Government regulation can be a blessing or a burden. In every case, it’s the result of a public process. In contrast, says Domtar CEO John D. Williams, too many of today’s extra-governmental, voluntary programs — shadow regulations — fall short of this process. Shadow regulations are built on opaque algorithms and are of nebulous value, and they threaten the very transparency that legitimate sustainability regulations are supposed to advance. Recently, Williams spoke to the Charlotte Economics Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, to highlight our commitment to sustainable manufacturing as well as his concern about organizations that solicit and aggregate corporate data and rate companies without transparency or a remedy for inaccuracies. Click read more below for additional detail.

Greif, Inc. announced that it was awarded an A- score for environmental leadership by the non-profit organization CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project). CDP operates a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage the impact they make on the environment. The A- Leadership distinction outpaces the overall average of a B- score, along with the North America regional average of C on a scale from A to F. "We are thrilled that our efforts in environmental sustainability have been recognized by the CDP," said Pete Watson, Greif's president and chief executive officer. "Environmental impact and management both factor strongly into the decisions we make as a company in the present and with our future strategy. We will continue to enhance our standing as a leader in environmental stewardship." Click read more below for additional detail.

Illegal logging and the international trade in illicitly harvested timber is a serious crime estimated to account for 15-30% of all timber traded1. It is most prevalent and persistent in tropical forest areas worldwide. Illegal logging undermines the legal trade in forest products by depressing prices, contributes to national and global insecurity by spreading corruption and funding militias, affects the health, safety, and livelihoods of communities, and is responsible for deforestation, habitat loss, species extinction, contributions to global warming. It is arguably the greatest and most vexing challenge faced by those seeking to preserve working forests, particularly in tropical regions. Click read more below for additional detail.

The Navigator Company has been rated as a global leader on corporate climate action by environmental impact non-profit CDP, achieving a place on the CDP Climate Change A List. Diogo da Silveira, CEO of The Navigator Company said that "We are proud of this international recognition from CDP and our aim is to go even further: be a Carbon Neutral Company by 2035". The Navigator Company has been recognized for its actions in the last reporting year to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy, based on its 2018 disclosure to CDP. Click read more below for additional detail.

UPS announced the company has been highlighted as a global leader for its corporate climate action efforts by CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project). “It’s rewarding to see UPS’s efforts to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy being recognized,” said Tamara Barker, chief sustainability officer at UPS and vice president of environmental affairs. “UPS will continue to look for ways to lessen its environmental impacts as it’s important for companies to step up to do their part.” Click read more below for additional detail.

Metsä Board has once again been highlighted as a global leader in corporate sustainability by CDP, a non-profit global environmental disclosure platform, by achieving a place on the CDP A List for both climate change and water security. This is the fourth consecutive year that the company has been included on the CDP Water A List and the third consecutive year on the CDP Climate A List. Metsä Board also scored A- in the CDP’s Forest programme. Metsä Board is among the top 27 companies placed on the global Water A List. This achievement is in recognition of Metsä Board’s actions in the last reporting year to manage water more sustainably. Additionally, Metsä Board is among the top 126 of companies featured on the global Climate A List. This positioning is a recognition for the company’s activities in cutting emissions, mitigating climate risks and developing the low-carbon economy. In 2018, over 7,000 companies disclosed through CDP. Click read more below for additional detail.

UPM has been ranked on the 23rd place in the list of 100 most sustainable corporations by the Corporate Knights, the Canadian-based media and research company. UPM is the only company listed in the Paper and Forest Products category. On the same date the company is also highlighted as a global leader on the CDP Forest A List. Corporate Knights analysed some 7,500 companies with revenues more than USD 1 billion. The Global 100 Index use determined quantitative sustainability indicators, including carbon productivity (revenue-to-tonne-CO2 ratio), the percentage of taxes paid and board gender diversity, for example. 50 per cent of each company's score measures the percentage of revenues earned from products and services that have environmental or well-defined social benefits. Click read more below for additional detail.

Stora Enso has been top-rated in combatting global warming by the international non-profit organisation CDP, which works to build a sustainable global economy. CDP has included Stora Enso on its new 2018 Climate A List, which identifies the global companies that are taking leadership in climate action. “We are proud of this recognition of our long-term work to reduce our emissions,” says Noel Morrin, EVP Sustainability at Stora Enso. “For over a decade we have been actively reducing the energy intensity of our operations and our dependence on fossil fuels. In December 2017, Stora Enso became the first forest products company to set ambitious science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout our value chain.” Click read more below for additional detail.

