On February 14, 2002, Westwind received an Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) “Certificate of Approval” from SGS Qualifor, a third party auditing firm accredited by ASI as a Certifying Body. The certificate recognizes the French-Severn Forest as fulfilling all the requirements of a “Well Managed Forest”. All FSC-certified forests worldwide are evaluated against FSC’s Principles & Criteria for responsible forest management. Specific forest stewardship standards suited to local social, ecological and economic conditions ensure the entire community benefits from sustainable forestry. In order to maintain FSC certification, Westwind undergoes annual surveillance audits, as well as rigorous re-certification audits every 5 years. All findings are disclosed to the public through audit reports.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is a global, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide. FSC defines standards based on agreed principles for responsible forest stewardship that are supported by environmental, social, and economic stakeholders. To learn more, visit www.fsc.org
Principle 9 of the Forest Stewardship Council Principles and Criteria requires a High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) assessment to be undertaken. Using the National Boreal HCVF Framework for Canada, several high conservation values (HCV) were identified in the French-Severn Forest. Westwind is committed to maintaining or enhancing these values by implementing management practices that protect waterways and wildlife habitat, conserve regions of high biodiversity and minimize the impact of harvesting operations. To view the HCVF Report, click here: Westwind HCVF Report 2016