Our pulp and paper mills, including our Hawesville Mill in Kentucky, have been using wood fiber, water and basic chemistry to make useful, recyclable products for more than a century. As technology has advanced, our processes have become more efficient and more sustainable. Today, Domtar’s environmental teams use technology to improve visibility to standards and to act early to prevent problems. The Hawesville Mill offers lessons in collaboration and innovation while keeping an eye on the environment. Technology has modernized the tracking of hundreds of data points that alert mill leaders to potential environmental problems and deviations from designed operating conditions. Technology also helps us improve efficiency in our manufacturing processes.

Leading global packaging and paper group Mondi and Tesco Central Europe have launched a new partnership, in which Mondi will purchase the retailer’s warehouse corrugated waste to create recycled paper for the retailers' shopping bags. Tesco is working towards a net zero emission goal, in line with its sustainability targets to remove, reduce, reuse and recycle wherever possible and Mondi is able to contribute to this vision with its customer-centric approach, EcoSolutions. This is the first time Tesco has collaborated directly with a paper producer to turn its paper waste into a renewable resource in line with their circular economy goals. Mondi uses the retailer’s corrugated waste to produce the EcoVantage grade, in which recycled and fresh fibres are combined to achieve a recyclable and high performing shopping bag. With the EcoVantage paper produced at Mondi’s mill in the Czech Republic, this collaboration shows how suppliers can work with retailers across the value chain to develop circular systems and turn waste back into a valuable resource.

Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announced the appointment of members of the federal government’s Net-Zero Advisory Board. We have the unique opportunity to go beyond net-zero and can do this by: *Sequestering carbon and reducing land-based emissions through climate smart forestry and sustainably managing forests in the face of worsening pest, drought, and catastrophic fire risks; *Locking carbon into long-lived wood products and innovative wood building construction; *Building on our successful track record of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at our mills. Carbon emissions at Canadian forest product mills have been reduced by nearly 70% since the early 1990s and we can do more. *Using what would otherwise be wood waste to further green our operations and providing lower-carbon materials and biofuels to help other industries decarbonize.

Whether delivery or takeout, as a weekday reprieve from cooking or festive food for a weekend celebration, people love their pizza. Over the course of a year in the U.S., people consume an estimated 3 billion pizzas. And during February’s Super Bowl game, Domino’s pizza in the U.S. typically sells around 2 million pizzas. The love for pizza has longevity, too. According to a Reader’s Digest poll, the single food that most Americans would want to eat for the rest of their lives is pizza. While we can debate Hawaiian versus pepperoni and turn our noses up at anchovies, there’s no agreeing to disagree on this: Pizza boxes can be recycled. There’s proof. Mired in myth, and confused by cheese and grease, people have been burying the pizza box in their trash bins, assuming it cannot be recycled. Allow me to set the record straight – it can!

Ahlstrom-Munksjö works to create innovative products that provide high performance as well as sustainability benefits for customers and consumers. As part of the company’s continuous commitment to sustainability, CelluStraw™ papers are now BPI® certified, in addition to carrying OK compost HOME and OK compost INDUSTRIAL certifications, qualifying compostability in a home environment and in industrial facilities. These certifications facilitate the possibility for Ahlstrom-Munksjö customers, whether converters or brand owners, to achieve their own sustainability goals. By using a scientific process, BPI officially certifies compostable products that meet ASTM D6400 and ASTM D6868 standards for compostability. BPI Certification proves that a material will compost in a composting facility, leaving behind no toxic residue or microplastics.

Stakeholders from around the world are invited to give feedback on the revised national forest certification system for Switzerland. Deadline for comments is 9 April. Give your feedback now! PEFC Switzerland revised the country’s national forest certification system following the entry into force of the revised 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. After revising the national system in line with PEFC requirements, PEFC Switzerland submitted the revised system to PEFC. The national system is now undergoing the PEFC assessment process, carried out by an independent PEFC Registered Assessor. It must pass this process and be approved by the PEFC General Assembly before it can achieve endorsement.

Editor’s note from Kyle Field: Having spent 17 years working at a paper plant in a wide variety of roles, I am passionate about finding and sharing solutions for industries built around fossil fuels. The papermaking process is extremely energy intensive and requires thermal energy to dry paper, making it a challenging nut to crack. The path taken by Rolland to clean up its energy footprint is encouraging for the papermaking industry and serves as a model for other gas-consuming industries. As the corporate world continues to examine how to reduce its environmental footprint, and more businesses set strategies with climate change in mind, it is imperative they use energy in a way that’s clean, sustainable, and renewable during their manufacturing processes. At Rolland, we’re committed to industry-leading product quality, continuous improvement and environmental stewardship. This mission is driven by our employees, who help us promote a culture of constant innovation. In honor of National Energy Awareness Month, let’s take a closer look at this important component of our sustainable production process, including the challenge, the opportunity and the outcomes.

