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Sustainable Peat 03-27-15 | News

Sustainable Peat

A recent report by the trade association for Canadian peat moss producers details the steps its members take to ensure the sustainable and responsible harvesting of peat, and the restoration of peatlands.

The Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association recently issued its first Industry Social Responsibility Report, designed to demonstrate the association's commitment to sustainable practices, responsible peat harvesting, and the restoration of Canada's vast resource of peatlands.

The CSPMA is a trade association of peat moss producers that accounts for 95% of Canada's total peat moss harvesting and production.

Included in the report is a review of the horticultural sphagnum peat moss life cycle analysis, which includes all operations involved in the production, transformation and distribution stages of peat moss production. The ISR assessment also contains a detailed description of peatlands management and restoration, the goals and objectives of the association's ISR mandate, and specific actions to be carried out in order to improve the degree of social responsibility of the association and the peat moss industry as a whole.

"The Canadian peat moss industry is already recognized as an international leader in sustainable practices," said Paul Short, president of the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association. "The report is further evidence that we are accepting a role as a global leader in responsible peatland management and peat production."

The document is the result of several years of research and reporting. In 2012, the CSPMA used the Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems guidelines as a foundation for developing the report. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations accepted the CSPMA's reporting project as one of 23 global pilot initiatives participating to advance the SAFA Guidelines.

The CSPMA has developed science-based policies to ensure appropriate peat moss harvesting, peatlands restoration actions by its members, and the adoption of best environmental sustainability practices. After harvesting, the sites are restored by re-establishing the biodiversity, hydrology and greenhouse gas exchange functions of the peatland.

Canada, the world's largest producer and exporter of sphagnum peat moss for horticultural use, produces more than 65 percent of what the U.S. uses.

To read the CSPMA Industry Social Responsibility Report online, visit www.PeatMoss.com and click on the Industry Social Responsibility Report link on the home page.