In the autumn of 2021, Metsä Group launched a ten-year programme to support regionally effective development projects that are carried out outside commercial Finnish forests and support biodiversity and the state of waters. The projects may relate to bird waters and wetlands, watercourse routes, small waters and coastal environments, pollinator habitats or new water protection methods. Nearly 40 projects took part in the first round of applications, which ended in late November 2021. The following projects were the first to be selected for the programme, with a total financial investment by Metsä Group of approximately EUR 350,000. *Rehabilitation and repair of the Virtaankoski dam in Tainionvirta river in Sysmä *Rehabilitation and repair of Hiitolanjoki river in Simpele *Maintenance and repair of wetlands and test use of soil improvement substances suitable for the retaining of agricultural nutrients in Lemi (“Kuuksenenselkä kuntoon” project) *Improvement of the living conditions of the large Arctic char in southern Saimaa and Kuolimo (“Pro Nieriä” project) *Repair work of Pieni Pyhävesi, headwater lake of the Kymijoki waterway in Mäntyharju *Wetland projects in Alavus, Urjala and Orimattila

FSC individual certificate holders applying for new or renewed certification will need to sign a new Trademark License Agreement (TLA, version 6) starting January 20, 2022. The TLA is a legal document that governs the relationship between FSC and the certificate holder, granting the right to use the FSC trademarks for both on-product labelling and promotional use. The specific rules governing the use of the FSC trademarks by certificate holders are set out in FSC-STD-50-001. FSC regularly revises the TLA to comply with the latest legal requirements and to ensure that the integrity and credibility of the FSC certification scheme is upheld and protected.

Smurfit Kappa has had its emissions reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) as consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The targets covering greenhouse gas emissions from Smurfit Kappa’s operations (scopes 1 and 2) are consistent with reductions required to keep global warming to well-below 2°C. The SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) which defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting and independently assesses companies’ targets. The initiative mobilises companies to set science-based targets in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Emission reduction targets are considered ‘science-based’ when their CO2 reduction targets are in line with what the latest climate science says is needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The Pan African Forest Certification (PAFC) Congo Basin regional system has achieved PEFC endorsement. This is the world’s first PEFC endorsed regional forest certification system. Our national members for Cameroon, Congo, and Gabon joined forces under the name of PAFC Congo Basin to develop this regional certification system. The shared language and the similar forestry conditions in the three neighbouring countries enables them to share one system. By developing a regional system, our members can maximise their impact and reach, share resources and knowledge, and reduce the costs in developing and running a forest certification system.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) announced Bettina Ring as its new Chief Sustainability and Diversity Officer today. Ring will provide leadership internally and externally on strategic initiatives related to sustainability and diversity. She will also seek to leverage SFI’s scale to drive meaningful change in the forest and conservation sector through collaboration with SFI’s network. Ring has deep connections to the forest sector, most recently serving as Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and to SFI, having formerly served on the SFI Board of Directors and recognized as the SFI President’s Award winner in 2018. Additionally, under Ring’s leadership, 68,000 acres of Virginia’s state forests were certified to the SFI Forest Management and American Tree Farm System Standards, which provide assurance of sustainable practices on managed forestlands.

In our interview series Meeting our Certified Companies, we hear from companies from around the world, large and small, which are proud to be a part of PEFC, and to help safeguard our forests through their commitment. In our latest interview, Natàlia Carmona, Director of Food Quality and Safety at Spanish cardboard packaging manufacturer Alzamora Group, shared her thoughts on sustainability and respect for the environment.

Two Sides North America is pleased to welcome the Pharmaceutical Printed Literature Association (PPLA) as its newest member. PPLA is a coalition representing printers, equipment manufacturers, raw material suppliers and distributors of regulated printed pharmaceutical information used by both medical professionals and patients, including package inserts, medication guides, and other label packaging such as folding cartons and pressure-sensitive labels. PPLA’s 25 member companies employ thousands of individuals across manufacturing operations in 15 states. “As Two Sides continues to grow our membership across all sectors of the print, paper and paper-based packaging industry, we are delighted to have PPLA join us and look forward to working with them to help promote the sustainability of our industry and our products, and printed pharmaceutical information in particular,” said Two Sides North America President Kathi Rowzie.