Sealed Air Corporation is announcing a bold new goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. This announcement follows the company’s successful execution of its sustainability strategy and performance against its 2020 goal to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of its operations by 25%. The company far exceeded its 2020 goal by achieving more than a 44% reduction. The company is aiming to establish new benchmarks for mitigating environmental and societal risks such as climate change while generating long-term value for stakeholders and society. Among the actions Sealed Air is taking to reduce carbon emissions within the company’s operations, supply chain, and beyond are: *Adopting state-of-the-art technology and innovation for automated packaging solutions and systems, advanced recycling, and recyclable and renewable materials *Continuing investments in renewable energy such as a solar power project in California and a wind power project in Argentina *Improving efficiencies that reduce emissions in global operations for the company and its customers *Contributing to the reduction of waste across the value chain including making improvements to the shelf life of food and reducing food waste, enhancing transportation efficiency, and protecting goods in transit

The Indonesian Forestry Certification Cooperation (IFCC) recently submitted their national forest certification system to PEFC for re-endorsement. The public consultation, your chance to give your feedback on this revised system, will run from 8 March until 7 May. IFCC, the PEFC national member for Indonesia, revised the country’s national forest certification system following the entry into force of the revised 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. The revised IFCC Forest Certification Scheme is also one of the first national systems submitted to PEFC for endorsement that includes a Trees Outside Forests (TOF) standard. TOF certification was one of the innovative developments of the 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard.

Crown Holdings, Inc. has been identified as a global leader for its actions and strategies to reduce emissions and manage climate risks in its supply chain. CDP, a leading global environmental impact non-profit organization, has awarded Crown a Supplier Engagement Rating (SER) of A as part of its annual climate change assessment of companies globally. This rating earns Crown a spot on the 2020 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard and puts the Company in the top 7% of 8,033 companies assessed by CDP. The SER provides a rating for how effectively companies engage their suppliers on climate change. CDP assessed performance on supplier engagement using a company's response to select questions on governance, targets, Scope 3 emissions and value chain engagement in the CDP Climate Change 2020 questionnaire. Climate Action is one of five central pillars of action under Crown's Twentyby30 sustainability strategy. As part of its commitments in this area, the Company has pledged to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from its supply chain (Scope 3) by 16% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline.

In the beginning of 2020 UPM committed to the United Nations Global Compact’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C, promising to pursue science-based measures to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C. UPM will meet this commitment by novel uses of their products, reducing CO2 emissions and by practicing climate positive forestry. Wood is renewable and recyclable, and even the production processes can yield important by-products. Biofuels can replace fossil-fuels, paper packaging can substitute plastics, biochemicals can replace fossil-based chemicals in industry and more wood in construction can be better for the environment than using concrete.

UPM has today joined The Climate Pledge, a cross-sector community of world-class companies working together to crack the climate crisis and to decarbonise our economy. These companies are committed to reach the targets of the Paris Agreement well in advance. The Climate Pledge was co-founded by Amazon and the Global Optimism. As a signatory of Climate Pledge UPM will • Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis • Implement decarbonisation strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies • Neutralise any remaining emissions to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040 — a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050

UPM has recently joined the EU’s Clean Hydrogen Alliance and become member of the Roundtable on Clean Hydrogen for industrial users. UPM has also joined the newly established Finnish Hydrogen Cluster. UPM is well-positioned for the hydrogen economy and wants to be proactive in the developments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Clean hydrogen is emerging as one of the key enablers for the European Union goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. “Clean hydrogen provides several interesting opportunities for UPM. We have an in-house access to renewable and CO2-free electricity, water resources, biogenic CO2 and hands-on experience with hydrogen in our advanced biofuels production in Lappeenranta. Our specific knowhow and resources will enable UPM to develop possible new business opportunities in the emerging hydrogen economy”, states Jyrki Ovaska, Executive Vice President, UPM Technology. Ovaska represents UPM in the EU’s Roundtable on Clean Hydrogen for industrial users.

