WWF Japan Releases 'Responsible Purchasing Checklist for Forest Products'

Seminar on Checklist for Forest Products : Copyright WWF Japan

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Japan released its "Responsible Purchasing Checklist for Forest Products" on December 17, 2008. The environmental NGO developed the checklist as the nation's first comprehensive tool for assessing wood and paper products based on their economic, environmental and social impacts. WWF Japan expects the checklist to promote the responsible eco-friendly procurement of forest products including paper, timber and woody fuels, by various companies.

The checklist is freely downloadable from the WWF Japan website. By answering questions on the checklist, its users can automatically assess their forest products in six grades based on forest ecosystems and local considerations. Evaluations are mainly based on the following two aspects: products' traceability that provides verification of their chain of custody and specifies which forests they originated in, and the appropriateness of forest management conducted in the specified forests.

World's natural forests have been decreasing annually by about 13 million hectares, equivalent to the size of the Hokkaido and Kyushu areas. This is partly because some products come from forests with inappropriate management. WWF Japan is attempting to improve the situation by requesting companies take up responsible purchasing practices.

- WWF Japan 'Responsible Purchasing Checklist for Forest Products'
http://www.wwf.or.jp/activity/forest/sus-use/purchasing/rpc/eng/index.htm

Posted: 2009/03/26 06:00:15 AM