We’ve added to our series of Fact sheets, by publishing three more to our website. They cover a wide array of environmental issues; correcting the most common areas of misconception. Combined with interesting statistics and opinions from leading authoritative bodies, these Fact Sheets make a very influential and educational read. Our new Fact Sheets include: Paper Production and Sustainable Forests; Renewable Energy and Carbon Footprint; Paper Recovery and Recycling. Click Read More below for additional information.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln – Print, Copy, Merchandising, Mail & Distribution Services 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 welcome the UNL in-house print services as a new member. The Two Sides academic network has been growing steadily and we now have over 12 U.S. colleges that have joined us. These institutions are key for educating students about graphic communications, paper science & engineering, marketing and communications, and other fields that closely relate to the sustainability of print and paper.” said Two Sides North America President, Phil Riebel. “As part of a learning community, we have an opportunity to demonstrate what it means to be responsible stewards of our natural resources. At the University of Nebraska – Lincoln Print Services we constantly look for new ways to conserve and promote environmental stewardship and are committed to managing all of our operations in an environmentally sound manner. Click Read More below for additional information.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) released its 2018 Sustainability Report, which highlights the U.S. pulp, paper, packaging, tissue and wood products manufacturing industry’s contributions to sustainability across the value chain, including members’ progress toward achieving the Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability goals. The full sustainability report, a video of highlights and other information are available at https://sustainability.afandpa.org. “We are pleased to represent companies that advance economic, environmental and social values,” said AF&PA President and CEO Donna Harman. “Their commitment led them to achieve the Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 goals to improve energy efficiency and worker safety ahead of schedule.” Click Read More below for additional information.

American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Donna Harman issued the following statement regarding House passage of the H.R. 6147 Department of Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2019. The legislation included language clarifying Congress’ intent for long-term federal regulatory policy reflecting the carbon-neutrality of forest-based biomass. “When public policy supports U.S. paper and wood manufacturers’ ability to operate on a level playing field with global competitors, that’s good for the economy and job creation. Our companies have sought clear policy on biomass carbon neutrality for more than seven years. We thank the House for recognizing the need to foster growth in U.S. manufacturing with its action to ensure that federal biomass policy appropriately reflects our industry’s use of carbon-neutral biomass for energy production. We strongly urge the Senate to follow suit.”

As our standards revision process continues, it is not only the content that is changing, but their appearance too! We have introduced a colour coding system to make it easier for you to distinguish between the different types of PEFC documentation. Rather than looking at the document number, or scrolling through a list, you can now see which documents are relevant to you with just a glance. Click Read More below for additional information.

Resolute earned top marks for sustainability leadership at Business Intelligence Group’s (BIG) 2018 Sustainability Awards. BIG recognizes organizations and individuals who have made sustainability an integral part of their business practice, and who honor their sustainability commitments. This marks the second consecutive year Resolute has been recognized by the Sustainability Awards. In 2017, Seth Kursman, vice president, Corporate Communications, Sustainability and Government Affairs, received the top individual honor. “We are particularly proud of receiving the highest rating in 2018, as it recognizes our comprehensive sustainability strategy, which is designed to enhance our competitive position. Our approach reinforces our vision that profitability and sustainability drive our future,” said Kursman. “As an industry leader, we’ve moved beyond minimal regulatory compliance and environmental incident management to commit to transparency and maintaining annual sustainability reporting.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Much of Domtar’s sustainable forestry management occurs out of the public eye, often on large tracts of land that are miles away from neighborhoods and commercial development. As a result, our tree harvesting operations usually have minimal impact on nearby residents. But urban tree harvesting requires a unique approach. In the nearly 20-year period that it takes for trees to mature for harvest, the landscape can change, sometimes dramatically. The area around our Windsor Mill is a good example. Domtar owns and manages about 400,000 acres of forestland located near the mill. But that forestland provides only about 15 percent of the fiber the mill needs. In the mid-90s, to meet our growing fiber needs, the mill acquired several plots of fallow farmland in rural southern Quebec. The land was near a road, which offered easy access to the trees that we planted. Click Read More below for additional information.

