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Environment Sustainability and Climate Change Seminars

To further our commitment towards sustainable sources of timber and forest products and to provide co-operators more information on the certification programmes and successful sustainable initiatives, CHI organized a seminar on Sustainable Sources of Timber and Forest Products during the 2011 ICA Congress in Cancun, Mexico.

Close to 100 participants attended this very informative and inspiring seminar. Mr Rodgers, ICA Housing president, explained our initiative. He noted that the housing industry is a large consumer of natural resources and that housing co-operatives with over 20 million dwellings around the world, can make a difference by the choices they make to operate in an environmentally sustainable and responsible way.

What’s up there? Sergio Madrid, Executive Director of Consejo Civil Mexicano Para La Silvicultura Sostenabile

Sergio Madrid, author of several publications on community forestry, deforestation and forest policy and representative of the Forests Stewardship Council (FSC) in Mexico, gave the participants an overview of the FSC certification scheme and the work accomplished by this international network. He called participants to “think FSC” and provided several suggestions.

COOMEVA Project Production of Timber for Housing – Dr Alfredo Arana Velasco, Executive Chairman of COOMEVA, Colombia

Dr. Alfredo Arana Velasco, presented Induguada SA, the Industria Columbiana de la Guadua S.A. born from a solidarity campaign called “Today for You, Tomorrow for Me”. The company processes bamboo, an excellent renewable source fast-growing, easy to use providing economic, social and environmental benefits to rural communities of Columbia.

Environmental Policy – Linn Matic, Social Policy Manager, HSB Sweden

Linn Matic, presented HSB’s environmental policy and shared with the participants the experience of HSB of building with environmental principles.HSB, one of the two large co-op housing federations in Sweden, is an important co-operative housing developer.The use of certified timber is already included in their environmental policy that guides their construction work.

A sample sustainable timber and forest product procurement policy provided by FSC Netherlands was also distributed to participants to assist them in the implementation of such initiative.

Click here for a copy of the policy.

Sustainability Global
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