AUDIT PROCESS, OBJECTIVES, DESCRIPTION OF THE TERRITORY AND SCOPE

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1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION Norbord is a Canadian company headquartered in Toronto that specializes in the production of wood-based panels. Norbord has 13 plants in North America and 4 plants in Europe. The La Sarre plant, located in the province of Québec, produces various types of OSB panels mainly used in residential construction and for industrial purposes. Norbord-La Sarre obtains roundwood from the forest and uses poplar and birch in the manufacture of the panels. AUDIT PROCESS, OBJECTIVES, DESCRIPTION OF THE TERRITORY AND SCOPE AUDIT PROCESS From February 5 to 8, 2018, the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ) conducted a renewal audit according to the applicable requirements of SFI , Chapter 2 (Forest Management) for NORBORD INC., LA SARRE DIVISION. It should be noted that an audit according to Chapter 3 (Fiber Sourcing) was conducted simultaneously and that some hours of these days were spent to it. The auditor assigned by the BNQ was Mr. Steve Drolet ing.f., who acted as the responsible auditor for this file. With respect to the audit of Chapter 2, the hours spent on the audit in the above-mentioned dates both on-site and off-site can be detailed as follows, approximately 0.75 days of preparation, 2 days of audit and 0.75 audit closing. The SFI program evaluation was conducted in accordance with the BNQ audit plan and procedures. The BNQ SFI's responsible auditor and the team member auditor interviewed the participants and verified the program documentation. They also interviewed employees and subcontractors and observed field operations in the sites sampled during this audit. Overall, the employees consulted include Alain Shink, Superintendent fiber supplies, Mr. Felix Guay, superintendent in planning, Stephane Nolet, head of measurement, subcontractor employees such as operations supervisor, owners of harvesting equipment and their employees and operators of road construction machinery. Several forestry equipment and support operations were observed. The audit of the personnel concerned at the ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP) for the Abitibi-Témiscamingue site was also conducted. With regard to Chapter 2, the audit of the MFFP at the Forest Management Unit (FMU 82) made it possible to verify most of the forest planning forest elements, indigenous peoples consultation, threatened, vulnerable or sensitive species (EMVS), harmonization, etc.) - 1 to 7 and to complete at the NORBORD INC., LA SARRE Division with elements of operational forest planning, indicator tracking, training, management review, internal audit, etc.. The details of compliance for all applicable requirements are presented in the "Summary of Audit Results Forest Management" section. In addition, a verification of sustainable forest management activities including a visual observation tour and workers interview was conducted, and several areas of operation were inspected during this field visit: Ministère faune, forêt parcs : - Rouyn Field Unit (UG 82) o Individuals met: Martin Larose, planning manager, Mathieu Audet, head of operations and non-commercial work, Véronique Paul, regional coordinator, and Lisette Savard, tech. for. Regulation respecting standards of forest management for forests in the domain of the state (RNI) manager and field monitoring Audit on Crown lands as part of the verification of the objectives of Chapter 2 (forest management): - UA 86-51, Launay Sector, Block # 332, block area : 40 ha., treatment : regular cut with protection of regeneration and soils o Individuals met: : David Richard, foreman, a delimber operator from Forestry Jaski and a measurer - UA 86-51, Launay Sector, Block # 344, block area : 9 ha., treatment : regular cut with protection of regeneration and soils o Individuals met: : David Richard, foreman, the owner of Foresterie MDP inc., a multifunctional tree feller operator Page 1 sur 5

2 AUDIT OBJECTIVES The objectives of this renewal audit (SFI , Section 2) for each of the certificates were the following: to assess the Program Participant s conformance with the SFI Standard (Principles, Policies,, Performance Measures and Indicators) and with the Interpretations for the SFI Program Requirements (Standards, Rules for Label Use, Procedures and Guidance), to verify the Participant s conformance with the program s requirements and to verify the application of the Program across all targeted Forest Management Units (FMUs) concerned. DESCRIPTION OF THE TERRITORY (Sources: MFFP website, Tactical Integrated Forest Management Plan Section and Office of the Chief Forester Website) The territory concerned by certification includes the following Forest Management Units (FMUs): 82-51, 85-51, et and are described in the Tactical Integrated Forest Management Plans that include a detailed description of the FMUs and found on the MFFP website at the following address: The elements pertaining to conformity to confirm that the long-term planned harvesting levels are met are described in the section on audit findings. SCOPE OF THE BNQ CERTIFICATES SFI Forest management (Chapter 2) Forest management activity, including forest management planning, forest road system works, harvesting, wood loading and transportation, forest operations follow-up and control, as well as support services for the Forest management units (FMU) 82-51, 85-51, and Page 2 sur 5

