Potlatch Corporation: big timber industry player obsessed with profits, or the cutting edge of sustainability? Actually, both.
Yesterday, Spokane-based Potlatch announced that all 668,000 acres of its Idaho forestlands have won Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, the greenest label for wood products. Potlatch is the first publicly traded company in the U.S. to be awarded FSC status. And now Idaho has more FSC forest than Oregon and Washington combined.
In the meantime, the state governments of Oregon and Washington—both big time forest owners—continue to drag their feet on FSC certification, arguing (in part) that green labeling doesn’t pencil out. But if profit-hungry Wall Street thinks otherwise, shouldn’t the Northwest states reconsider?
What’s next for Potlatch? FSC certification for 700,000 acres of forest in Arkansas and Minnesota.
