Inaugural FSC good management award winners announced
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Australia hosted its inaugural Responsible Forest Management Awards in Melbourne on November 11. The awards recognise and reward those organisations that exemplify the spirit and intent of the FSC system through their management practices, contribution and promotion of FSC certification and FSC-certified products.
The categories and winners of the inaugural awards were:
• Small Forest Manager of the Year: Australian Sustainable Timbers
• Large Forest Manager of the Year: Timbercorp Forestry
• Building Company/Developer of the Year: Brookfield Multiplex
• Publisher/Paper User of the Year: Wellmark Perspexa
• Small Chain of Custody Operator of the Year: Etiko Fair Trade
• Large Chain of Custody Operator of the Year: The Laminex Group
Appreciation certificates were also presented to the Bunnings Group and The Woodage for their valued and constant support of FSC Australia.
FSC Australia is a not-for-profit organisation, hence reliant on member contributions and income earnt from activities and sponsorships to fund promoting the FSC system in Australia. The Annual Dinner & Awards Night, FSC Australia’s major fundraising activity for the year, featured US philanthropist and author Michael Conroy as a guest speaker. Conroy has been associated with FSC for over a decade. His book Branded! How the Certification Revolution is Transforming Global Corporations received critical acclaim, with one reviewer describing it as “one of the two best books on business ethics” when published in 2007.
FXA introduces “Dealer Sustainability Programme”
Fuji Xerox Australia (FXA) has introduced a “Dealer Sustainability Programme”, providing framework and support to help dealers to address the increasingly important environmental expectations of their customers.
Amanda Keogh, sustainability manager, FXA, says sustainability in its broadest sense underpins the Fuji Xerox Australia business, and that the organisation is committed to continuous improvement across economic, environmental and social criteria. Keogh says environmental sustainability is already well embedded in the business, due to a long-standing commitment to environmentally responsible product design, an extended producer responsibility programme, and ISO-certified environmental site management.
She says many dealers are SMEs without designated sustainability staff or the resources to design environment programmes, so Fuji Xerox Australia is offering its knowledge and experience so they can more easily adopt sustainable and environmental values.
Programme participants are asked to record initiatives against objectives over the year. These include electricity, fuel and water consumption, carbon emissions and paper bought against revenue generated, the number and weight of devices recycled, sent to landfill or resold, and the amount of waste generated, including its recyclable percentage.
The programme is open to all FXA dealers, and each year participating dealers “recommit” to it and the specified standards.
Participation certificates will be issued at the end of the year, when dealers have submitted their reports and demonstrated their commitment to continuous improvement in environmental performance. Each year, the best performing dealer will win an environmentally themed weekend away for two in the state in which they live in Australia.
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