3 SUMMARY OF AUDIT FINDINGS GENERAL DESCRIPTIONS OF EVIDENCE AND COMPLIANCE BY OBJECTIVE FOR THE CHAPTER 2 (FOREST MANAGEMENT) 1 Forest Management Planning - Minimum Requirements List for Operational Integrated Forest Management Plan (PAFIT), Non-Commercial Silvicultural Activities (TSCN) _02 - Planning Integrated Tactical Forest Management Plan (PAFIT) Area Final programming ( ) - Local Table of Integrated Resource and Land Management (TGIRT) Rouyn-Noranda - Annual report of the rights granted (RADC) Area 08 2 Forest Health and Productivity - Monitoring chart of audits and operational realization for Values, objectives, indicators and targets (VOIC) Monitoring chart - Annual report of the rights granted (RADC) Area 08 - Silvicultural prescriptions follow-up of Protection and Maintenance of Water Resources - MFFP geomatics database and co-beneficiaries - Integration agreement between timber supply holders on the respect of good practices - Annual training (Induction certification) - EMVS Guide (fauna & flora), RNI / Regulation respecting sustainable forest management (RADF) - Local & Corporate Policies of sustainable forest management (AFD) - VOIC Monitoring chart - Aquifer zones VOIC 4 Conservation of Biodiversity - Annual training (Induction certification) - EMVS Guide (fauna & flora), RNI /RADF 5 Management of Visual Quality and Recreational Benefits - Operational performance indicators - Operational Harmonization Measure (Recreational Landscape) - Cut areas ( planification) 6 Protection of Special Sites - Landscape Agreement of the GIRT Table of Rouyn-Noranda Landscape Agreement for UA VOIC Monitoring chart Page 3 sur 5

4 7 Efficient Use of Fibre Resources - Field visit form Bureau de mise en marché des bois (BMMB) - Annual report of the rights granted (RADC) 2016 Area 08 - Site monitoring is carried out using the module VECTER - Nonconformity Tracking Register is in place at MFFP - Targets tracking table Periodic assessment of site monitoring Respect of laws and regulations such as inventory of unused wood material (ILMNU) and assessment of volumes affected by harvest operations (EVAOR) - Final programming ( ) - Local Table of Integrated Resource and Land Management (TGIRT) Rouyn-Noranda 8 Recognition and Respect of Indigenous Peoples Rights - Reporting card - Harmonization of the cutting sectors - Local AFD policy - Norbord Fiber Sourcing Policy - Quebec's forest policy - Corporate environmental policy - Communication register (Access database) between the MFFP and the indigenous communities 9 Legal and Regulatory Compliance - Norbord Forest Operations Contract with Co-Beneficiary - Provincial and federal regulatory watch - Participation in the CIFQ Public Forest Committee - Norbord and BMMB Legal Non-Compliance Registry ( ) - Monitoring chart of audits and operational realization for Forestry Research, Science and Technology - Funding for the AFD UQAT Research Chair (e.g. research projects related to climate change) - Member of «National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI)» - Member of «Poplar Council of Canada» - Rouyn-Noranda TGIRT participation - Participation in the annual conference of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue AFD Chair - Participation in the scientific committee of the Chair - Participation and support to the Québec SFI committee - Joint projects AFD-Ouranos Chair 11 Training and Education - Display of environmental and forestry policy - Integration Agreement (BGA) agreement MFFP-CIFQ - Document "Minimum training requirements" of the Québec SFI Committee - SFI Québec Committee Requirements (Qualified Forestry Operator) - Policies communicated during early season inductions - Proof of training BMMB bidders Register of training attendance Page 4 sur 5

5 12 13 Community Involvement and Landowner Outreach Public Land Management Responsibilities - Sound practice factsheet - Reporting form MFFP - Participation & support to the Québec SFI committee - Participation in the four regional TLGIRTs - Chairmanship of the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Forestry Association - Process for receiving public comments on the SFI Québec website - Abitibi-Témiscamingue private forest management directing project (educating woodlot owners about the important potential of their property) - SFI Training attendance Registers - Headquarters at the Abitibi Regional Agency for Private Forest Development (ARMVFP) - Website of SFI Québec - Participation in the planning process (operational tables) - Final Programming ( ) TGIRT - Rouyn-Noranda - Process Diagram and MFFP Issues and Solutions form 14 Communications and Public Reporting - Annual progress report forwarded to SFI in a timely manner Public Summary Report available online on the SFI website 15 Management Review and Continual Improvement action plan following the management review - Follow-up of the 2017 action plan - Targets tracking table SFI Executive Review conducted on January 15, 2018 BEST PRACTICES OBSERVED - SFI program effective and in control - Proactive and recurrent involvement of the applicant and its representatives for the promotion of SFI and of sound practices - Training of 225 forest owners and producers in 2017 according to the criteria of the SFI Québec Committee - Several field visits, and this, for the verification of various stakeholders in the territories concerned by the certification (certified territory or not, GA, BMMB, intramunicipal lots, private lots, etc.) OBSERVATIONS PERTAINING TO FOREST MANAGEMENT The participation of BGAs, other than the applicant, or other users of the territory in research and knowledge is difficult to demonstrate. MINOR OR MAJOR CORRECTIVE ACTION REQUESTS (CARS) CAR-MIN-01 : Objective 11, Measure 11.1, Program Participants shall require appropriate training of personnel and contractors so that they are competent to fulfill their responsibilities under the SFI Forest Management Standard. During the field audit, the contractors' staff was unfamiliar with the SFI certification of the territory. In addition, several elements specific to the SFI standard and required by the recognition criteria of the forest operators certification programs of the SFI Québec Committee have never been addressed by the auditees: notion of biodiversity, sites of particular interest or sites indigenous. CERTIFICATION DECISION The BNQ s SFI Lead Auditor report was produced and submitted to the client on February 14, Following the conclusions formulated and on the basis of conclusive results following the BNQ s internal assessment of the case file, the renewal of the certification under the SFI program was confirmed on March 1, Page 5 sur 5