This is the first COC under Green Resources operations in all the three countries of its operation (Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda).
The achievement registered amidst the raging Covid-19 pandemic environment, comes on the heels of a similar feat by Global Woods Company which recently obtained an FSC COC certificate for its Kikonda Forest business in Kyankwanzi District. The FSC Eastern Africa Sub Regional office offered the initial technical support and necessary guidance for the two companies to achieve the certification.
A Chain of Custody (COC) is the path taken by forest products from the supplier to the end consumer following the supply chain through processing, manufacturing and distribution. This new status implies that Green Resources AS, one of the largest forest development and wood processing company in East Africa, will supply certified products from a responsibly managed resource, to its local and international customers enabling them to improve their green scorecards. A number of business operations linked with the COC namely Kasali Sawmill, Massese Timber treatment plant, RVR point of sale in Jinja will sell a variety of certified products including pallets and doors, raw and Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) treated fencing and construction poles, raw and treated transmission and telecom poles plus treated sawn timber, wet-off-saw and kiln dried saw timber, saw dust and shavings.
BFC management were motivated to roll out a COC to “offer certified products to their customers which would allow them to improve their green scorecards, as well as provide surety that they were being supplied a sustainably managed and quality product”. According to BFC’s Managing Director, Mr. John Ferguson, product certification is a growing requirement, especially in the export market. “It was a natural progression from our FSC Forest Management Certification, to have the COC included, for our desire to supply top quality sustainable forest and timber products” noted Mr. Ferguson. “We will be able to secure supply contracts with the aid agencies as well as assist international players to incorporate the use of a certified sustainable resource compared to the current use of local uncertified timber and other wood products.”
Furthermore, BFC expects growing demand from Ugandan affiliates of global corporates such as AB INBEV and Coca Cola. BFC also sees FSC certification as a means of increasing the value of timber products on local and regional markets.
Established in 1996, Busoga Forestry Co. Ltd (BFC) is a subsidiary of Green Resources AS of Norway. It acquired FSC certification for its Forest Management Units in 2010 and the company is responsible for the establishment and management of forest plantations for carbon offsets, quality forest products and renewable energy. It boasts of 9,135 ha of forest area certified with the main tree species planted being Pine spp, Eucalyptus spp, Musizi (Maesopsis emnii) and Terminalia spp. The company acquired a permit of fifty years from the Government of Uganda for forestry development in Bukaleba and Kachung Central Forest Reserve (CFR). Green Resources was established in 1995 and is a private Norwegian company with both private as well as institutional investors.