topgreen program

8/14/2019 Topgreen program

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VenconUSA and Model Offer GREEN Hardwood Flooring

TopGreen ProgramOverview

Harvesting, manufacturing and quality standards are rising in industry, as are consumerexpectations. In light of this fact, and as manufacturers, we must inform customers of ourposition regarding the certification of logging companies supplying us with rawmaterials. Given this perspective, PG Hardwood Flooring, Model Hardwood andBeauceville Flooring (hereafter referred to as PG Group) introduced a forest certificationprogram in 2004. The purpose of the program is to encourage and support sustainableforest management.

Here are some facts provided by the Canadian Lumbermans Association (CLA) on

Canadian forestry harvesting:

To begin with, 50% of land in Canada consists of forests, 94% of which are publicproperty with the remaining 6% privately owned. Among these forests, only one quarterare designated as commercial territories for wood harvesting. The logging industryannually harvests 0.4% of the commercial surface, while forest fires, insects and diseasedestroy another 0.5%. Moreover, the certified forestry surface in the country is expandingcontinuously.

In the matter of certification, PG Group has dealings with three organizations presently inoperation: the CSA (Canadian Standards Association) with its Canadian standards insustainable forest management, SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) and FSC (ForestStewardship Council). These three organizations manage standards programs that do not

compete with each other. Rather, they complement each other, with each organizationproviding for the particular needs of its respective clientele. Standards certifying thatforests are indeed managed in a sustainable manner and the chain of custody of wood arethen enforced.

To obtain a certificate based on a particular standard, timber harvested in certified forestsis first identified by markings and painted logos as part of the chain of custody. Themarking process continues during subsequent stages in processing to ensure the transferof information and separation of lumber. Thus, the customer is sure to obtain goods witha sustainable vocation when purchasing a certified product.

Certification is relatively expensive, and in some instances, as in the case of the FSC, itcan be more costly than the market value of the products, making it impossible for someprivate producers to adhere to a certification program. Since most deciduous lumber isharvested from private land, it is obvious that not all our raw materials come fromcertified forests.

As a major consumer of raw materials, PG Group cannot limit purchases to one supplieralone. Consequently, it is evident that we cannot accept wood from lots operating under
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the criterion of a single standard. This is why we consider all sources of wood certifiedunder the terms of a sustainable forest management standard acceptable, rather thanaccepting only raw materials corresponding to one standard in particular.

To meet expectations, our supply officers have already taken steps and will continue to

base their decisions on four main priorities: Source of raw material Respect for raw material Chain of custody Recycling and reforestation

These guidelines are applied on a daily basis in our companies and clearly demonstrateenvironmental concerns supported by PG Group.

Raw Material Origin

Purchasing priority will be given to suppliers who apply two major principles of forestrymanagement:

Harvesting plans: using different felling methods such as shelterwood cutting

and selection cutting to favour and protect natural forest regeneration. These

felling methods are approved by forestry engineers working for both

government and industry. By supporting companies that harvest wood

legally and responsibly, we hope to contribute to the survival of flora and

wildlife and the conservation of biodiversity.

Tree crop regeneration: ensuring that wood producers comply withreforestation (planting, seeding and natural regeneration) laws and

regulations.

PG Group is committed to avoiding the use of non-certified wood from a controversialsource. Accordingly, PG does not purchase:

wood harvested illegally genetically modified wood wood harvested from forests affected by persistent social conflict wood from highly protected non-certified forests (according to the HCVF (High

Conservation Value Forests)

In order better to know our raw materials suppliers and to underwrite our commitment tosustainable forest management, we visit each of our suppliers at least once a year. Thisallows us to follow up on written commitments. A letter describing our principles andrequirements is based on a reference provided by the Qubec Wood Export Bureau (Q-WEB). A sample of this letter may be found in appendix.


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Respect for Raw Materials

From the standpoint of PG Group, raw materials warrant special consideration in order toavoid waste and, in so doing, decrease consumption.

These are the steps we have taken to date to encourage sustainable forestry andprotect the environment:

Wood purchased by PG Hardwood Flooring and Model Hardwood is FSC (ForestStewardship Council) accredited in terms of chain of custody.

Exotic hardwood (from Brazil) may also supplied by FSC suppliers accredited interms of chain of custody.

