FSC Publishes New Trademark Standard for Certificate Holders

India has become the latest country to achieve the PEFC endorsement of its national forest certification system. “PEFC endorsement is a landmark achievement for India, as we have long felt the need for such a country specific and internationally benchmarked forest certification system,” said Vijai Sharma, Chairman of The Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF), our national member for India. “Our newly endorsed national system will allow Indian forest managers to further strengthen their sustainable forest management practices, in line with global standards and multilateral requirements.” NCCF joined the PEFC alliance in 2015 and submitted the national system to PEFC for endorsement in 2017. The system was developed through a multi-stakeholder group including forestry professionals, representatives from government, forest corporations, conservation organisations and industry bodies. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) is disappointed by the statement released by Greenpeace today. Greenpeace has been an integral partner in our sustainability journey since 2013, and their engagement and support has resulted in much progress in the fight against deforestation in Indonesia. Greenpeace were instrumental in the drafting of our Forest Conservation Policy (FCP), which has helped APP achieve a deforestation-free supply chain. Among many other achievements, APP has also identified and protected more than 600,000ha of natural forest through the implementation of High Carbon Stock Approach and High Conservation Value studies within its concessions and those of its third party suppliers. Their statement today, however, has expanded the issue to the rest of the Sinar Mas Group, which is outside the scope of the FCP. Over the past three months, we have been communicating with Greenpeace transparently to address the issues raised by Associated Press (AP) report. Click Read More below for additional information.

For the fourth year in a row, BPM Inc., northeast Wisconsin paper mill, has received recognition as a Green Professional in the Wisconsin Green Masters Program. The Green Masters Program recognizes and assesses Wisconsin businesses on their sustainability performance in a variety of sustainability categories. According to a letter received from Kevin Banas, Green Masters Program Director, BPM is also in the running to achieve the highest rank as a Green Master, to be announced the end of October with Masters level certificates given out in person at the annual conference in December. “Participation in the Green Masters Program validates BPM’s continued commitment to the environment, sustainability and social responsibility,” said Jim Koronkiewicz, BPM General Manager. “It’s a hands-on tool that BPM can use annually to review areas of sustainable potential. With an increased score of 20% over last year, the BPM team has worked hard for this impressive accomplishment.” Click Read More below for additional information.