Mondi Steinfeld in Germany has been certified as CO2 neutral for its manufacturing processes by ClimatePartner, an organisation which supports companies in reducing and offsetting their CO2 emissions. This certification was awarded as a result of Mondi Steinfeld switching to renewable energy and supporting certain climate projects in 2020. Once the total emissions of the plant were calculated in 2019, ClimatePartner helped the plant find further ways to reduce, and then offset, its emissions with climate projects and measures such as switching to hydropower. As part of this certification, the plant in Steinfeld combined carbon offsetting with participation in a number of carbon trust projects. These projects engage in local and international reforestation efforts to protect environmentally sensitive regions, such as Brazil and some parts of Europe. The next local project will focus on protecting an environmentally vulnerable moor close to Lichtenau in Germany through reforestation, to protect diverse ecosystems and habitats for a variety of wildlife.

The China Forest Certification Council (CFCC) submitted their national forest certification system to PEFC for re-endorsement in December 2019. The public consultation, which is your chance to give your feedback on this revised system, will run from 1 March until 30 April. CFCC, the PEFC national member for China, revised the country’s national forest certification system following the entry into force of the revised 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. The revised China Forest Certification Scheme is also the first national system submitted to PEFC for endorsement that includes a Trees Outside Forests (TOF) standard. TOF certification was one of the innovative developments of the 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard.

We’re proud to receive recognition from EcoVadis and the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) for our outstanding sustainability work in 2020. EcoVadis, a leading third-party provider of business sustainability ratings, measures performance across four categories when making their determination: Sustainable Procurement, Ethics, Labor & Human Rights, and Environment. Sappi North America’s overall score puts us in the top 1% of pulp and paper companies assessed. AF&PA named Sappi North America a recipient of its coveted Leadership in Sustainability - Water Award as part of its Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 Sustainability Awards program. Recognized for its “Caustic Reclaim and Reuse” project at its Somerset Mill in Skowhegan, Maine, the project reduced chemical demand and water usage at the site. Read more at: https://cdn-s3.sappi.com/s3fs-public/Sappi%20North%20America%20Sustainability%20Highlights.pdf

It’s been a busy start to the year and for us, much of that has been driven by the changing relationship we are seeing between consumers and packaging. Whether it is the growth in online shopping or a personal desire to be greener and more ethical in our consumption, we are seeing significant shifts in how we all relate to packaging materials. And as we build on these experiences, this year presents a unique opportunity for all of us: to shake up the green and circular economy agenda and be bold in our thinking. A recent article in Forbes noted that 2021 was the ‘Year of the Package’ and we continue to see the impact of that every day. At DS Smith, we only make fully recyclable paper-based packaging and are committed to a future free of plastics.

The Navigator Company achieved a Sustainalytics’ ESG Risk Rating score of 17.2 in December 2020. This is an improvement over previous years and allows the company to maintain its "Low ESG Risk Company" status for investors. The ESG Risk Ratings by Sustainalytics measures a company's performance in terms of sustainability by evaluating exposure to material ESG (environmental, social, and governance) risks and how the Company manages those risks. Navigator ranks 5th among a list of 79 global companies assessed by Sustainalytics in the Paper & Forestry industry cluster and 4th in the subset of 62 global companies in the Paper & Pulp cluster.

Plastic credits are poised to generate the momentum necessary to launch a circular plastic economy and give brands the opportunity to act. In order for brands to take action, they will need to follow these four priorities … The world’s plastic crisis is only growing worse: Plastic production continues to expand and single-use plastic has skyrocketed, thanks to COVID — and frankly, waste management cannot keep up. To make matters more challenging, there is no silver bullet to the plastic crisis. Our society requires plastic to function, but its consumption and disposal need to change drastically. As trillions of microplastics circulate our oceans and plastics choke our environment, accelerating system change is essential and imminently required. Aggravating the issue is the complexity of tackling the severe environmental and human costs. Currently, the ethical disposal and management of waste are starkly underfunded. In the next 20 years, we need $600 billion to bridge the evident funding gap in our system and turn this crisis around.

It has been announced that Amcor has been included within the S&P SAM Sustainability Yearbook, highlighting that it is making real progress on its ambitious sustainability goals. Amcor’s inclusion reflects the progress it has made, which includes reducing the intensity of its greenhouse gas emissions by 36%* since 2006. The Company has also been leading the packaging industry by creating innovative designs that are made in a more efficient way and use more recycled material. The Company is committed to making 100% of its packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025. Along with its inclusion in the SAM Sustainability Yearbook, Amcor’s efforts have seen it be recognised by a range of organisations over the last year, with the CDP scoring it an “A-” grade for Climate Change in its annual ratings.

