Boreal Initiative congratulations Rona for its comprehensive and sustainable wood purchasing policy

The Canadian Boreal Initiative congratulations Rona for its comprehensive and sustainable wood purchasing policy

Ottawa, Nov. 21, 2008: As part of its sustainability strategy, Rona announced today that it has committed to purchase lumber and plywood panels through its Wood Products Procurement Policy. The Canadian Boreal Initiative (CBI) congratulates Rona for introducing this open and effective approach. This progressive process will ensure that Rona is doing business only with those suppliers and partners who commit to criteria that include responsible fibre sources, strong environmental performance, social responsibility, and proper monitoring and reporting.

Rona’s procurement policy will contribute to ongoing efforts to protect Canada’s Boreal forest, which is under growing pressure from human activities. Canadians want the Boreal forest to be protected, and savvy retailers are listening. This year businesses such as Birks, Chapters/Indigo, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Tiffany’s, Limited Brands (parent company to Victoria’s Secret), and others have supported the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework, a vision to achieve a balance between conservation and sustainable development across Canada’s Boreal forest . Like Rona, these companies have committed to integrating sustainability practices into their business operations.

“We encourage all building retailers to follow Rona’s lead,” said Larry Innes, Executive Director of CBI. “It is critical that Canadian businesses strike a balance between profit and environmental sustainability. Their actions can ensure that our Boreal forest continues to act as a global carbon storehouse and home to tens of thousands of people, birds, and animals for generations to come.”

Rona’s Wood Products Procurement Policy includes stringent guidelines, including:

• the purchase lumber and plywood that certified through one of three recognized certification standards;
• a preference for FSC-certified lumber and plywood, due to its rigorous standards for protecting biodiversity and ensuring that the rights of First Nations are respected;
• a commitment not to source from high conservation value forests, and specific criteria for the rare circumstances when this might occur;
• specific targets and timelines to reach these goals;
• a commitment to report annually on their progress.

Protecting Canada’s Boreal forest is good for the bottom line. The Boreal forest supports thousands of jobs and contributes billions of dollars to the Canadian economy. Rona is to be congratulated for a bold policy that will ensure that the wood they buy and sell is legally sourced and forest-management certified, harvested by sustainable means, and meets strict conservation values.

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For more information, please contact Suzanne Fraser, director of communications, Canadian Boreal Initiative: 613 552 7277, sfraser@borealcanada.ca.

The Canadian Boreal Initiative brings together diverse partners to create new solutions for Boreal conservation and acts as a catalyst for on-the-ground efforts across the Boreal forest by governments, industry, First Nations, conservation groups, major retailers, financial institutions and scientists.

The Boreal Forest Conservation Framework was developed jointly with industry, scientists, conservationists and Aboriginal leaders. It is based on the best available science and traditional knowledge and is intended to inform a dialogue with governments and other stakeholders about how to secure the long-term future of Canada’s Boreal Forest.