"Belosersky LPH", the biggest timber logging company within the structure of the holding, received the internationally recognized FSC Forest Management certificate for 220 thousand ha of its forestlands.

Thus, the logging company became one of the first in the Vologda region to verify the compliance of its activity to economical, environmental and social standards of sustainable forest management affirmed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) The assessment of the compliance to international standards was carried out by the auditing company SGS. The main audit was completed in April and the certificate was issued and signed on August 25, 2004.

Cherepovetsles' management confirmed its intention to continue work on certification. The next step will be chain-of -custody certification of the sawmill in Niznya Mondoma. After that, FSC certification of the rest enterprises belonging to Cherepovetsles is planning. Making comments on this decision, Valeri Pisarev, the General director of the company, pointed out:" Obviously, this procedure is long-term and complicated. It requires big volumes of investments — financial and organizational. Problems with certification are arising, first of all, from incompliance between some FSC standards and our forest legislation, for example, leaving of dead-wood at cutting sites, terms of lease and etc. At the same time, the main problem is unavailability of people to accept new rules, to develop new attitude to their own labor, to environment.

We are ready to overcome all the difficulties as the company is seriously dealing with export. Currently voluntary certification is very important from economical point of view. It is required by our partners. Unfortunately, western companies often think of Russian forest as illegally procured one. Certification is a way to prove that forest procurement is done in accordance with laws. I am sure, that we can provide our partners with such evidence as all the enterprises within the structure of holding act according to ecological rules.

|25.08.2004

 News «Cherepovetsles»
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