Sustana Fiber along with a group of prominent paper mills and end markets across North America signed a declaration of acceptance and a commitment to increasing recycling of paper cups. The group includes Essity, GP PRO, Graphic Packaging International, Great Lakes Tissue Company, ND Paper, Pratt Industries, WestRock and Sustana Fiber. These organizations representing 75% of mixed paper demand (by quantity consumed) in the U.S. and Canada are accepting paper cups. Seven companies with 25 paper mills actively accept residential mixed paper bales (ISRI grade 54) with paper cups included, while three companies with five facilities currently accept paper cups when included with aseptic and gable top cartons in carton bales (ISRI grade 52). Paper cups have a coating on the inside (for hot drink cups) or on both sides (for cold drink cups) that provides a liquid barrier to the fiber. Although the coating has long been seen as a reason not to recycle paper cups, several companies have conducted tests and determined that the coating does not present an obstacle to recycling the cups in their facilities. The mills use pulping systems that separate the coatings from the fiber, recovering the fiber with a 70% to 90% yield.

Tennessee’s Bear Hollow Mountain Wildlife Management Area officially just got bigger by 1,000 acres. The area is north of the Alabama border and an hour west of Chattanooga. The Associated Press reported that the new land connects the divided land. Thanks to the Conservation Fund’s land purchase in March 2021, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency found time and money for the land purchase. The agency manages 125 wildlife management areas throughout the state. According to The Chattanoogan, The Conservation Fund worked in partnership with the Open Space Institute (OSI), The Nature Conservancy in Tennessee (TNC), and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) to close the deal. The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee helped out with some donations. They came from the Riverview Foundation, the WestRock Foundation, and a private estate gift.

The European paper industry fully supports the EU ambition of making Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and building a European circular economy. The carbon neutrality objective requires the European pulp and paper industry to become even more sustainable, efficient and innovative. The pledge has been taken by the industry as a whole, covering diverse products and materials made in the sector. Cepi, as the organisation representing the industry at EU level, will also leverage its existing networks within users of paper and forest fibre products, including many major companies with a global footprint. This will ensure that the pledge gains enough traction and has a real impact on climate neutrality, resource efficiency, and circularity. The new commitment is based upon three main pillars: *The achievement of full circularity performance for paper-based products and packaging. *The acceleration of innovation to replace fossil-based materials. *Ensuring responsible sourcing for paper-based products and packaging.

We begin 2022 with the announcement that Ben Gunneberg is departing PEFC after a long and distinguished career as Secretary General/CEO. “The PEFC global alliance is grateful for Mr Gunneberg’s outstanding service and commitment to PEFC, as well as his significant accomplishments over his distinguished tenure,” said Eduardo Rojas Briales, Chair of PEFC International. "Under his leadership, PEFC has made a real and measurable difference in forests around the world and in the lives of people who depend on these forests." Mr Gunneberg has been the leading advocate for PEFC and for our common objective of promoting sustainable forest management during his 22 years of service. We are deeply grateful for his unwavering dedication, loyalty, and outstanding service.

As Christmas is coming closer, magnificent Christmas trees are lighting up city centres and spreading seasonal splendour. Again this year, several European cities have chosen PEFC-certified firs and spruces. A PEFC-certified Christmas tree takes centre stage at Trafalgar Square in London. The 23 metre Norwegian Spruce tree is around 80 years old and was sourced from a PEFC-certified forest in Maridalen, Oslo. The tree is a gift from the people of Norway to the people of London to thank them for their support in World War II. It stands as a symbol of long-standing friendship and international cooperation between the two countries.

Sustainability lies at the center of Huhtamaki’s 2030 Strategy and the Company is making a leap forward towards delivering on its ambitions by closing two 10-year virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs) with BayWa r.e., a global renewable energy developer. The 200 GWh agreements cover approximately 80% of Huhtamaki’s current electricity usage in Europe, where the key global provider of sustainable packaging solutions has 18 manufacturing sites in 10 countries. ”We are committed to our ambitious 2030 strategy to become the first choice in sustainable packaging solutions. This means developing a circular approach for our operations and products. We are fully committed to supporting the transition to a zero-carbon economy and have a climate strategy with clear targets and action plans to address all our emissions. Renewable electricity plays a major role in delivering on our ambitions and the agreement we have just signed with BayWa r.e. demonstrates that it is possible to achieve significant progress in a short time,” says Charles Héaulmé, President and CEO of Huhtamaki.

