Two Sides, a global initiative by companies from the Graphic Communications Industry including forestry, pulp, paper, inks and chemicals, pre-press, press, finishing, publishing, printing, envelopes and postal operators, recently released a new upbeat animated video that busts more myths about print and paper. It’s packed with great facts you don’t want to miss.

The UPM BioVerno renewable diesel project reached a significant goal when the product was launched onto the market at the beginning of May 2015. Finnish energy company St1 has been selling UPM BioVerno as part of their Diesel plus fuel at its filling stations in Finland for almost a year now. St1 confirms that an important share of its diesel customers use Diesel plus containing UPM BioVerno on a daily basis as there are over 100,000 Diesel plus refills in a day.

Danny Kennedy, managing director of the California Clean Energy Fund and co-founder of Sungevity, will explore the imminent explosive growth of solar when he headlines the April 6 "The California Renewables Rush" conference, hosted by Penton‘s The Energy Times. As an internationally recognized clean-technology entrepreneur and environmental activist, Kennedy will reflect on the journey to push our economy towards renewables and what it will mean for those involved in the transformation.

FSC reached 30,000 certificates in the supply chain – an impressive milestone that couldn’t have been achieved without the support of all our members and stakeholders. “We are incredibly proud of this landmark achievement, and all the hard work that has gone into transforming FSC into a globally recognized, and used, market tool over the past 22 years,” commented Director General, Kim Carstensen. FSC has the highest number of chain of custody certificates of any forest certification scheme. The number of certificates is a clear way to measure FSC’s market growth, and impact on the market. However, behind that number there are roughly 50,000 independent companies and organizations that buy, manufacture, trade or sell FSC-certified material and products.

A comprehensive review of Motions 29 and 36 from the 2014 General Assembly, FSC Global Strategic Plan, and all stakeholder feedback was carried out by FSC and the technical working group during a meeting in February 2016. This review established that in order to adequately address the motions and balance the feedback from the consultation, we need to know more about both consumer understanding of the FSC labels and the potential impacts of these changes on certificate holders. Therefore, we need to take more time to further investigate these aspects. While this research is conducted, we will continue to move forward with improving and streamlining the other components of the standard. We intend to combine the results of our research with other revisions into a second draft of the standard. The second draft will be opened to public consultation by the end of 2016, with the aim to approve and publish the final standard in 2017.

The Foodservice Packaging Institute introduces a free toolkit that offers step-by-step guidance for implementing an in-store recycling and/or composting program. The newly launched Foodservice Packaging Recovery Toolkit, from the Foodservice Packaging Institute, provides free resources for recovering foodservice packaging, thanks to a multi-year effort with input from many stakeholders. “Recovering cups, containers, boxes, bags, and other foodservice packaging is a topic of intense interest not only for consumers but also for the foodservice packaging supply chain and those in the recycling and composting industries,” says Lynn M. Dyer, President of FPI. “We’ve created this toolkit to respond to the questions and needs of many different stakeholders involved in the recovery process.”

Low gasoline prices and continuing performance issues have slowed the growth of electric car sales. But that has not stymied progress in electrifying larger vehicles, including garbage trucks, city buses, and medium-sized trucks used by freight giants like FedEx. The clang of garbage cans will still probably wake people way too early in the morning. But in Santa Rosa, California, at least, the roaring diesel engine will be quiet, replaced by a silent, electric motor.

Finland was one of the first countries to achieve endorsement of its national forest certification system back in 2000, and today most of Finland’s forests are PEFC-certified. Recognizing the scale of Finnish forest sector, Ben and Fabienne Sinclair, responsible for marketing, travelled out to meet with the country’s numerous stakeholders. “This visit was an excellent opportunity for us to get an update, and I am very pleased with the strong progress that PEFC is making,” said Antti Sahi, Secretary General of MTK, which represents farmers, forest owners and rural entrepreneurs in Finland.

Klabin, Brazil's largest paper producer and exporter and the leading producer of paper and board for packaging, corrugated board packaging and industrial sacks, is participating as a signatory to the Cities for Water Coalition. The initiative created by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and its partners was launched in November 2015 with the goal of improving water security in 12 metropolitan areas of Brazil and contributing to the recovery and conservation of priority areas for water production.

