Boral – Developing Australian Resources, Naturally

Australia maintains one of the world’s most ecologically sound forestry programs. The Australian community has long held very high expectations with regard to environmental protection of the unique ecosystem that defines their country.

In 1992 the National Forest Policy Statement established a process for sustainable forest management in Australia with two overreaching statements, to maintain the full suite of forest values for present and future generations and to utilize the precautionary principal for the prevention of environmental degradation. Today all timber harvesting is controlled under the Regional Forest Agreements (RFA), born out of the National Forest Policy Statement and created through accord of the Commonwealth, State governments, Forest industry and the environmental movement.

Regional Forest Agreements set aside forest areas for protection in a reserve system and provide for a sustainable forest industry. Sustainable forest management involves meeting several key goals including;

* maintaining the biological diversity of forests
* protecting water quality and flow
* providing for spiritual and recreational pursuits
* management of economic values

An important component of sustainable forest management is monitoring the effects of management on forest ecosystems. The eight-year RFA allows for continual reassessment of the harvest plan and the guarantee that the productive capacity, health and vitality of the forest ecosystem will be maintained.

Boral’s environmental commitment goes beyond compliance and support of the requirements of the RFA. At Boral we have implemented an Environmental Management System based on ISO 14001 to ensure continuous and sustained improvements in our environmental performance. Key innovations at Boral have allowed us to maximize the percentage of millable quality timber we recover from each sawlog. An increase in the efficient use of resource has been achieved through;

* the introduction of the uninail profile that provides significantly increased coverage from the same quantity of timber.

* the effective marketing of Australiana grade flooring that capitalizes on the natural features and character inherent in many Australian hardwoods.

* the extensive use of biomass fuel in our kiln drying operations, utilizing waste sawdust to power the drying process providing a positive carbon dioxide/greenhouse outcome.

* the introduction of herringbone and parquetry that allows better recovery from lower grade timber and what would previously have been considered waste material.

We are proud to supply quality products which come from one of the world’s truly renewable natural resources.