Solenis has achieved the Gold Recognition Level for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance by EcoVadis, a collaborative platform providing sustainability ratings and performance improvement tools for global supply chains. This is the second year in a row in which the company attained Gold Status. “We are extremely proud that Solenis has once again earned this status,” said Dr. Daniel Grell, senior vice president, Environme​ntal​​, Health and Safety; Product Regulatory and Quality at Solenis. “We’ve transferred our internal emphasis on people, performance and continuous improvement to the area of sustainability. As a result, we improved our overall score from last year by nearly 10 percent.”

Extending the use of UPM BioVerno naphtha as a raw material in new applications such as clothing and sports equipment is an example of the collaboration needed to take us towards a future beyond fossils. Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), known under the Dyneema brand as the world’s strongest fibre, is a material used in a variety of applications such as sports equipment, protective clothing, and offshore marine or air cargo netting. Committed to increasing the share of bio-based raw materials in the production of Dyneema, Royal DSM, a global science-based company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, teamed up with UPM Biofuels and global diversified chemicals company, SABIC, to improve the environmental impact of its materials. click read more below for details

Smurfit Kappa has announced ambitious new sustainability targets in a number of different areas. The new targets focus on a further reduction of its environmental footprint, increased support for the communities in which it operates and further enhancement to the lives of its employees. These targets build upon the company’s well-established sustainability record, on which it has been reporting since 2005, and are contained in the Better Planet 2050 commitments. Better Planet 2050 quantifies Smurfit Kappa’s continued commitment to sustainability, targeting environmental and social sustainability in areas where it believes it can have the greatest impact. These include delivering sustainable packaging to customers, reducing its environmental footprint in water usage, waste and carbon emissions and supporting its communities, promoting inclusion and diversity as well as health and safety. The targets identified are specific, measurable and provide a roadmap to deliver results in the short, medium and longer timeframes.

Stakeholders from around the world are invited to give feedback on the regional forest certification system for the Congo Basin. Deadline for comments is 1 April. Give your feedback now! Our national members for Cameroon, Congo and Gabon joined forces under the name of PAFC Congo Basin to develop this regional certification system – the first regional system submitted to PEFC for endorsement. The system is now undergoing the PEFC assessment process, carried out by an independent PEFC Registered Assessor. It must pass this process and be approved by the PEFC General Assembly before it can achieve endorsement.

With huge pressures on the economy, banks, telecom providers, utility companies and even governmental organizations are increasingly focused on switching their customers from paper to digital services to cut costs. All too often their customer communications attempt to mask these cost-saving efforts, justifying the switch with unfounded environmental marketing appeals such as “Go Green – Go Paperless” and “Choose e-billing and help save a tree.” “Not only are these greenwash claims in breach of established environmental marketing rules, but they are hugely damaging to an industry which has a solid and continually improving environmental record,” says Two Sides North America (TSNA) President Phil Riebel. “Far from ‘saving trees,’ a healthy market for forest products such as paper encourages the long-term growth of forests through sustainable forest management. Many of the organizations we engage are surprised to learn that over the last 30 years, U.S. forests have grown by some 18 million acres while net forest area in Canada has remained about the same.” Click read more for the rest of the story

UPM has established a Green Finance Framework as part of its aim to create a future beyond fossils. This accelerates the company’s commitment to green values and ensures a high environmental standard across all operations. All things green have become an essential part of the worlds of investments and financing. Hence, every company must now walk the walk when it comes to sustainability. “A lot of companies can claim to be green and sustainable, but not all can put their money where their mouth is, and even fewer can do so in a project as impactful as the case of UPM,” says Jacob Michaelsen, Nordea’s Head of Sustainable Finance Advisory. Click read more below for more of the story.

UPM moves forward with biofuels growth plans and starts the basic engineering phase of a next generation biorefinery. The potential biorefinery would have an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes of high-quality renewable fuels including sustainable jet fuel. The products would significantly reduce carbon footprint in the road transport and aviation, as well as replace fossil raw materials with renewable alternatives in chemicals and bioplastics. “The planned biorefinery would scale up UPM’s successful biofuels business to a new level. At the same time, it would further improve long term competitiveness and sustainability performance of UPM Biofuels by introducing several sustainable feedstocks and achieving uniquely high CO2 emission reduction compared to biofuels currently in the market,” says Jyrki Ovaska, Chief Technology Officer of UPM. UPM’s solid wood biomass-based residues and side streams would play a substantial role in the feedstock pool. In addition, it would consist of sustainable liquid waste and residue raw materials.