“As the first International Day of Forests since the COP21 agreement and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is great to see forests being put into the spotlight,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International. “As a grassroots organization working in the forest and with forest-dependent communities, we directly contribute to most, if not all, of the 17 SDGs. From improving life on land, to poverty alleviation, food security, good health and education, sustainable forestry has a vital role to play as we look to meet these challenging targets.” Ben was speaking at the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) organized International Day of Forests dinner in Australia earlier this week, sharing the speakers’ platform with Senator Anne Ruston, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources.

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is pleased to see today’s federal budget put strong emphasis on climate change initiatives, innovation and research and development. The budget tabled by the Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, included a $1 billion fund over four years to support clean technology for the forest sector as well as other resource industries. The budget is also heavily investing in climate change and clean technology initiatives including $2 billion over two years for a Low Carbon Economy Fund and $40 million to integrate climate resilient changes to building codes.

“The real work begins now,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, while speaking at a special event at the New Zealand Institute of Forestry (NZIF). “Achieving PEFC endorsement of New Zealand forest certification system was the first step, but now the work begins to run the system, engage with stakeholders, promote PEFC/NZFCA certification, and get those forests certified.” Ben, who is currently travelling around Japan, Australia and New Zealand, headed to Auckland on Thursday 17 March to speak to NZIF members, updating them on new developments at PEFC, but also stressing the importance of their continued involvement in the country’s national system.

A study undertaken late in 2015 by Leger the Research Intelligence Group asked international buyers of wood, pulp and paper in the United States, Europe and Asia about their perceptions of forest products and environmental issues. (fpac.ca/leger) The results are comparable to a similar survey done by Leger two years ago. “Once again the Canadian forest products industry is getting top marks when it comes to our environmental credentials,” says Derek Nighbor, the CEO of FPAC. “Our sector has worked hard to reduce our environmental footprint and we are committed to continual improvement. This survey shows international customers feel confident when they source forest products from Canada.”

Covering more than 400 million acres – and representing 25 percent of the world’s remaining intact forest – the Canadian boreal forest is larger than many countries. There are more than 500 indigenous communities in the boreal and 400,000 Canadians rely on the forest for their livelihoods. It is also the source of huge quantities of wood and fiber for customers in Canada and the US. In short, the Canadian boreal forest is an important place that delivers a wide range of values, some hotly contested. First Nations recognize the boreal forest as their ancestral lands. Forest managers see opportunities for economic development and jobs. Environmentalists focus on the vast swaths of intact forest and habitat for many species, including woodlands caribou. On the surface, these interests may seem to be in opposition. In reality, they can be aligned if the forest management respects environmental and social values. But this alignment does not happen by accident; it is the product of hard work among parties to find solutions in the common interest.

UPM builds its climate change mitigation and adaption actions on three main pillars. We aim to ensure that our most important raw material - wood - grows in sustainably managed forests, which, again, act as carbon sinks. We promote high biodiversity value ecosystems that are less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Resource efficient operations and constantly increasing use of renewable and low emission energy are our key drivers in production. On top of all, our products are renewable, recyclable and act as carbon sinks. They are also an endless innovative source for new businesses and products that can replace non-renewable materials with renewable. "We updated our 2030 responsibility focus areas and targets in 2015. On the climate agenda we aim to reduce the fossil CO2 emissions from own combustion and purchased electricity by 30% and the acidifying flue gases by 20%. On the forest 2030 agenda we have set a target to use only certified wood in our production," Salpakivi-Salomaa lists concrete actions.

Banks, credit card companies, and other businesses are aggressively pushing consumers to receive their monthly statements electronically, but a new report by the National Consumer Law Center warns that these efforts can create more harm than good for consumers. The report notes that millions of Americans -- particularly lower-income, less educated, older, and households of color -- are on the other side of the “digital divide,” lacking home broadband Internet access. According to a recent Pew Research study: •59% of households with incomes under $20,000 and 53% of those with less than a high school education do not have home broadband Internet access. Even those with access may have older computers, slow connection speeds, or may lack a printer or money to afford expensive ink to print statements. •About half of Hispanics (50%) and African Americans (46%) lack access to home broadband Internet. •Over half (55%) of Americans 65 years or older lack home broadband Internet. Even if they have access, older consumers may be less comfortable with electronic statements or find them risky. Paper statements can be critical for family members who are trying to piece together financial records for an older consumer who is incapacitated or has passed away. The report also notes that mobile devices aren’t a substitute to home computers because of their smaller size and formatting and unsuitability for record keeping.

