The Regional State Administrative Agency has granted the environmental permit for Finnpulp's bioproduct plant, which is to be built in Sorsasalo, Kuopio, and the wastewater treatment facility connected to the plant. The environmental permit defines the terms for the pulp plant's operation in the production phase, as well as for pipeline installation work and changes made to the shore line during the construction phase. Production is planned to start in 2020, and the plant's annual production capacity will be 1.2 million tons of softwood pulp. Additionally, the plant will produce other bioproducts, including 60,000 tons of tall oil and 1.5 TWh of bioelectricity per year. 1 TWh of the electricity will be fed into the national grid.

The Graphic Arts Show Company (GASC) and Two Sides North America, co-sponsors of the annual Positively Print recognition program, announce the award program is now open for nominations. In its eighth year, the Positively Print program is designed to recognize print advocacy campaigns that promote the enduring power and sustainability of print in today's multi-channel media mix. "Two Sides is pleased to recognize through the Positively Print program organizations that focus on the unique attributes, effectiveness and sustainability of print and paper, which so effectively aligns with our mission," states Phil Riebel, President, Two Sides North America, Inc.

Most people know that wood fiber—one of the most recyclable and renewable natural resources on the planet—is the principle raw material used in making paper and paper-based packaging. But that’s just one branch (if you’ll forgive the terrible pun) on the tree. Over decades of research and development, the forest products industry has innovated ways to use those same natural resources in literally hundreds of other products, including many you’d never suspect.

If you haven’t yet submitted your proposal to the 2017 PEFC Collaboration Fund make sure you do so soon – the deadline is just two days away on 31 March 2017. PEFC members and other non-profit organizations are all invited to submit proposals for new and innovative projects. Make sure you check out our Call for Proposals and then send us your application form.

Robert Glowinski, President and CEO, AWC: “Despite claims of energy flexibility intended under the Clean Power Plan, EPA actually limited the types of renewable energy states can use, which included our industry’s production and use of carbon neutral biomass energy. The Clean Air Act did not give EPA the authority to impose such sweeping restrictions on existing electric utility generating utilities. The wood products industry plays an important and unique role in reducing greenhouse gases by converting manufacturing biomass residuals to energy needed to power our mills. AWC supports this Executive Order and will continue to seek clarity on EPA’s treatment of biomass to ensure it is recognized as a critical component of clean energy.” Donna Harman, President and CEO, AF&PA: “We welcome the Energy Independence Executive Order to provide states and ratepayers, including paper and wood products manufacturers, long-overdue relief from harmful regulatory overreach. The nation deserves affordable, reliable electricity, not rate hikes and competitive harm that can stem from onerous regulation such as the Clean Power Plan. On average, our industry meets about two-thirds of its energy demand through carbon neutral renewable biomass and is able to sell some energy to the grid. We plan to continue working with policy makers to provide an effective solution that recognizes the carbon benefits of biomass energy in paper and wood products manufacturing facilities.” click Read More below for additional detail

PEFC invites all interested parties to give their comments on our revised Standard Setting standard - PEFC ST 1001:201X. Give your feedback now! Deadline for comments is 29 May 2017. This standard contains the rules that national standardizing bodies have to follow when they develop and revise their sustainable forest management standards. Core principles of the standard development are stakeholder engagement, balance representation of different interests, consensus building, continuous improvement and transparency. click Read More below for additional detail

Sustainability in Chile’s construction sector got a boost as the Chile Green Building Council signed a collaboration agreement with CertforChile, our national member in the country. On 3 March 2017, the Chile Green Building Council (GBC Chile) signed three collaboration agreements that seek to promote sustainability in the construction sector. One of them is with CertforChile. “We are extremely proud to announce this agreement for collaboration and promotion with the Chile Green Building Council,” said André Laroze, National Secretary of CertforChile. click Read More below for additional detail

In the budget tabled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau today, he earmarked: •$1.8 billion to support clean technology. It is critical that the forest products sector is central to the government’s clean tech strategy. These investments will help our sector develop environmentally friendly products in areas of bio-fuels and bio-materials while helping to reduce carbon in the atmosphere. •$40 million over 4 years – starting next year – to support projects to increase the use of wood in buildings and infrastructure. This is an important program to support the use of sustainably sourced Canadian wood and since wood stores carbon, this a great way to further address climate change. click Read More below for additional detail

Dressed in wellington boots and rain jackets, the dedicated Tree Planting Team from Sappi Europe, including Berry Wiersum CEO, once again braved the Brussels weather to plant a further 1,250 saplings in the Forêt des Soignes. They were rewarded with rays of sunshine, and the feeling of satisfaction after a hard day’s work. The initiative has resulted in 16,250 trees planted since it started 7 years ago. Sappi’s employee-led tree planting initiative started in Spring 2010 in association with ANB (Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos), the equivalent of the Department of Forestry. This organisation is responsible for the planting of approximately 30,000 trees in the Forêt de Soignes every year as part of the National Forest Management Plan (Belgium). click Read More below for more of the story

