AF&PA Announces 2014 Paper Recovery Rate

With various activities throughout Europe, the European Paper Bag Day will take place for the third time on 18 October. The annual action day raises awareness of paper carrier bags as a sustainable and efficient packaging option that helps consumers to avoid littering and minimise negative impacts on the environment. This year’s edition will centre around the reusability of paper bags. For this occasion, initiators “The Paper Bag”, Europe’s leading kraft paper manufacturers and paper bag producers, have also launched a video series in which a paper bag’s reusability is tested and demonstrated in different everyday situations. Most consumers are increasingly concerned about the environment. This is also reflected in their consumption behaviour. By choosing environmentally friendly products, they try to reduce their personal carbon footprint.

“We need a paradigm shift in how society perceives the whole forest/tree value chain,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, as he opened the 22nd PEFC General Assembly, in Helsinki, Finland. “Society is at a crossroads and the strategic direction we choose will provide the opportunity for us to demonstrate the real value of sustainable forests and their contribution to society in achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.” “Climate change, a growing urban global population, cooperation challenges, are all issues we have to tackle, by demonstrating how forests are an important part of the solution,” Ben highlighted. Click Read More below for additional information.

UPS announced an agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to purchase 170 million gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) through 2026. This is the largest commitment for use of RNG to date by any company in the United States, with a range of 22.5 - 25 million gallon equivalents per year. RNG is a key part of UPS’s strategy to increase alternative fuel consumption to be 40% of total ground fuel purchases by 2025, supporting the logistics leader’s efforts to reduce the absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its ground fleet 12% by 2025. “The world has a trash problem. And the world has an emissions problem. Renewable natural gas, produced naturally from bio sources such as landfills and dairy farms, not only turns trash to gas, but it turns it into clean gas,” said Mike Casteel, UPS director of fleet procurement. “Since RNG is supported by existing national infrastructure used to transport natural gas, it’s a winning solution that will help UPS to reach our ambitious sustainability goals. At the same time, we hope our unprecedented seven-year commitment serves as a catalyst for wider adoption of RNG by other companies.” Click "read more" below for additional information.