THUNDER BAY -- After Best Buy announced earlier this week it will shift business away from Resolute Forest Products, municipal leaders need to show their support and stand behind the pulp and paper company, says the president of the Thunder Bay District Municipal League.
The electronics retail giant released a statement Monday saying the company was evaluating potential new paper suppliers as a way of increasing the number of vendors they rely on beyond their current primary supplier -- Resolute Forest Products.
The move comes after mounting pressure from Greenpeace, which recently released a report stating Best Buy may be using more than 100 million pounds of paper annually from one supplier, originating from the Boreal forest.
The report also alleges Resolute is linked to destroying endangered species habitats and has had disputes with Indigenous communities.
Larry Hebert believes Greenpeace shouldn’t have a problem with the forestry industry in Northern Ontario because the forest is a renewable resource.
“We have some of the best forestry practices, not just Resolute but other forestry companies, in the world in Canada,” he said.
“We have some concerns about some of the stances they take and we think it’s unfair to Resolute and we are going to be standing up and supporting them.”
As head of the TBDML, Hebert isn’t sure what Greenpeace’s motives are by targeting the company and he believes there are other environmental issues they could be focusing on.
He’s also worried other retailers could follow Best Buy’s lead and Resolute could lose even more business.
“They should really look at the whole issue, not just what Greenpeace wants, but look at it from the Resolute standpoint and the citizens in these communities where the forest product companies operate,” said Hebert.
“There are a lot of jobs involved. They could be taking these jobs away and creating issues for towns, small towns with single industries.”
Best Buy said they’re looking to provide Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper in their flyers and they hope to have this new policy implemented by spring of 2015.
“Our intention is to conduct business with companies that support sustainable forestry practices including those in the Canadian Boreal Forest,” the statement reads.
Building on our commitment to sustainability and the principle of continuous improvement, Best Buy will strengthen our paper procurement policy to ensure suppliers meet specific requirements for management of natural resources while minimizing environmental and social impacts. This could include special attention paid to endangered forests and human rights.”
Officials with Resolute were not immediately available for comment.
