Health and Safety Environment Environment Policy Environmental Manufacturing Principles Fibre Sourcing Principles Third Party Certification Environmental Leadership Environmental Effects Corporate Giving Reports Contacts

Third Party Certification

Environmental Management Systems

All Catalyst divisions have an Environmental Management System (EMS) in place to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and standards. The EMS identifies key environmental aspects of the operation and sets priorities for appropriate actions. As high priority issues are dealt with, new ones are brought forward, resulting in continuous improvement. The systems include the following: a guiding environmental policy; annual objectives and targets; operating policies that define responsibilities; standard operating procedures; employee training and awareness; emergency preparedness; and document control.

We monitor the EMS with annual internal audits. As well, under ISO 14001, an independent auditor annually certifies that each site is meeting the required standard.

Compliance Auditing

Since 1990, extensive independent audits have been carried out at least every two years at all divisions. The audits verify compliance with environmental regulations. In addition, specific reviews are conducted as necessary to address environmental issues. Findings from all audits and reviews are included in ISO 14001 management.

Fibre Supply Certification

Catalyst has made extensive investments to ensure the fibre it uses comes from sustainably managed forests, and it routinely monitors its sources of supply. This includes annual and increasingly comprehensive supplier surveys, using a methodology developed with the help of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The results enable Catalyst to confirm that its fibre sourcing principles are being complied with, and to quantify the certified fibre supply to which it has access.

Catalyst can provide customers with third-party verification of the sustainability of the fibre that goes into specific products. A PricewaterhouseCoopers chain-of-custody certification system is in place at each of our four non-recycled mills. It provides assurances that 100 per cent of the fibre used to make select paper products was certified to one of the three major systems in use in North America (CSA, FSC and SFI).

Catalyst also obtains assurances from its suppliers that fibre provided does not originate from illegal sources or from genetically modified trees.

We contribute to our own supply of certified fibre by having Forest Stewardship Council certification in place at our Paper Recycling Division in Coquitlam. De-inked pulp that carries this certification is verified as coming entirely from post-consumer sources. In 2007, the division increased the proportion of its total output to which this certification applies from 40 to 60 per cent.