Republic of Korea has become the latest country to achieve the PEFC endorsement of its national forest certification system for the first time. “Thanks to the PEFC endorsement of our national system, we expect the sustainable management of forests to become widespread in Korea,” said Gilbon Koo, Representative of Korea Forest Certification Council (KFCC), the body responsible for the development of the national system. “We also look forward to the increased production and export of PEFC-certified products originating from our sustainably managed, PEFC-certified forests.” Click Read More below for additional information.

Environmental non-profit Canopy and FSC are leading the charge for change in the fashion industry. Collaborating for almost 5 years, the CanopyStyle initiative, with over 161 brand partners such as H&M, GAP, Zara and Stella McCartney, committed to eliminate the use of ancient and endangered forests in their supply chains, explore innovative fibers like recycled clothing and to contribute to advancing conservation solutions. All have positioned FSC as the preferred forest certification system of choice.

BillerudKorsnäs and researchers at Uppsala University have together taken an important step towards the future’s paper batteries. Together they have taken basic research based on pure cellulose from algae and developed it to work with the same type of fiber that BillerudKorsnäs usually uses to manufacture packaging material. This development opens up for both inexpensive and eco-friendly batteries. The long-term aim is to enable large-scale production and the future use of paper batteries for applications in areas such as smart packaging.

Domtar’s Biomaterials team and research partners have been focusing time and resources on lignin development — specifically, developing lignin-based materials that could eventually serve as sustainable and biodegradable alternatives to petroleum and other fossil fuel–based products. We recently took another step forward in lignin development and the process of commercializing lignin-based applications by investing in Prisma Renewable Composites, which is developing advanced materials from lignin and other natural resources. With this investment, we will help commercialize the process of using lignin to make engineered plastic compounds, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and other high-value applications.

Smurfit Kappa’s industry-leading commitment to sustainability has been recognised once again by the Euronext Vigeo Eiris index. The packaging leader was listed on the sustainability index for the sixth year in a row after distinguishing itself for its Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’) performance. The Euronext Vigeo Eiris index is composed of the 120 highest-ranking listed companies for corporate social responsibility performance. To qualify, companies are subject to examination of their sustainability programme by a team of analysts which reviews up to 330 indicators. Only companies that can produce hard evidence of their sustainability programmes and score highly against industry benchmarks make the final list.

A number of global companies have replaced or are doing trials to replace the material in their gift cards – from plastic to paperboard. Sweden’s largest cinema chain, SF Bio, has taken the plunge and is now replacing all its cards. “When our card supplier, Megacard, suggested we could make our gift cards from paperboard and thereby drastically reduce their environmental impact, it was self-evident to us to switch,” explains Anna Marcusson, product manager for gift cards at SF Bio. “In plain language, it means we’re phasing out the use of 10 tonnes of PVC a year by phasing out the plastic and replacing it with cards made of Invercote from Iggesund Paperboard,” she continues.

Meet Erin Herrin, area harvesting manager for Georgia-Pacific’s building products operations in East Texas. In her job, Erin works with family forest landowners who sell their timber to GP, providing information on how to best manage their property, protect streams and water quality, and reforest after harvesting. As a woman in a predominantly male profession, Erin is also an example to girls who want to pursue a career in forestry. She encourages them to continuously push themselves. “Don’t let self-doubt get the better of you and look for opportunities to progress yourself in your career, even the opportunities you don’t feel like you’re capable of.”

Forest fashions take center stage at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, starting today. As part of our Forests for Fashion initiative with UNECE/FAO, and a range of other partners such as the UN Forum on Forests, Cittadellarte Fashion B.E.S.T, PEFC Italy, PEFC Spain and SFI, we are highlighting the role of forests and forest products towards a sustainable fashion sector, throughout the HLPF. Exhibition on Forests, Fashion and the SDGs (8-20 July) The ‘Forests for Fashion’ exhibit brings together the work of many designers, all inspired to use forest-derived materials for their creations.

DS Smith is pleased to confirm that it has received the Brownfield Briefing Award’s Best Biodiversity Enhancement Award for its environmental remediation project at the site of its former papermaking mill at Silverton, Devon, UK. Silverton Mill was one of the UK’s oldest paper mills, and was located within the Killerton National Trust estate in Devon. It closed its doors in 1999 after a paper manufacturing history that had lasted over 200 years, but had left the surrounding area contaminated with industrial waste. The mill buildings themselves rapidly decayed in the years after the machinery was removed from the site. Click Read More below for additional information.