The need for collaboration and cooperation to expand forest certification in Japan was the resounding conclusion to the SGEC Forest Certification Forum, held last week in Tokyo. “Our bottom up approach to forest certification, which gives national stakeholders control in the development of their own national standards, is the perfect fit for the Japanese context,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, during his keynote speech at the forum. SGEC, the Sustainable Green Ecosystem Council, is our National member for Japan. After submitting their system to PEFC last year, the country’s national forest certification system is expected to achieve PEFC endorsement later this year.

In a pioneering move to promote forestry conservation, a group of Filipino advocates have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will move the country towards the establishment of a national forest certification system. “We need a bolder and more ambitious transformation of stakeholders to embrace sustainable forestry, and the very structure of the forestry sector, ranging from governance to industry, through a national forestry certification system,” said Sec. Neric Acosta, Presidential Adviser for Environment Protection, during his opening speech. He also went on to challenge the forestry sector to contribute to the country’s sustainable development.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Center for Corporate Climate Leadership recognized Kimberly-Clark with one of only 17 Climate Leadership Awards given nationwide for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The awards acknowledge the voluntary work organizations do to manage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the supply chain. Kimberly-Clark received the Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management "Goal Achievement Award" for reporting and verifying organization-wide greenhouse gas inventories and achieving publicly-set aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals. "We're proud of the progress we've made in finding ways to grow sustainably," said Sandra MacQuillan, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer for Kimberly-Clark. "We are increasing efforts to educate, excite and engage employees around sustainability by demonstrating how it connects with our vision and values as a company."

“The world needs more wood. And in the crowded landscapes of Asia, this wood won’t be coming from conventional large-scale plantations, but from millions of dispersed smallholders,” remarked Stephen Midgley during the opening session of PEFC’s Stream Event at the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week (APFW). “But how can we connect the markets and investment that private sector provides to smallholders in a way that addresses their barriers – such as providing competitive prices for wood compared to other crops?” Mr. Midgley continued. PEFC’s event was designed for this question; exploring the interface between large-scale private sector and smallholders in the Asia region.

Sonoco (NYSE:SON), one of the largest global diversified packaging companies, has expanded its fiber certification program into Brazil and Mexico, as of mid-February 2016. Although most of the raw material used in our mills is 100 percent recycled fiber, this certification also requires that Sonoco select suppliers of virgin fiber and virgin fiber components that avoid trading or sourcing raw material that is: a) illegally harvested, b) harvested in violation of traditional and civil rights and c) harvested where global conservation priorities are threatened. “Fiber certification is a demonstration of Sonoco’s commitment to recycling, healthy forests and responsible resource management,” said Laura Rowell, global sustainable packaging manager.

As part of the country’s continuing fight against illegal logging and promote responsible forestry, Filipino stakeholders are working with the government as they push to establishment a national forest certification system. With the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week taking place last week in the Philippines, we travelled out to the country to meet with policy makers as they embark on the development process. Both PEFC International representatives and our National members from the region were on hand to give their advice and guidance.

In conjunction with Natuur en Bos, Sappi HQ's Employee-led Tree-Planting Initiative resulted in a further 4,000 saplings planted in the Forêt de Soignes in Belgium on 26th February 2016. This brings the total number of trees replanted by the group to over 16,000 since the initiative started 6 years ago. Jens Kriete is the Environmental Manager at Sappi Europe, "Our mantra at Sappi is that to make sustainability a success, we have to involve our people. This is a great example of where Sappi employees have taken the lead by regularly getting together to plant trees in a local forest." Sappi's tree-planting initiative also has a strong community dimension, engaging in and with our local environment.