When one thinks of leaders in sustainability, it’s unlikely thoughts would turn to a 200-year-old company. But a company’s age doesn’t always mean “old-school.” Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc., the oldest continuously operating paper mill in the United States, is a gold standard example of a company that has built sustainability into the DNA of its business. With a passion for the environment and ingenuity, Monadnock has developed a portfolio of award-winning and sustainably advantaged fine printing, packaging and technical papers. All Monadnock printing and packaging papers are FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) certified (FSC C018866) and manufactured using 100% renewable, carbon neutral Green-e certified wind-powered electricity, all under a third-party certified ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. “We’re proud that our commitment to sustainability has yielded appreciable, measurable and verified environmental impact reductions,” says Monadnock Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard G. Verney. “Monadnock’s ISO 14001 certification demonstrates our holistic approach to educate the marketplace and supply the world’s leading brands with sustainable materials.”

Nice-Pak brings broad-based reach to the effort, as the company's products touch consumers worldwide billions of times per year, and will seek to engage suppliers, customers, communities, and consumers with knowledge and the opportunity to participate in this important initiative. As exclusive wet wipe sponsors of Project Learning Tree and partners of American Forests, Nice-Pak and the Nice 'N CLEAN® brand are making an investment in tree planting programs and the development and implementation of youth environmental educational programs that will include: •Supporting reforestation efforts to help address climate change and social inequities faced by people in under-resourced communities: Together with American Forests, Nice-Pak aims to foster the planting of 150,000 trees across the U.S. over three years. This effort will have the potential to capture 92,000 metric tons of carbon over their lifespan. •Supporting youth environmental education using trees and forests as windows on the world: Project Learning Tree will develop and implement a digital curriculum specifically around the connection between healthy forests and human health and make it available to their K-12 school network beginning in Spring 2022, reaching over 25,000 students over the next three years. •Making a global commitment: Through Nice-Pak International colleagues in Europe, Nice-Pak will also make a commitment to the 1t.org campaign, a worldwide movement to conserve, restore and grow one trillion healthy trees worldwide by 2030.

Canfor Corporation is issuing an open letter from Don Kayne, President and CEO, calling for an approach to the management of British Columbia’s old growth forests that is based on the facts of sound science and Indigenous traditional knowledge and a collaborative process that includes broad representation. “We can choose a path that brings First Nations, labour leaders, forestry professionals and communities together to develop a sustainable old growth management plan that protects our forests and ensures sustainable employment for our communities. We are asking the Government of British Columbia to rethink the old growth deferral process,” said Don Kayne, President and CEO, Canfor. “Together, we can build on the 75% of old growth forests that are already protected or outside harvesting areas.”

In November 2021, FSC welcomed these new certificate holders tot he FSC community: Color Craft Graphic Arts Inc. is an all-inclusive folding carton company. Vermont Wide Plank Flooring, LLC is a manufacturer and distributor specializing in wide plank flooring for residential and commercial applications. Pennsylvania Cherry, LLC is a wood supplier in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Cardbox Packaging Inc. is a multinational producer of collapsible boxes for branded goods and luxury items. Traeger Pellet Grills, LLC is a grill and wood pellet provider. Print Pro, INC is a national wide web flexographic printer. Rex Carton Company Incorporated provides custom box packaging, corrugated shipping containers, corrugated packaging solutions and more. Cranny, LLC is an Amazon Climate Pledge Friendly distributor of various paper products including bags, boxes, and stationary. Rochester Colonial Mfg. Corp is a door distributor. Turner Construction Company is a door distributor. Note that this is only for the Turner Construction Olathe, Kansas door warehouse.

CANPACK Group, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of sustainable packaging, is delighted to announce that starting in 2022 all of its plants across the globe will be powered using 100% renewable electricity where available, and where not available the company will purchase Energy Attribute Certificates or comparable certificates. In doing so, we believe that CANPACK becomes the first global can maker to make such a far-reaching commitment. The company recently signed up to the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), where climate targets are only considered science-based if they’re in line with what’s needed to prevent the world’s climate from rising above 2°C against pre-industrial levels, and ideally for it not to rise more than 1.5°C. As a result, this latest announcement is a further commitment to CANPACK’s Sustainability Targets, which were announced back in January 2021.