DS Smith recycles around a quarter of the UK’s paper every year. Here, Peter Clayson, General Manager for Business Development and External Affairs at DS Smith Recycling, looks at what the UK needs to do to achieve the recycling targets outlined in the Circular Economy Package. The EU Council has now formally adopted the Circular Economy Package, which incorporates binding recycling targets of 55% municipal waste recycling by 2025, rising to 60% by 2030, and 65% by 2035. The ambition is similar for the recycling of all packaging materials, with targets of 65% by 2025 and 70% by 2030. Targets for paper and card specifically rise to 85% in the same time frame. But when these aspirations are compared with reality, there’s a real concern that the UK is going to fall short. With a current municipal recycling rate of 45.2%, the country is well below the place it needs to be in order to increase its recycling by 10% within the next eight years. Click Read More below for additional information.

UPM has joined Together for Sustainability (TfS), a chemical industry initiative that promotes and improves sustainability practises within its supply chains. By joining the initiative the member companies share a wide coverage of supplier data, such as audit reports and sustainability assessments performed by independent experts. "UPM's traditional businesses are having high exposure to chemical industry supply chain, not only on chemical raw materials but also on equipment and services." says Ilkka Nurmi, Senior Vice President, UPM Sourcing. "While UPM is not a chemical company, we actively work on portfolio transformation and have a great growth potential in biofuels and biochemicals businesses where we are heavily entering the arena of chemistry", he continues. Click Read More below for additional information.

Domtar and SCA Clean Up at Lions Park in Dryden, Ontario: In June, Domtar employees, family and friends from the Dryden, Ontario community pitched in to make Lions Park a safe and welcoming community space. This SCA clean up was particularly special because the park recently lost funding from the local parks and recreation department due to budget cuts. Domtar and SCA Clean Up at Kirkwood Park in St. Louis: In May, the SCA and more than 100 Domtar HDIS employees and family members contributed more than 300 hours of service revitalizing Kirkwood Park by weeding, mulching and clearing out invasive, overgrown honeysuckle. “I’m always shocked to see the amount of work that can get done when people join together for one cause,” says Heather Stowe, Domtar’s corporate social responsibility manager. “We had over 100 people come out to Kirkwood Park. That just shows you how important this community is to its residents.” Click Read More below for additional information.

One year on, and our project to support Myanmar as it reforms its forest sector is gathering pace. This was clear last month, as the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee (MFCC) held its first annual multi-stakeholder coordination meeting. The half-day coordination meeting was attended by a range of stakeholders, including the Myanmar Government’s Forestry Department, Timber Enterprise and Department of Research and Innovation, FAO, FLEGT VPA advisors, international and national NGOs, certification bodies and the private sector. This coordination meeting marks an important step in this 3-year project to support the country as it transitions to the sustainable management of its forests, funded jointly by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, PEFC and MFCC. Click Read More below for additional information.

As of September, plastic straws will be replaced by sustainable and biodegradable paper alternatives in all McDonald’s UK and Ireland restaurants. The restaurant chain uses 1.8 million straws a day in the UK. The decision follows a successful trial in a number of McDonald’s UK restaurants to test how customers react to the switch to paper straws. Transcend Packaging in Wales, and Huhtamaki in Belfast, will supply the paper straws for all 1,361 McDonald’s restaurants. Click Read More below for additional information.

The Home Depot® announced that its stores have cut energy use 23.5 percent since 2010, exceeding the company's goal to reduce consumption by 20 percent by 2020. Hitting that energy-saving goal three years early is among progress detailed in the company's 2018 Responsibility Report, released last week. Titled A Year of Progress, the report outlines the company's sustainability progress and environmental, workforce and community initiatives. The report is available on The Home Depot's corporate newsroom Built from Scratch, including a summary infographic. In addition, a special episode of the company's "Give Me an H" podcast is available, featuring Ron Jarvis, vice president of environmental innovation. "As part of our values, we encourage our associates to be entrepreneurial, innovative and creative, and the successes you'll see in this report are a testament to their talent and dedication," said Craig Menear, The Home Depot chairman, CEO and president. "We're proud of their work, even as we look ahead with the understanding that there's much more to do." Click Read More below for additional information.