Good forest management certification
Good forest management certification
It provides the buyer with different guarantees concerning his purchases:
- That products come from responsibly managed forests (i.e. respecting the 3 pillars of sustainable development: Environmental, Social and Economic)
- That they can be traced without disruption throughout the entire chain of supply. This is called chain of traceability or chain of custody (CoC): any player involved at any level during the production and manufacturing process of a timber product until the end consumer is controlled once a year by an independent body which assesses his operating methods and authorises (or not) the sale of labelled products
There are 2 certification systems in the world: PEFC and FSC®. Rougier has chosen the gradual implementation of FSC® certification on all its logging sites. Today, more than 1 million ha of forest are already certified in Rougier's concessions in Gabon, and steps towards certification have been initiated in Congo.
Legality and traceability certification
Even though Rougier's sites in Congo have not yet been granted FSC® certification, the company wanted to provide guarantees of legality and traceability for its customers, which are increasingly demanding in matters of timber origin. These guarantees are today of crucial importance and allow Rougier to consolidate its market share on a market particularly attentive to environmental issues (notably USA and Europe due to EUTR).
Since 2010, the totality of marketed products from Rougier’s consessions in the Congo Basin carries at least legality and traceability certificates (Congo) or FSC® certification of good forest management (products from Gabon).
Measures to ensure environmental protection and preservation
In living areas and on industrial sites
- waste management: waste separation, dedicated storage facilities
- installation of concrete slabs at sensitive locations (gas stations, drainage pits, batteries, oil drums, generators, etc.) in order to avoid any potential runoff of toxic substances during heavy rains
- use of settling tanks / separators (separators of oil and wastewater)
- use of intervention kits in case of declared pollution
- regular consciousness raising among workers on the considerable damages any pollution might cause
On logging sites
- zoning of forest concessions and delimitation of areas dedicated to specific purposes (production, conservation, agriculture, pastoral usage, etc.)
- strict definition of the logging diameter of a certain number of species which might be considered regeneration and reforestation-sensitive.
- implementation of reduced impact logging (RIL or EFI in French) at every logging operation level: construction of roads and bridges and their maintenance, tracking, felling, skidding, extraction, cutting in forest log yards, etc.
Concerning wildlife
- regulations for subsistence hunting (or village hunting)
- prohibition on comercial hunting
- controlling and sanctioning all acts of poaching in violation of current regulations
- recruiting forest wardens and wildlife agent
- consciousness raising of employees and local populations
- implementation of partnerships with wildlife management bodies (WCS in Gabon)
Measures concerning local populations
Actions that are carried out encompass both employees and their families and populations living within the boundaries of the operated forest concession. The various social actions carried out by Rougier concern key areas such as safety, hygiene, housing, education, food and nutrition and health.
- Safety: raising awareness on occupational risks, generalisation of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)
- Hygiene: consciousness raising of populations, cleanliness monitoring, waste management, guaranteed access to drinking water in all living areas
- Health: construction of health care facilities and medical equipment funding, supplying basic medication, vaccination campaigns and STD awareness raising
- Housing: housing development for employees in isolated living areas including free access to electric power and common facilities (company store, health centre, etc.)
- Education/training: Providing the means for children’s schooling in the absence of local infrastructures or otherwise, participating in the financial support of public schools
- Food: implementation of food supply centres within living areas. Actions promoting the development of food crops and local trade (community development projects)
