AF&PA Thanks House for Continued Recognition of Biomass Carbon Neutrality

At the annual meeting of Two Sides’ Country Managers in London on November 5th 2018, representatives from Australia, Europe, New Zealand, North America, South America and South Africa determined to continue efforts to stop organizations from making misleading, anti-print and paper claims in their customer communications. Since its inception, Two Sides’ anti-greenwash campaign has investigated 921 organizations worldwide. Of these, over two-thirds were found to be using unsubstantiated claims regarding paper’s impact on the environment, usually in breach of local advertising regulations. After being challenged by Two Sides, a total of 335 organizations have now removed or changed their messaging. In a joint statement, Two Sides’ Country Managers stated: “We are thrilled to be able to report the latest global anti-greenwash results. The Anti-Greenwash campaign is such an important initiative because without Two Sides’ intervention there would be no other body holding these organizations to account. But despite the success of the campaign, as well as clear rules on unsubstantiated environmental claims, greenwash tactics are still commonplace. Everyday, new claims are brought to the attention of Two Sides, from some of the world’s largest companies telling tens-of-millions of their customers that paper is bad for the environment.” Click read more below for additional detail.

Last October, storm "Vaia" hit northern Italy with 150 km per hour winds, damaging forests in Trentino, Friuli, Veneto and Lombardy – the regions that provide two thirds of all Italian timber. The winds knocked down 20 million trees – over 8.5 million cubic metres of wood – equal to the amount of wood harvested in five to seven years of average silviculture. Regional governments estimated damages of more than a billion euros. No single event of extreme weather had ever caused such extensive destruction to Italian forests. But also the reaction it triggered appeared, in its own way, unprecedented. In the aftermath of the disaster, PEFC Italy launched a ‘fair supply chain’ to mitigate the environmental and socio-economic impact. They urged public forestry consortia, mountain communities and private firms to collect and purchase timber from the damaged forests at fair prices.

By diverting paper from landfills and reintroducing it into the production cycle, recycling paper benefits the environment by conserving resources and reducing the need for virgin materials. This can lead to significantly reduced demand for timber from forests. The resulting recycle paper materials are used to produce everything from newspaper and tissue to cardboard and magazines – benefitting both the forests and you, the environmentally conscious individual. The production of paper from recycled fibers consumes considerably less energy and water compared to paper made from virgin materials. Recycling paper requires less processing, reducing the energy-intensive steps involved in harvesting, pulping, and bleaching raw wood pulp. Additionally, it conserves water resources by minimizing the need for extensive irrigation in forestry operations and the paper manufacturing process.