Turning our manufacturing byproducts into usable products is just one of the ways Domtar works to operate efficiently and responsibly. These efforts reduce costs, but they also can help balance soil chemistry and increase crop yields for local farmers. In addition, reusing byproducts keeps the material out of landfills. In 2019, we beneficially reused 67 percent of our pulp and paper manufacturing byproducts, compared to an industry average of 46 percent. Take, for example, our use of lime manufacturing byproducts to treat acidic wastewater. One mill’s “trash” is another mill’s “treasure.” Our Nekoosa and Rothschild mills have discovered a mutual benefit to the lime byproduct produced in the process of making pulp. The two mills, located about 50 miles apart in Wisconsin, use different processes for pulping, one of the earliest stages of papermaking. These processes leave Nekoosa with excess lime residuals and Rothschild with acidic wastewater. Click read more below for the rest of the article.

Sappi Limited is proud to announce that its South African division has been awarded the first ever Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) forest management certificate in South Africa. This achievement indicates that Sappi Southern Africa’s forest management practices meet the requirements for sustainable forest management set out in the PEFC-endorsed standard for South Africa, SAFAS (Sustainable African Forest Assurance Scheme). Commenting on behalf of PEFC International, Ben Gunneberg, CEO & Secretary General said “This certificate is a landmark in South Africa. At a time when climate smart solutions are so needed, it’s imperative that we expand sustainable forest management practices in all regions of the world. We are delighted that Sappi’s forests in South Africa have become PEFC-certified and look forward to welcoming further growth of PEFC certification in the country.” The certification will now enable Sappi to offer PEFC certified wood from its plantations in South Africa, giving further assurance to Sappi’s local and global customers that the wood raw material originates from responsibly managed forests.

Mondi announces its 10 year sustainability action plan, MAP2030, designed to tackle global issues across the value chain. All areas are aligned to the UN Sustainable Development goals as part of Mondi's focus on being sustainable by design. Each action area of Mondi’s Action Plan 2030 (MAP2030) has three commitments underpinned by targets and KPIs. Circular Driven Solutions - Committed to making innovative packaging and paper solutions that keep materials in circulation and prevent waste. This includes a target to make 100% of its products reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. Created by Empowered People - Developing an empowered and inclusive team who can contribute to a better world. A key target is to increase female representation across all levels at Mondi from 21% to at least 30% by 2030. This requires four in ten hires to be women throughout the next decade. Taking action on Climate - Focusing on climate resilience through its forests and operations for the future of the planet. Targets include reducing its greenhouse gas emissions in line with science-based targets and maintaining zero deforestation in its wood supply as its business grows.

Smurfit Kappa has today announced ambitious new sustainability targets in a number of different areas. The new targets focus on a further reduction of its environmental footprint, increased support for the communities in which it operates and further enhancement to the lives of its employees. These targets build upon the company’s well-established sustainability record, on which it has been reporting since 2005, and are contained in the Better Planet 2050 commitments. Better Planet 2050 quantifies Smurfit Kappa’s continued commitment to sustainability, targeting environmental and social sustainability in areas where it believes it can have the greatest impact. These include delivering sustainable packaging to customers, reducing its environmental footprint in water usage, waste and carbon emissions and supporting its communities, promoting inclusion and diversity as well as health and safety. The targets identified are specific, measurable and provide a roadmap to deliver results in the short, medium and longer timeframes.

Tetra Pak has introduced a new collaborative innovation model with leading paperboard producers, a move aimed at tackling the food packaging industry’s sustainability challenges. The traditional operating model of a linear supply chain has changed, and a new partnership ecosystem model is emerging, where the entire industry works in close collaboration. This brings together not only producers and suppliers, but also research institutions, universities and start-ups in an attempt to find solutions. According to the latest research the global food supply chain system is responsible for 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions; a third of all food is lost or wasted somewhere in the supply chain; fossil fuel-based materials need to be phased out; and significant improvements are needed to the way packaging is dealt with after use.

UPM has been ranked on the 22nd place in the list of 100 most sustainable corporations by the Canadian-based media and research company Corporate Knights. "The Global 100 Index uses determined quantitative sustainability indicators in its evaluation. The approach fits well in UPM’s approach which highlights the importance of ambitious long-term targets and transparency of performance and data,” says Sami Lundgren, Vice President, Responsibility at UPM. UPM is among the 28 Global 100 companies that have signed the UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C. The company is committed to reducing its CO2 emissions, practicing climate-positive forestry and innovating sustainable alternatives to fossil-based products. As one of the UN Global Compact LEAD companies, UPM has recently put major efforts on integrating the SDGs into its product development processes. Our innovations create value and business opportunities that go beyond fossils.

