QWEB considers the urgency and supports all the regulations implemented by different countries in the fight against deforestation and illegal wood trade: Lacey Act, FLEG, Japan's Clean Wood Act, Australia’s Illegal Logging Prohibition Act, South Korea’s Act on Sustainable Use of Timber, Vietnam’s Decree on timber legality assurance system, and more recently the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
The mandatory requirements imposed by almost all regulations on illegal wood trade and deforestation are requisite to implement a ‘Due Diligence’ Statement to identify, assess, prevent, mitigate, and account for the risk of illegal wood entering the supply chain.
The Quebec Wood Export Bureau (QWEB) and the Quebec Forest Industry Council (QFIC) have conducted a provincial risk analysis for all wood or fiber supplies from public and private forests.
To achieve this, the QWEB and the QFIC formed a working group of regional industrial representatives and ensured the participation of the Ministry of Forests, Wildlife, and Parks (forest sector and regional operations sectors).
You can find the full report and the project description in the link below.
QWEB is a member association of wood product manufacturers who conduct their business with integrity and in accordance with generally-recognized and accepted standards of social, commercial, and environmental responsibility. To support members of the hardwood and flooring groups wishing to demonstrate this, QWEB developed in 2010, an Environmental, Social, and Commercial Compliance (ESCC) certification.
Certification is voluntary. A certificate of compliance is issued to the company that meets the conditions required by this certification. The list of companies that have obtained this certification can be consulted using the search engine on the QWEB website. They are also listed below.
The Quebec Wood Export Bureau's (QWEB) Legal and Deforestation-Free (LDF) Certification Program certifies the legality of wood and the responsible sourcing practices of its members.
QWEB is a member-based association of wood product manufacturers. Its certification program evaluates the practices of organizations that apply to demonstrate the legality and forestry origins of their wood supply.
Click on the link below to access the Guidelines:
QWEB and INCOS have worked together on an effective tool for mapping timber supply chains from the harvesting zone by using geolocation. INCOS has extensive knowledge of the main forest certification programs in North America and Europe such as the Forest Stewardship Council - FSC®, the PEFC™, and the Sustainable Forest Initiative - SFI® program
This cloud base traceability system was initially developed in response to regulations of importing countries of forest biomass. To comply, the system maps the whole supply chain and confirms forests of origin where primary feedstock is sourced. In combination with regional risk assessments such as ours, the geolocation traceability system is currently used for QWEB pellets producers to conform to the requirements of the Sustainable Biomass Program - SBP certification program.
Every user along the chain will be able to complete its supply chain by using data of the supplier previously entered into the system with the information required by the program regulations (note 1). The information will include geolocation at the city level, to meet the EU Regulation on deforestation-free products presented in a provisional text published December 21, 2022, the name of the suppliers, description of the raw material received including the scientific name of species and quantities, the volume of wood product sold, all required documents to demonstrate the conformity, and Due Diligence of low risk of illegally harvested wood.
The program is a cloud base system, working in a collaborative, evolutive, confidential way, but accessible to auditors or even customers with authorized access on request. The system is updated to meet forest certification, and legal and deforestation-free requirements to ensure that exporters fully respond to the Due Diligence obligations of their overseas customers.
The registered member operator shall affix the "seal of approval" to the shipping documents when shipping certified North American hardwood lumber.
In the event of any non-conformance with the Legal Wood and Deforestation-Free Certification, QWEB may suspend or terminate the certification.
In the case of any false declaration or illegal trade claim, QWEB will proceed, if necessary with a sample detailed chemical, genetic and anatomical analysis to provide irrefutable proof of species and origin.
A proven member offender will be immediately excluded from the Association and their certification terminated.
Control and verification measures are provided by a QWEB director, and the audit is done by an accredited auditor. It provides the necessary means to ensure the traceability of wood as well as derived products at any point in the supply chain, and at any time via the cloud base system. The inspection ensures that regulations are enforced and followed. It also allows for the verification of elements constituting due diligence by examining registers and documentation and oversees the application of risk mitigation measures. The auditor has the authority to issue non-conformance and corrective measures.
The Quebec Wood Export Bureau (QWEB) in collaboration with the Québec Forest Industry Council (QFIC/CIFQ) is recognized by the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency (CFIA) as a third-party auditor and have implemented to the same industry members the official Heat Treatment certification of their facilities and operations under the HT Program. The program allows member companies to issue heat-treatment certificates for their lumber shipment or apply the wood packaging mark for packaging material.
This program involves six (6) site audits per year per location for the first year of implementation and four (4) audits per year for subsequent years.
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a document providing key environmental information about a product or service, quantified with a life cycle analysis (LCA) conducted on a scientific basis. An EPD must follow the rules of the ISO 14025:2006 standard product, as well as the product category rules (PCR) established for the concerned products or services.
As its name suggests, the life cycle analysis describes the environmental impacts throughout the life of a product or service from its initial production to its use. In some cases, such as certain wood products, the analysis is done for all stages from harvesting through to when the finished product is ready to leave the manufacturing facility.