Certification to the Australian Forestry Standard is opening markets for a northern Tasmanian forest company. Source: ABC News
Forest manager and broker, AKS Forest Solutions, sought AFS certification to expand its options to market wood from all types of sustainable forest.
AKS director, Tony Stonjek said it’s been a demanding process in terms of time and money, but is a game changer for his business.
“All the boxes are ticked from an environmental point of view, from a social license point of view, and from an economic point of view as well,” he said.
“We had to make a conscious decision 12 to 14 months ago, if we were going to be fair dinkum in the forestry industry going forward.
“It was pretty obvious some form of certification was going to be needed, if you were going to be a player into the future, with the industry as it evolves and as it improves.
“Immediately it provides us with more security with sales, because the buyer, for right or for wrong has been convinced that some sort of certification is required. “By having certification we can go to a small grower or a large grower and say it’s going to be sold under a certification scheme and be in a position to demand a better price for the product.”
Consultant Mark Leech has worked with AKS Forest Solutions in developing the system and going through the process of AFS certification.
Mr Leech said that all the major Tasmanian sawmill’s customers are demanding certified product.
“They are all in ‘chain of custody’, which is another Australian Forestry Standard process,” he said.
“Tony’s operation provides chain of custody from the forest to the mill door.
“A chain of custody takes it from the first point of processing to the next point, to the next, ultimately to the end-point.
“Certification is demonstrating to the world that he is managing forests along prescribed or performance based outcomes which are environmentally sustainable, as well as culturally and socially.”
