Best Buy’s five-year-long drive to reduce its carbon footprint by at least 20 percent by 2020 was recognized as an unparalleled retailer achievement at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) White House ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night. The reduction is part of the company’s effort to address climate change. Thanks to a combination of an industry-leading energy management system, store lighting retrofit and improved fleet and distribution practices, Best Buy was commended for exceeding its goal and reducing emissions by 26 percent since 2010. The award was given at this week’s DOE Better Buildings Challenge Summit.

A leading coalition of forest owners, wood suppliers and manufacturers of pulp and paper goods announced today the creation of Biomass101.org, a clearinghouse for scientifically sound information on carbon-neutral bioenergy. Biomass101 is an effort jointly produced by the American Forest & Paper Association, American Wood Council, Forest Resources Association, and National Alliance of Forest Owners. “With biomass becoming a more prominent part of the national renewable energy discussion, Americans deserve a conversation that is honest, accurate, and reliable,” said Chuck Fuqua, Executive Director for Strategic Communications at the American Forest & Paper Association.

100 tree planters, 60 minutes, over 53,000 seedlings planted. It takes a great team to break a world record and that is what the J.D. Irving, Limited (JDI) crew did near Sussex on May 20th, 2015. The previous Guinness World Record of trees planted in one hour was set in 2012 in India where 40,000 trees were planted.

People of all ages and backgrounds from across the U.S. and Canada came together Wednesday 20 May to break the Guinness World Record for the most trees planted in one hour by small teams. Organized by PEFC’s North American member, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI), more than 200,000 trees were planted simultaneously in 28 different communities. The record attempt involved more than 1,100 participants, across four time zones, including industry representatives, community organizations, youth groups, conservation groups, and SFI Implementation Committees. Each team of 25 to 100 people planted trees simultaneously from 1:00 to 2:00 pm EDT, in locations ranging from New York City to Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

Following many years of decline, Södra is now seeing a clear trend break in the proportion of Scots pine seedlings sold. "This spring, some 1.7 million pine seedlings are being dispatched from our Flåboda Nursery, while the figure for spring 2016 is 2.5 million seedlings. In total, Södra will deliver 3.5 million pine seedlings this year, which is up about two million on the low point," says Ida Karlsson, Manager at Flåboda Nursery.

The WWF Certification Assessment Tool (CAT) is a formalized methodology to evaluate and compare standards and certification systems based on WWF’s views and opinions and assesses in how far forest certification systems are aligned with the mission and objectives of WWF. The WWF CAT shows that PEFC meets 70% of the “Standard Strengths” indicators, which cover sustainable forest management related issues such as biodiversity, water and soil, worker’s rights, and community relations. “We appreciate that the results clearly demonstrate the value of the work of PEFC, thereby recognizing the efforts of hundreds of thousands of certified forest owners who promote sustainable forest management worldwide,” said Ben Gunneberg, PEFC International Secretary General.

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE: ATR), a global dispensing solutions provider, today released its 2014 Corporate Sustainability Report. The report highlights activities that took place across the company’s global portfolio throughout 2014 and is the first prepared by AptarGroup using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 framework. This report includes information about global energy consumption for which AptarGroup has obtained external assurance regarding the reliability of the data. AptarGroup strives for solutions respecting the environment and conserving natural resources. Featured in the report are examples of the work AptarGroup has done to reduce waste to landfill; test and evaluate new, more efficient equipment; and institute new processes and procedures to reduce energy and water use.

Together with FSC Finland, UPM is hosting today a visit by Kim Carstensen, Director General of the international forest certification organisation FSC. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) promotes environmentally friendly, socially beneficial and economically viable forest management. The FSC certificate indicates to consumers that the wood used in the product has been sourced responsibly. UPM actively co-operates with FSC both internationally and in Finland to increase the use of FSC-certified wood in its production processes. It also aims to promote awareness of the FSC forest certification and related responsibility issues both in Finland and around the world. UPM has certified its own forests in Finland and its tree plantations in Uruguay.

Assessors play an important role in PEFC. With PEFC being the only global forest certification system that requires all standards to be independently developed with multi-stakeholder participation, any national forest certification systems that seeks PEFC endorsement is subject to the rigorous PEFC assessment process to ensure their system meets PEFC’s Sustainability Benchmarks. This process, which also includes a sixty day global public consultation as well as a review by the PEFC Panel of Experts, is led by independent, PEFC Registered Assessors. The assessors took a detailed look at the PEFC Sustainability Benchmark requirements, identifying expectations and clarifications for specific requirements in order to reach a better common understanding and a more harmonized and consistent application of the PEFC requirements.

Each year, the electronic industry - one of the world's largest and fastest growing - generates up to 41 million tonnes of e-waste from goods such as computers and smart phones. Forecasts say that figure may reach 50 million tonnes already by 2017. A staggering 60-90 per cent of this waste is illegally traded or dumped, according to UNEP's "Waste Crimes, Waste Risks: Gaps and Challenges In the Waste Sector", launched today in Geneva, at the Conference of Parties to the three major conventions addressing the global waste issue, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

Northern Pulp in Abercrombie Point, N.S., will begin a 15-day maintenance shutdown on May 30 to install a new electrostatic precipitator. But the mill’s general manager has said it will not restart until the precipitator is operational, which could be in late June or early July. The new equipment is necessary to meet the air pollution reductions required by the mill’s new operating permits. "It’s a big job. There's a lot to do," Bruce Chapman, general manager of the mill, told CBC News. “We will go down on May 30 and we are committed not to restart, we will finish the work. We will restart when the precipitator is ready. That is our commitment to the people of Pictou County."