2019 is a very special year for the PEFC family as together we celebrate our 20th anniversary. Before the birth of PEFC, forest certification was designed primarily for large-scale forest owners, managing huge areas of land and able to shoulder the burden of certification. But this meant the millions of small-, family and community forest owners were shut out, unable to afford a certification that was not created for them. It was back in 1999 when European small-forest owners came together to create an international forest certification system that had their needs at heart. On 30 June 1999, PEFC was created! “Having no certification system suitable for smallholders was a serious issue back in the 90s,” said Ben Gunneberg, the CEO of PEFC International since the very beginning. “Not only for the many small-forest owners that could not benefit from certification, but also for the world.” Click read more below for additional detail.

Bloomberg, Cox Enterprises, Gap Inc., Salesforce, and Workday, with guidance from LevelTen Energy and its renewable energy procurement platform, closed 42.5 megawatts of a 100 megawatt North Carolina solar project by global renewable energy developer, service provider and wholesaler, BayWa r.e. This group of companies, coming together as the Corporate Renewable Energy Aggregation Group, is the first example of companies aggregating similar, relatively small amounts of renewable energy demand to collaboratively enter into a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA), collectively acting as the anchor tenant for a large offsite renewable energy project. The unprecedented coordination between five international businesses lays the groundwork for other corporates to procure renewable energy cooperatively, maximizing value and reducing risk. The five members of the group, with support from the Business Council on Climate Change (BC3) and the Business Renewables Center (BRC), began collaborating in late 2017. Many potential renewable energy purchasers have historically been faced with a key problem: businesses looking to procure smaller energy loads have been unable to contract directly with large offsite renewable energy projects due to limited energy demand. This has so far restricted business’s ability to catalyze the development of new renewable energy projects. To solve this problem, the group evaluated several mechanisms for aggregating smaller amounts of renewable energy demand to afford them the collective buying power that is typically necessary to contract directly with a large offsite renewable energy project. Click read more below for additional detail.

PEFC invites stakeholders globally to nominate candidates for the Certification Body Requirements for Chain of Custody Revision Working Group and for our newly established permanent Sustainable Forest Management Working Group. The nomination deadline is 6 February 2019. Please ensure that your nomination represents one or more of the five stakeholder categories below: -Certified PEFC scheme users: forest owners and managers; forest based industry (processing and trade) (max. 5). -Uncertified PEFC scheme users: PEFC scheme assessors; certification bodies; accreditation bodies; consultants (max. 5). -Customers and consumers: retailer organizations; consumer organizations; institutional consumers of forest based products, including governments (max. 5). -Civil society: science, environmental, social and other interest groups (max. 5). -PEFC National Governing Body members (max. 5). Click read more below for additional detail.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) is pleased to name Melina Gerosa Bellows as SFI’s Chief Education Officer. She oversees the overall strategy and implementation of initiatives under SFI's Education pillar. Prior to joining SFI, Bellows worked at National Geographic for 17 years, where she created and launched the award-winning National Geographic Kids brand and served as Chief Education Officer overseeing all of the children's businesses. Bellows is also a best-selling author and an award-winning freelance writer and blogger. “Melina is a visionary leader who believes in the power of words and education to transform lives and the world we all share. Her ability to reach and inspire youth, combined with SFI’s rapidly growing presence in the education space is going to have a huge impact on the next generation and how they care for forests,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. Click read more below for additional detail.

Berry Global Group, Inc. proudly announces they have joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste as a founding member. This new organization is currently comprised of 27 companies and is making an initial five-year, $1.5 billion commitment to invest in solutions to eliminate plastic waste in the environment. “This Alliance is different from other organizations in that it spans the value chain. Brand owners, plastic resin producers, chemical companies, converters like ourselves, as well as waste management companies and recyclers, all aligned towards a common goal of how we ultimately end plastic waste,” said Tom Salmon, Chairman and CEO of Berry Global Group, Inc. In addition to the Company’s efforts with the Alliance, Berry also partners with key organizations to encourage recycling as well as internal efforts to improve product recyclability and increase offerings with recycled content. Click read more below for additional detail.

Hydropower is clean and renewable, but harnessing energy from running water can disrupt aquatic ecosystems. New solutions are being tested to help restore fish stocks. While the sun and wind can be unpredictable, hydropower is an emission-free, renewable method of generating electricity that comes with an added advantage: it is rapidly adjustable. There is no debating that hydropower plants have had a significant effect on migratory fish stocks, as they create obstructions that prevent fish from returning to their home stream for spawning. In certain locations, stocks have collapsed to an endangered level. Finland has adopted a National Fish Passage Strategy prioritising the restoration of the natural reproductive cycle of migratory fish in harnessed waterways. This government programme has seen an additional EUR 8 million in funding allocated for the restoration of fish stocks. Collaborative projects have already been completed in ten different river systems. Restoring fish stocks and preserving biodiversity is a long-term effort requiring committed work for many years into the future. Click read more below for additional detail.

