Olam acquired 1.3mn hectares of Forest Stewardship Council certified forest areas

Congolaise Industrielle des Bois has obtained Forest Stewardship Council certification for an additional 571,100 hectares of natural forest areas.

According to Olam, on December 15, 2010, the Group announced that it acquired tt Timber International’s forest concession rights for 1.3 million hectares of natural tropical hardwood forest in Congo, through its subsidiary CIB. With these additional 571,100 hectares certified, Olam will now have a total of 1.3 million hectares of FSC certified forest areas in Congo.

Robert Hunink, President and Global Head of Olam’s Wood Products business said: “This extraordinary accomplishment was only possible because CIB’s management and staff took ownership of the FSC project and in the process continued to show complete commitment and dedication. This achievement would not have been possible without the support of the Congolese Forest Ministry and partners such as the TFT – The Forest Trust.

“Our continued focus on getting additional forest areas FSC certified and enlarging that land bank reflects our proactive response to our customers’ growing demand for FSC certified timber products. We believe a large and growing contiguous FSC certified natural tropical rain forest, backed by our strong infrastructure and processing capacities in Congo, are the critical foundational enablers for us to be a leading provider of tropical hardwoods globally.”

FSC certification provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing incremental business value.