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) today announced that 65.4 percent of paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling in 2014. U.S. paper recovery rate statistics are available at www.paperrecycles.org/statistics. “U.S. paper recovery’s ongoing success is possible thanks to the voluntary, market-driven product recovery system,” said AF&PA President and CEO Donna Harman.

In 2014, P&G’s Lima facility set out to be the first fabric care plant in North America to earn the designation of Zero Waste to Landfill. As of Jan. 1, 2015, the facility has achieved this challenging goal – it recycles 97.25% of its waste, and converts the remaining 2.75% of waste to energy by partnering with Covanta, a leading waste-to-energy service. Waste is transported to Covanta’s nearest facility via specially made boxes built to accommodate the plant’s compactor equipment and to minimize the carbon footprint and economic impact of transportation.

Stora Enso and Kemira, a global chemicals company, have started the construction work for pilot projects addressing water-related issues in three villages in Guangxi Province in Southern China. The projects are part of Stora Enso and Kemira’s three-year corporate responsibility initiative on water stewardship and shared value creation. Launched in 2013, this initiative strives to enhance the responsible use of local water resources in collaboration with villagers, non-governmental organisations, and the Chinese authorities. The aim is to improve water supply and sewage treatment, and to provide solutions for water shortages and quality problems. After the construction phase, tailor-made training will be provided to all villages.

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman has issued the following statement on the letter Sens. Markey and Warren sent to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today calling for a ban on biomass as a compliance option for the president’s Climate Action Plan.

The global sustainability performance of the forest product industry is improving, with all aggregate indicators for reporting associations showing progress: •Greenhouse gas emissions intensity was reduced by 17% between 2005 and 2013. •The share of bio-energy in the industry’s fuel mix increased by 8 percentage points, to 61%, since 2005. •The number of hectares certified to a third-party sustainable forest management certification system increased by 41 percentage points, to 52% of wood supply, since 2000. •The global paper recycling rate increased by 11 percentage points, to 58%, between 2001 and 2013.

As of May, UPM’s new wood-based BioVerno diesel fuel will be available at ABC service stations. The product, sold as a part of ABC’s Smart Diesel range, is a result of UPM’s own innovation and is produced at the UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery. This high quality fuel suits all diesel engines. ABC’s Smart Diesel already boasts excellent properties, and now it has become even more environmentally sound with a locally produced diesel by its side. Renewable UPM BioVerno diesel reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80% when compared to traditional diesel. UPM BioVerno is produced at the UPM Lappeenranta Biorefinery from crude tall oil, a residue of the pulp production process. This biorefinery is the first of its kind in the world. A significant proportion of the raw material for the diesel comes from UPM’s Finnish pulp mills.

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is pleased that the Canadian forest sector continues to score well in comparison to other countries in the most recent international sustainability report. The 2015 report by the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) shows that global sustainability is improving and that Canada is doing especially well. The report notes that Canada has 161 million hectares of certified forest, by far the most in the world with more than 40% of the global total.

The clean air we breathe and water we drink are only part of the story of sustainable forestry. And if you have hiked in a forest or enjoyed the shade of a tree on a city sidewalk you have experienced the benefits of trees and forests first hand. 1. Providing places for outdoor adventures 2. A growing base of scientific study 3. Bringing communities together 4. Improving water quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $1.5 million Diesel Emission Reduction Act grant to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that ultimately will remove tons of air pollution from diesel-fueled activities at and near the Port of Portland. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy visited Portland to announce the grant at an event at Northwest Container Services with Oregon DEQ Administrator Dick Pedersen. Amongst other projects, the EPA-funded grant will assist local companies in replacing 23 heavy-duty short-haul diesel trucks, traveling more than 1.3 million miles in the Portland metro area each year. West Linn Paper Company will play a significant role in the project as the future owner of at least twelve of the new trucks. The company will take older, less efficient equipment out of use and replace it with new vehicles with improved energy efficiency and more effective filters to remove emissions. The positive impact to the environment will be significant – West Linn Paper anticipates that the project will result in a 20% improvement in fuel economy, and filters capable of removing as much as 90% of the tailpipe emissions.

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and PwC Canada have released an updated Buyers’ Guide to Canada’s Sustainable Forest Products so that customers can be well-informed and confident that their purchasing decisions are environmentally and socially responsible. The guide provides practical advice to help ensure buying decisions go beyond the traditional concerns of price, quality, and availability to also consider environmental and social impacts such as climate change, legality and certification. It will help inform the growing number of companies who wish to adopt green procurement policies as part of their efforts to achieve their own sustainability goals.

Pratt Industries announced today it would lead a unique coalition of government, private enterprise, trade associations and non-profits to increase recycling rates and environmental awareness among students and teachers in dozens of New York City schools. Pratt chairman Anthony Pratt was joined by local leaders including Staten Island Borough President James S. Oddo in releasing details of the program, which for the first time will introduce a detailed anti-littering, pro-recycling curriculum across schools on Staten Island, eventually reaching more than 20,000 students.