Dr Hans Drielsma
Executive General Manager
THE sustainability of wood products from forests managed by Forestry Tasmania has been reaffirmed by the annual audit carried out under the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS).
The AFS sets stringent criteria for sustainable forest management and production tracking, which provides customers with an assurance that timber has been produced according to international best practice standards. The standard is internationally endorsed by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes (PEFC), which is the largest forest certification body in the world.
This year’s independent audit was undertaken by Australia's largest and most experienced third-party certification organisation, NCS International, and reaffirms that FT has in place a fully integrated forestry, environmental and safety management system that covers all the requirements of relevant legislative forest standards.
The audit confirmed that FT’s internal procedures are working well and that its Forest Management System complies with relevant standards.
It also showed the system is effective in providing improved management, statutory compliance and performance and has developed new systems for risk identification and management.
Forest operation planning is recognised as comprehensive, inclusive and extensively documented, and demonstrates a dedicated commitment by FT staff to comply with our policy and objectives for sustainable forest management.
As a result of the audit, we will also look at areas for improvement in the control of documents, competence training and awareness and some operational controls.
Click here to view the report.
Branchline August 24, 2009
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