We have updated our training schedule with two options for online update trainings in March, each held on two half days. Experienced auditors that need to attend a PEFC recognized training can sign up for one of those online trainings. One will be held on 6 and 7 March 2019, both days from 13:30 - 17:00 CET, the other one on 13 and 14 March 2019 from 9:00 - 12:30 CET. The fee for each of the trainings is CHF 500. The online training is a form of blended learning. You will do an online case study exercise in preparation for the online classroom training. The training will update you on PEFC activities, key elements of the PEFC Chain of Custody standard and discussion of the case study exercise. You will receive a certificate of attendance after successful completion of the course. With this certificate you can demonstrate compliance with the PEFC training requirements. Click read more below for additional detail.

EcoVadis is the leading system for evaluating and rating global corporations’ suppliers, and has conducted over 45 000 assessments in 150 countries. Companies using EcoVadis’ services include Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Nestlé, L’Oréal and Heineken. “We’ve been working hard for some time on integrating sustainability issues into all aspects of our business instead of viewing them as separate issues. This is one of many testaments that Holmen and our paperboard mills have a very strong sustainability profile,” said Elin Swedlund, sustainability manager at the Holmen Group. Both Iggesund Mill and its sister facility in Workington were assigned Gold Standard, the highest rating. This means both paperboard mills are among the top one per cent of all companies assessed by EcoVadis, and among the top two per cent of paper industry companies assessed. Click read more below for additional detail.

Do you prefer to receive important documents digitally or on paper? Either way, we believe you should be able to choose. Unfortunately, corporations don’t often give consumers a choice between digital and paper communications. The default is frequently digital, and consumers can find it difficult to revert to paper communications. To make matters more challenging, the choice to receive paper often comes at a cost. Keep Me Posted advocates for your right to choose how you receive information — printed or digitally. The campaign also asks companies to eliminate the extra fees associated with paper communications and to ask consumers for consent before replacing paper with digital documents. “We are a pro-citizens’-rights campaign. We are standing up for people who may be disadvantaged by their lack of choice on how to receive important communications, and for people who don’t agree to the switch to digital that is being imposed on them,” says Phil Riebel, president of Two Sides North America, the organization that developed and operates the North American campaign. “Our goal is to generate grassroots support to protect the consumer’s right to choose between paper, digital and any other available delivery method,” says Riebel. “We present independent research to quantify negative impacts and penalties for consumers who are denied paper communications, and we monitor service providers’ digital communication policies, both to educate consumers and to urge companies to do the right thing by giving consumers free and viable choices.” Click read more below for additional detail.

APRIL Group was announced as the winner of the Best UN Sustainable Development Goals Program Award at the Sustainable Business Awards (SBAs) Indonesia. The award recognizes APRIL Group for its work to measure the impact of its operations and strategically align its sustainability investments moving forward, using the global framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At the SBA ceremony at the Mandarin Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sihol Aritonang, President Director, PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper, the operating arm of APRIL Group, accepted the award from the Minister of National Development Planning, Indonesia, Bambang Brodjonegoro, and Shinta Kamdani, President, Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD). APRIL also received a Special Recognition award in the Business Responsibility and Ethics category. Click read more below for additional detail.

Glatfelter announced that it has entered into a consent decree with the United States Government, the State of Wisconsin, and Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products, under which Glatfelter expects to fully resolve its liability for the Lower Fox River and Green Bay environmental remediation and related Superfund litigation. The consent decree is subject to approval by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The Lower Fox River and Green Bay site involves the remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the bed of the river, and has been the source of complex, multi-party litigation since 2008. Under the terms of the settlement, Glatfelter agrees to pay to the United States $20.5 million to resolve all claims for past government cleanup, enforcement, and oversight costs and natural resources damages. Glatfelter will also be responsible for payment of future oversight costs. In addition, Glatfelter will be primarily responsible to perform the long-term monitoring and maintenance work in certain portions of the site, with Georgia-Pacific performing that work in other portions of the site. Click read more below for additional detail.

Hans who is responsible for sustainability issues in the SCA Forestry business area, will be new Director General of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) International. The Forest Stewardship Council is an international member organization that works for environmentally adapted, socially responsible and economically viable use of the world's forests. During the 25 years since the FSC was founded, they have created a certification system that gathers environmental organizations, industrial representatives, trade unions, indigenous population and other stakeholders for solution-oriented dialogue on forestry. Click read more below for additional detail.