Myanmar takes big steps towards PEFC membership

“We were delighted to welcome three new national members to the PEFC Alliance during our General Assembly”, said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, as Macedonia, Romania and Thailand became the latest countries to join PEFC. “In fact, this year has been an incredible year for us, with six new national members and four new international stakeholder members. We’ve not had a year like this since we were created over 16 years ago!” Any organization wishing to join the PEFC Alliance must be voted in by the other PEFC members. For most of the year, this is done through a postal ballot. But once a year, at the General Assembly, all our members come together and get to cast their votes in person. click Read More below for additional detail

Forestry is to become more digital so the forest can be utilized in a more efficient and sustainable manner. This is SCA’s position and other players in the forest industry who are now launching the joint research program Mistra Digital Forest. Accessibility to major digital information flows is rapidly increasing and is creating new opportunities. By linking together the information flows, the forest industry can improve the efficiency and the added value of the forest at the same time as contributing to greater sustainability through more considerate forest operations. The Mistra Digital Forest research program will therefore focus on the digitalization of the entire forest value chain. “We consider this a very exciting and interesting project that is looking to the future. We can now become even more efficient in the way we use the forest and contribute to a more sustainable society,” says Magnus Bergman, head of technology and operational development at SCA, and continues: “We already work with many digital solutions, but this project offers the potential to form a closer link between the requirements of our sawmills and our method of calculating the optimal way of using the timber. The digital information gives us more opportunity to simplify work processes and provides better support to our machine operators. Click read more below for additional detail.

As a producer of metal packaging, Crown Bevcan Europe & Middle East is acutely aware of its responsibility to ensure as much of its product remains within the circular economy as possible. In the U.K., for example, some nine billion canned drinks are consumed each year – 30% of which are enjoyed on-the-go. However, only 42% of local authorities provide recycling bins in public spaces – a figure that Crown is committed to help increase.

As a major producer of beverage cans for the U.K. market, Crown is dedicated to ensuring it facilitates and encourages the recycling of as much of that packaging as possible. In addition to supporting a wide range of initiatives – such as the Every Can Counts programme and the Metal Recycles Forever mark – Crown purchases Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) to comply with U.K. packaging waste regulations, the proceeds going towards the recycling infrastructure. Crown recently partnered with Ecosurety to support the “Leeds by Example” initiative in Leeds, U.K., run by the environmental behaviour change charity, Hubbub. The organization’s research showed that the city did not provide on-the-go recycling options for food and beverage packaging. As a consequence, the amount of food and drink packaging placed into general waste bins on the streets of Leeds city centre could fill a 20-foot shipping container every three days. Click Read More below for additional detail.