March 21st is International Day of Forests and this year’s theme is Forests and Energy. Climate change, caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere is a key challenge due to changes in global temperatures and precipitation patterns that affect regions and countries around the world. There is growing awareness of the potential for a wider use of the forest industry to store carbon and lower GHG emissions. This is due to the recent 2015 Paris Agreement that recognizes the mitigation potential of forests to meet the challenges of climate change. For countries covered by the Kyoto protocol, GHG emission accounting for forest management has also become mandatory and recent changes in IPCC guidelines allows for accounting of carbon storage in harvested wood products. click Read More below for more of the story

Recycling paper was one of the earliest and most important actions individuals and companies took to treat our natural world more gently. But despite great advances in paper recycling, we don’t have enough recycled paper fiber to go around. So, if we cannot make every new product from recycled paper, which products should be made from recycled and which should use sustainably grown new fiber? A new tool is being developed to help answer that question. But first, let’s explain why we need it in the first place. A record-high 66.8 percent of all paper used in the United States was recovered for recycling in 2015, nearly double the rate of 33.5 percent in 1990, according to the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA). This is great news, and it makes paper one of the most recycled products on the planet. click Read More below for additional detail

UPS announced plans to build an additional six compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations and add 390 new CNG tractors and terminal trucks and 50 liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles to its alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet. UPS further cements its leadership in the alternative fuel market while continuing to reduce its environmental footprint with this more than $90 million investment in natural gas. “With more than 4,400 natural gas vehicles and a network of fueling stations, UPS has had great results using natural gas as an alternative fuel in our fleet,” said Mark Wallace, UPS senior vice president global engineering and sustainability. “We know the importance of investing in natural gas globally for our fleet and the alternative fuel market. In 2016, we used more than 61 million gallons of natural gas in our ground fleet, which included 4.6 million gallons of renewable natural gas. This helped us to avoid the use of conventional gas and diesel, and decreased CO2 emissions by 100,000 metric tons.” click Read More below for additional detail

In North America, it takes less than 2 seconds to grow the fiber needed for a standard #10 envelope (on 100 acres of managed forests). For many years, International Paper's "Go Paper. Grow Trees." campaign and "Print Grows Trees" operated by the Printing & Graphics Association MidAtlantic have been promoting the vital link between paper / print and the long-term retention of privately-owned (including family-owned) forest lands. In short, a strong market for pulp, paper, lumber and other forest products, does grow trees. In North America we grow many more trees than we harvest. Forest area in the U.S. increased by 5,800 NFL football fields per day between 2007 and 2012, or a total of 14 million acres.[ii] In Canada, the forest cover has remained stable over the last two decades and, in recent years, Canada’s actual harvest has been 44% of annual growth.[iii] click Read More below for more of the story

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is now on the fourth year of a plan to transform its business model through its Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) and become a leader in responsible production. The company today highlighted its ongoing commitment to the four key principles of the FCP: halting all natural forest clearances; best practice in peatland management; partnership with local communities; and responsible global supply chain management. The report published today looks back at progress in 2016 and confirms the company is on track in implementing its zero-deforestation commitments. Commenting on the progress report, APP’s Managing Director Aida Greenbury said: “APP’s transformation process is now integrated into the fabric of the company. The report that we publish today and the verification that has been undertaken to review our FCP in the past 12 months confirms that as a business we remain on the right path. We are now entering the fifth year of relying exclusively on fibre sourced from responsibly managed plantations throughout our supply chain. This is a journey which has no end, because no one is perfect and we will constantly seek to improve and protect the landscapes oh which we depend, while improving the livelihood of the communities who depend on us.” click Read More below for additional detail

Lars Strömberg, Director of Sustainable and Environmental Affairs at Holmen, shares his sustainability highlights from 2016. What would you highlight in terms of sustainability in the past year? A recognition of all the hard work we have put into sustainability was Holmen being ranked 21st on the Global 100 list of the world's most sustainable companies. Holmen was also ranked highly for its climate work in the annual survey carried out by CDP. But most of all I would like to highlight the way that Holmen's operations bring major climate benefits by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by over two million tonnes per year. This can be seen as one step on the way towards meeting the commitments made in the global climate agreement. click Read More below for additional detail

The main changes are proposed in the following areas: Improving the stakeholder engagement during the international consultation: This could for example be achieved through webinars to introduce the applicant system before the consultation begins. Aligning the endorsement process with the national standard setting process: In line with developments in Working Group 3 on standard setting, the endorsement process should reflect the national process. The endorsement validity should take into account that a national review/revision process will start five years after the national approval of a standard. Streamlining the assessment of already endorsed systems: Endorsed systems will be reviewed at national level after five years. If this review leads to a revision of a limited number of requirements, the international assessment should only focus on those changes. This approach would recognize the previous assessment results of the unchanged requirements. click Read More below for additional detail