We produce five widths of boards. Each piece of wood received from a suppliermust be squared before being sent to the shaper. Since the sizing of output israndom in some categories of widths, there can be material loss resulting fromboard rejection. A range of five widths offers better combinations and less loss

during the edging process. - We now sell non value-added grades (Tavern andshort boards 6 to 8 inches long, not included in our regular product line).Formerly, these grades of wood were processed as waste. This saving of rawmaterial accounts for a significant percentage of all necessary consumption.

We have increased skid volume to 1040 square feet. Consequently, there are fewerblocks of wood between skids and boxes taking up available space duringshipping. This action optimizes the use of loading space in trucks, which in turndecreases the number of individual loads for a given quantity of wood, therebyreducing greenhouse gas emission.

We store stickered wood in shelters. This prevents sunlight from drying the woodon top and along the sides of piles. Wood that dries too quickly changes the

humidity levels in exposed wood, leading to constraints on the wood that exceedits mechanical resistance to cracks. By decreasing the percentage loss attributableto sunlight, we use fewer raw materials and contribute to a better qualityenvironment.

A coat of wax is applied to the ends of all boards before drying and concreteblocks are used as weights. The wax prevents the appearance or lengthening ofcracks and the concrete blocks improve the quality of pieces of wood drying onlast rows at the top of piles. Both procedures contribute to decreasing raw materialloss.

While awaiting processing, seasoned wood is stored in closed warehouses tominimize losses attributable to mould and exposure to sunlight.

Chain of Custody (traceability)

We have implemented an in-house procedure to trace wood right up to the finishedproduct. All wood is coded upon receipt and follow-up is ensured at each stage, fromproduction to packaging. The chain of custody does not contribute to any environmentalimprovement. Its purpose is to identify suppliers who sell us certified wood so that wemay then affix the appropriate logo on boxes of finished products. When a consumer


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chooses boxes identified with a certification logo, he or she contributes to sustainableforest development by increasing the demand for these products.

Recycling and Reforestation

We use waste wood to heat our driers and buildings. Cogeneration is a responsible,efficient and reasonably priced way to produce steam. Steam is used to operate the driers.The waste we burn would otherwise have been buried in landfills, leading to highconcentrations of organic matter in the soil and an increase in the concentration of toxicproducts such as mercury. Other sources of usable energy include natural gas or heatingoil, but both release greenhouse gases in large quantities during combustion.

We also recycle all waste other than wood (paper, cardboard, metal, chemical products).Most of the products we recycle are then purified and re-used as raw materials forproducts made from recycled materials.

Sawdust from wood not burned is used in the production of derivative products. Thiskind of waste is used by various industries in the production of engineered woodproducts.

PG Group supports reforestation efforts through a sponsorship and awareness programaimed at both customers and the community at large. PG Group identifies specificprograms involving reforestation and respect of the environment in order to help themachieve their objectives.

Awareness incentives have already been piloted by PG Group as, for example, the Saint-douard-de-Lotbinire elementary school program. In this program, several hundred

softwood trees were purchased and distributed among the school children and ourcompany employees. The public was very appreciative of this initiative. The purchase ofteaching material on trees for elementary schools in the region has also proven verypopular among teachers and students.

Finally, all land owned by PG Group will be completely reforested in cooperation withthe local Groupement forestier.

Conclusion

At PG Hardwood Flooring, Model Hardwood and Beauceville Flooring, we are fully

aware of the problems facing the forests of today and tomorrow. This is why we want toparticipate actively in the protection of our forests. We believe that decisions today toencourage sustainable forest management will guarantee a promising future.

We created a new website to present the environmental values we consider important.Visithttp://www.pgmodel.com/global/planet/en/.
http://www.pgmodel.com/global/planet/en/http://www.pgmodel.com/global/planet/en/http://www.pgmodel.com/global/planet/en/


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Certification and Membership

NWFA - National Wood Flooring Association

http://www.nwfa.org/

FSC - Forest Stewardship Council

http://www.fsc.org/

WFCA - World Floor Covering Association

http://www.wfca.org/

CLA - Canadian Lumbermens Association

http://www.cla-ca.ca/
http://www.nwfa.org/http://www.fsc.org/http://www.wfca.org/http://www.cla-ca.ca/http://www.nwfa.org/http://www.fsc.org/http://www.wfca.org/http://www.cla-ca.ca/

topgreen program

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