Canada's National Sustainable Forest Management Standard, CAN/CSA Z809 refers to the way a forest is managed to maintain and enhance the long-term health of forest ecosystems for current and future generations.
This national standard is unique in that it includes the following components:
- Public participation – ongoing involvement and dialogue with community stakeholders
- Performance – requires compliance with Canadian Council of Forest Ministers’ set of Sustainable Forest Management criteria
- Systems – goes beyond other standards to implement, track and monitor performance.
The Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Standard utilizes a continual improvement approach, and takes into account environmental, social and economic factors. Companies are required to conduct a Third Party independent audit to become certified to the standard. When implemented effectively, the standard gives the community a voice in the way their forests are managed.