The Nature Conservancy and WestRock Foundation announced a partnership for two conservation projects in Southeast Virginia and along the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Aligning with The Nature Conservancy, whose mission is to conserve lands and water for people today and for future generations, further demonstrates WestRock’s commitment to sustainable forestry and environmental stewardship. “The Nature Conservancy thanks the WestRock Foundation for their generous support of our goal to restore longleaf pine forest in Virginia,” said Bill Kittrell, acting Director of The Nature Conservancy in Virginia. “This gift will allow us to expand the Big Woods Conservation Area and protect vital floodplain forest along the Nottaway river, which will preserve water quality, support rare species like the red-cockaded woodpecker, and one day be home to the returning longleaf pine tree.” click Read More below for additional detail

Representatives of the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), Northwest Pulp & Paper Association (NWPPA) and Oregon Forest & Industries Council (OFIC) are partnering to host today’s Forest Products Advocacy Day in Salem, Oregon. In meetings with legislators, they plan to highlight industry sustainability successes, including current greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and the recently-announced goal, and discuss upcoming legislation. Following the success of GHG emission reductions by member companies, AF&PA has announced its new GHG reduction goal of 20 percent by the year 2020. In 2014, sustainable manufacturing practices under the association’s Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 initiative led to a 16 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by member facilities, surpassing the previous 15 percent reduction goal ahead of schedule. In meetings with Oregon state lawmakers, they will discuss how any legislation to regulate or tax GHG emissions should account for industry leadership on emissions reductions. click Read More below for additional detail

Using wood in innovative and beautiful ways to bring new life to the Lakeside at Black Butte Ranch — an iconic Oregon resort community near Sisters, Oregon — has earned Portland-based architects Hacker an award from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). The SFI Certified Wood Award is part of the North American Wood Design and Building Awards program. Hacker was presented with the award at the Wood WORKS! BC Wood Design Awards in Vancouver on March 6. The ranch sits at the gateway to Oregon’s high desert. First planned in the early 1970s, the ranch is a vacation destination for many, and a year-round home for some. The new lakeside complex, complete with Sierra Pacific windows and other wood features certified to the SFI Standard, replaces the well-worn main pool facility and revives the heart of the ranch. click Read More below for more of the story

Amazon today announced a new initiative to generate clean energy by installing solar panels on its fulfillment facilities around the world. The company plans to deploy large-scale solar systems on rooftops of more than 15 fulfillment and sortation centers in the U.S. this year and is planning to deploy solar systems on 50 fulfillment and sortation centers globally by 2020. For high-resolution imagery of the project, visit www.amazon.com/about. “As our fulfillment network continues to expand, we want to help generate more renewable energy at both existing and new facilities around the world in partnership with community and business leaders,” said Dave Clark, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations. “We are putting our scale and inventive culture to work on sustainability—this is good for the environment, our business and our customers. By diversifying our energy portfolio, we can keep business costs low and pass along further savings to customers. It’s a win-win.” click Read More below for additional detail

Double A, a major pulp and paper producer in Thailand, has been accepted by PEFC as an International Stakeholder member. “It is wonderful to welcome Double A into the PEFC alliance,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International. “Double A are doing fantastic work with smallholders in their country, as well as playing a vital support role in the development of a Thai national forest certification system.” “In PEFC, Double A has found the right organization through which we can promote our trees outside forests based agroforestry, as well as be part of a global system where constant knowledge can be gained through appropriate networking and deliberation,” said Mr. Thirawit Leetavorn, Senior Executive Vice President of Double A. click Read More below for additional detail

Mossberg & Company Inc. has joined Two Sides North America, the non-profit organization that promotes and encourages the responsible production, use, and sustainability of print and paper. “We are thrilled with the work that Two Sides does for the good of our industry. Mossberg & Company strives to be a resource of information to our customers, and Two Sides provides us with information and tools that enable valuable customer dialog, for the benefit of our Company and for our industry,” says James Hillman, President & CEO.

Those of you who read The Daily Telegraph may have spotted a familiar name in the Letters to the Editor section on Saturday. Two Sides wrote to the Editor in response to a previous article in the paper about the BBC’s decision to replace paper scripts with digital scripts as part of their ‘green measures’. Here’s an extract from the original article that we, and many of our members and stakeholders, had a particular issue with; Shows such as Casualty have already halved the paper they use from scripts as part of their green measures, estimating they have saved the equivalent of 90 trees. Two Sides works hard to tackle misconceptions about the print and paper industry. Statements claiming that saving paper saves trees are unsubstantiated, misleading and can have a lasting effect on people’s perceptions of paper. click Read More below for additional detail