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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 Supplier Reviews

Catalyst conducts fibre supplier reviews to verify the forest management practices and performance of our fibre suppliers, as well as to assess certification progress.

Begun in early 1998, our verification process was developed with the assistance of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Results to Date

In 2003, we completed the fourth survey of our fibre suppliers. PricewaterhouseCoopers verified all results.

Key results included:

	73 per cent of the fibre supplied to Catalyst was from suppliers who had a certified EMS in place, such as ISO 14001
	64 per cent of the fibre was from suppliers who had sustainable forest management certification of all, or part, of their woodlands operations
	68 per cent of the fibre came from suppliers who were considering chain of custody for their mills. This would allow us to purchase and track increased volumes of certified fibre through our operations
	all companies who did not currently have SFM certification expected to be certified by 2007

Independent Certification

As a leading paper manufacturer, we support the principles of sustainable forest management, and expect our major fibre suppliers to pursue independent certification under programs recognized in the international marketplace.

Third-party certification options in B.C. include the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). While some suppliers are certified under a single standard, many are certified to more than one. At Catalyst, we support all internationally accepted standards.

We also continue to seek third-party validation for the environmental integrity of our products. In 2001, we produced what we believe to be the largest industrial run of FSC-certified newsprint in North America. We also expanded our FSC chain of custody system at our Elk Falls Division.