Environmental Statement: 2006

The forest industry accounts for some 40% of Finland's exports. Timbers stands cover 66% of the country and are growing 6% per annum allowing for all commercial activities of Finland's forest industries. The Finns take the health of their forests very seriously and work within the principles of sustainable yield and a commitment to forest protection.

The Finnish forestry industry has committed itself to forest certification and therein by promotion of certification can help contribute to better quality forestry in the whole country. Certification not only improves the quality of forest management but also provides the customer with proof that the raw timber used for the product comes from sustainable forests. Certification under the Finnish Forest Certification System is well under way in Finland and the Finnish Forest Certification Council has now been endorsed by the PEFC (Pan European Certification Scheme).

Puhos Board OY in Finland is located in Eastern Finland close to many timber producing sawmills and all of its raw material for production is supplied as wood residues i.e. wood sawdust and wood chips; it is not directly involved in any forest cutting. This operation is channelled through UPM-Kymmene Forest who co-ordinate the certification of all the mills supplying to Puhos Board OY.

In September 2003 The Finnish Forest Certification Council granted Puhos Board Oy the right to use the PEFC logo under user category 3 ...covering the production and sales of particle board.

Puhos Board OY takes it's commitment to environmental matters very seriously. It was the first in the Scandinavian Particle board industry to be awarded with ISO14001 Environmental Management System Certificate and has invested continuously in ensuring low environmental impact from mill emissions and recently negotiated a contract for 2005 that ensures all its electricity supply will be sourced from Nordic hydroelectricity via Fortum Markets Oy.

As a member of the European Panel Federation they are active supporters of the CEI-Bois VISION programme to promote Wood and Wood based products to become a leading material by 2010.

In December 2004 Puhoswood Ltd the Sales, Marketing and Distribution operation for Puhos in the UK also achieved PEFC Chain of Custody Certification and FSC TRADA-Trak Chain of Custody Certification for "The purchase, storage and sale of PEFC & FSC timber and timber products".

In May 2006 Puhos was also awarded Certificate No BMT-COC-0025 for the purchase, storage, distribution and sales of independently certified timber and timber products allowing Puhos to pass on the SFI chain of custody details for Trus Joist I-joists from the USA.

Certification numbers are as follows:
PEFC Chain of Custody registration number: BMT-PEFC-0130
FSC TRADA-Trak Chain of Custody registration number: TT-COC-1993