Tetra Pak has been recognised for leadership in corporate sustainability by global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on its prestigious ‘A List’ for the third year running for tackling climate change, as well as acting to protect forests – two of the three environmental themes covered by CDP. With this accolade, Tetra Pak cements its position as the only company in the carton packaging sector to be included in the CDP leadership band for six years in a row. CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognised as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency. In 2021, over 590 investors with over US$110 trillion in assets and 200 major purchasers with US$5.5 trillion in procurement spend requested companies to disclose data on environmental impacts, risks and opportunities through CDP’s platform. A record-breaking 13,000+ companies responded.

Sappi Limited continues to reach new milestones by completing the Higg Facility Environmental Management (FEM) verification audit at its Cloquet Mill. Based in Northern Minnesota (United States), the mill is one of the first dissolving pulp facilities to complete this external verification process. A final score of greater than 80% was achieved which is an endorsement of sound environmental practices employed by the mill. Supporting the call to accelerate transparency in the textile and apparel sector, a detailed performance report will be made available to all key stakeholders on request. Developed by the SAC, the Higg FEM is part of a suite of tools that enables manufacturing facilities of all sizes to measure and score their environmental performance against a standard set of criteria, allowing for meaningful and credible performance benchmarking in the apparel and textile sector. Across topics such as water use, carbon emissions and labour conditions, consumer goods brands, retailers, manufacturers, governments, NGOs and consumers can use the Higg Index to inform their individual sustainability strategies and drive collective industry transformation.

Global packaging and paper leader Mondi has been recognised by CDP with a prestigious Triple A score for the second year in a row. Of the nearly 12,000 organisations rated, Mondi is one of only 14 worldwide to achieve a Triple A score for its sustainability performance on climate, forests and water security. "Our purpose is to contribute to a better world by making packaging and paper sustainable by design. Achieving another ‘Triple A’ score from CDP is a testament to our continued efforts in leading the way on sustainability and reporting transparently on our progress. This rating acknowledges our clear ambitions and best-practice approach to taking action on climate, protecting forests and safeguarding water resources in line with our MAP2030 sustainability framework." Gladys Naylor, Group Head of Sustainable Development at Mondi

The PEFC product categories are a key element in the implementation of the PEFC chain of custody by certified organisations and certification bodies. The revised list of PEFC product categories, as approved by the Chain of Custody Working Group on 15 October 2021, is now available. The PEFC product categories define the PEFC product groups to which the chain of custody is applied and the scope of the chain of custody certificate. When checking the validity of a PEFC claim on a PEFC certified product, companies use the PEFC database to ensure the product is under the scope of their certified supplier. Additionally, the categories serve as a tool for the promotion of certified products, with the list of product categories covered by a certified organisation available on the PEFC International website.

A three-year strategic roadmap to promote fashion supply chain sustainability and responsible procurement was launched in Singapore on 30 November between the Textile and Fashion Federation (TaFF) and PEFC International. This partnership will drive greater awareness among TaFF members, partners, and stakeholders of the importance of legal and sustainable sourcing of materials, like fibre from the forests but also its packaging and natural rubber used in the sector. Fashion supply chain sustainability and responsible procurement are critical to make sure that we all benefit from the many products that forests provide now while ensuring these forests will be around for generations to come.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc. (NCASI) announced the launch of the SFI-NCASI Carbon and Water Tools today. These science-based tools will help increase understanding of how SFI-certified forests can be used as nature-based solutions to help mitigate climate change and ensure water conservation. These new measurement tools help quantify the contributions of the 370 million acres/150 million hectares of forestland certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard in addressing climate change and meeting the water needs of both society and ecological systems. “We know the carbon in SFI-certified forests make them essential to reducing the impacts of climate change. However, quantifying the carbon values associated with SFI-certified forests can be challenging. These new tools will inform scientists in ways that will advance the already significant impact of forests toward mitigating climate change and providing for our water needs,” said Paul Trianosky, SFI’s Chief Conservation Officer.

Studies show that single use paper-based packaging has lower carbon and freshwater impacts than reusable systems because of the energy and water needed to wash and dry foodservice tableware. “We should stop the guessing game when we look at environmentally viable solutions, and we should trust the science and work together to make our economies circular,” says Eric Le Lay, President Fiber Foodservice Europe-Asia-Oceania at Huhtamaki, and President of the European Paper Packaging Alliance (EPPA). Commissioned by the EPPA, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) found that contrary to widely held perceptions, reusable tableware has a significantly higher environmental impact than paper-based single-use systems in areas which crucially impact climate change.