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Metsä Group and forest owners planted 270 million seedlings in Finnish forests between 2010 and 2020. This summer, the figure will increase by more than 35 million seedlings. Metsä Group supplies forest owners with native tree species that occur naturally in Finland. Under the Finnish Forest Act, a new forest must always be established after felling. This can be done through natural regeneration, or by sowing seeds or planting seedlings. Planting is the fastest and surest way to create a new forest. To secure biodiversity, individual trees from the previous generation are always left in the forest. “We supply forest owners with species that occur naturally in Finland – pine, spruce and silver birch – for use in forest regeneration. This helps preserve forest nature in the state to which our native species have adapted,” says Teppo Oijala, Metsä Group’s Forest Manager. In the decade between 2010 and 2020, Metsä Group supplied forest owners with a total of 270 million seedlings and 9,000 kilograms of pine seeds.

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman thanked Congress for reaffirming that federal regulatory policy should reflect the carbon neutrality of forest-based renewable biomass. Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations legislation, which passed the House and Senate, contains legislative language to that effect. “We thank our bipartisan Congressional champions for advancing a measure that recognizes long-standing scientific principles and appropriately reflects the paper and wood products industry’s use of carbon neutral biomass for energy production. We are one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the nation and deserve clear public policy that supports our ability to grow the economy, create American manufacturing jobs and stay in step with global competition. We look forward to working with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the United States Department of Agriculture to fully implement this Congressional directive.”

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement in response to the Oregon Legislature passing the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (SB 582). “AF&PA looks forward to working with Oregon Governor Kate Brown and the Department of Environmental Quality DEQ to make sure that highly recycled materials, like paper, are not penalized or forced to subsidize plastic recycling. While well-intended, SB 582 has significant consequences for small businesses and manufacturers, including the paper and wood products industry, which employs more than 28,000 people in Oregon. “Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act may make sense for hazardous or hard-to-recycle materials. However, paper is a recycling success. Almost two-thirds of all paper was recycled last year, and for over a decade, paper recycling has met or exceeded 63 percent. AF&PA members have a demonstrated record making our products more sustainable and circular. We look forward to working on an implementation plan that recognizes the recycling and sustainability success of paper.”