Last chance for feedback on ST 1004: certification body requirements for sustainable forest management

Governor Paul R. LePage presents Irving Woodlands, LLC with the prestigious 2015 Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award. This prestigious award recognizes people or organizations that stand above their peers to further forestry, forests, or forestland conservation in the state of Maine. Started by the Maine TREE Foundation in 2004, it is the only award in Maine that recognizes stewardship of the working forest. “Maine’s working forests are a vital part of our past, present, and future economy. Named after one of Maine’s longest contributing professional foresters, the Austin H. Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award is an opportunity to publicly recognize exemplary management of working forests.” – Governor Paul R. LePage.

Huhtamaki and Stora Enso have joined forces to launch a new paper cup recycling initiative, The Cup Collective. The programme, which is the first of its kind in Europe, aims to recycle and capture the value of used paper cups on an industrial scale. Initially the programme will be implemented across the Benelux. With the aim of setting new standards for paper cup collection and recycling in Europe, The Cup Collective has issued an open invitation for partners from across the supply chain to get involved in working towards a systemic European solution. The EU has set recycling target for paper and board packaging of 85% by 2030. Paper cups are recyclable but need to be collected before they can be turned into new paper products. The Cup Collective initiative will create the necessary collection infrastructure to significantly increase the recycling rate of wood-fiber in paper cups. Above all, the programme will make it as easier for consumers and businesses to collect used paper cups to be regenerated into valuable recycled raw material.

The UPS Foundation, which leads global citizenship and philanthropy programs for UPS, announced it will award nearly $2.7 million in grants to preeminent environmental organizations worldwide. The missions of these organizations align with The UPS Foundation and the company’s environmental sustainability goals, which address creation of global standards and best practices as well as other issues such as renewable energy sources and reducing its absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from global ground operations. This announcement comes after The UPS Foundation recently awarded $10 million in grants to 44 organizations that advance diversity and inclusion around the world. The most significant grants will advance The UPS Foundation’s commitment to fund the planting of “15 Million Trees By 2020” in urban and rural areas around the globe. Last year, the program funded the planting of more than 2.7 million trees, bringing the number of total trees planted to over 12.5 million - 84% to its goal. Click Read More below for additional information.