PEFC Switzerland revised the country’s national forest certification system following the entry into force of the revised 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. In order to provide you with additional information about this revised national system, we are holding a webinar on 8 February, at 10:00 CET. The webinar is free to attend, and everyone is welcome. Register for the webinar at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZItf-yvrToiG9ajX1uyrbU0GSLyC4cUuJWn

Sappi North America, Inc. announced that it has extended its current SmartWay® Transport Partnership, an innovative collaboration between U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and industry. The SmartWay Transport Partnership provides a framework to assess the environmental and energy efficiency of goods movement supply chains and benchmark overall performance. This is Sappi's 12th consecutive year as a SmartWay Transport Partner, and the company will continue to contribute to the Partnership's savings of 279.7 million barrels of oil, $37.5 billion in fuel costs and 134 million tons of air pollutants. This collective effort is the equivalent of the annual electricity use in 18.2 million homes. By being a part of the SmartWay Transport Partnership, Sappi demonstrates its strong environmental leadership and corporate responsibility. As a certified shipper partner, Sappi utilizes carriers that leverage technology and design to minimize their collective carbon footprint. Sappi works toward increasing the amount of freight moved on intermodal and rail as well as increasing the amount of freight moved on certified carriers.

PAFC Congo Basin submitted their regional forest certification system to PEFC for endorsement in December last year. The public consultation, which is your chance to give your feedback on this new system, will run from 1 February to 1 April. In order to provide you with additional information about this regional system, we are holding a webinar on 1 February, at 10:00 CET. The webinar is free to attend, and everyone is welcome. 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 PAFC Cameroon, PAFC Congo and PAFC Gabon to share one system.

Recycling of materials is considered to be an important part of a circular economy, but a new study published in Nature Sustainability questions the potential environmental benefits that come from paper recycling. Recycling paper materials may not be all it’s cracked up to be according to a study conducted by researchers at Yale University and University College London. Published in Nature Sustainability in October 2020, the study points out that the recycling of paper materials in particular could have a negative impact on the climate. click read more below for more...

According to the recently published comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, paper-based single-use products provide significant key environmental advantages when compared to reusable tableware for in-store dining in Quick Service Restaurants (QSR). These advantages are primarily driven by the carbon emissions related to the amount of energy required to wash the tableware as well as the amount of freshwater used in the washing process in a multi-use system. A recent study conducted by Ramboll, a leading global engineering, design and consultancy company and certified by TÜV, one of the world’s leading testing service providers, compares the environmental impact of paper-based single-use packaging to that of reusable tableware in an in-store dining setting in Quick Service Restaurants in Europe. The full environmental impact was scientifically measured for both applications across multiple criteria and scenarios. Importantly, the results showed that: • For climate change, the single-use system shows very significant benefits. In fact, in the baseline scenario, the polypropylene-based multi-use system was responsible for generating 2.7 times more CO2-e emissions than the paper-based single-use system. The single main contributor to climate change impact in the multi-use baseline scenario is the electricity demand of the washing process. Overall, the use phase accounts for 83% of the total aggregated impact. • For Freshwater Consumption, there are also very significant environmental benefits to the single-use system. The multi-use system used 3.6 times the amount of freshwater in the baseline scenario.

On Thursday 11 February 2021, the IJmond Sustainable Award will be presented during the digital kick-off conference of the Upcycle Your Waste project for a circular economy. The IJmond Environment Agency grants this award to companies that consciously opts for sustainability in its business operations and / or product(s). The nominees for this year are BTAC Solutions in IJmuiden, Patina Dakdenkers in Beverwijk and Crown Van Gelder in Velsen-Noord. All three nominees show how logical, important and diverse sustainable entrepreneurship can be. This years theme is pioneering, which all nominees fit well into this category. A jury consisting of an aldermen and the winner of the last sustainability award will decide together who will receive the IJmond Sustainable Award. The winner will be announced during the conference on 11 February 2021.

Last September, PEFC Austria concluded the Wish forest campaign, run in collaboration with DIY store BAUHAUS and laminate flooring brand LOGOCLIC. The campaign saw 60,000 trees planted in Austrian forests, with active support of pupils from local primary schools. The young trees for the planting campaign were sponsored by LOGOCLIC and BAUHAUS. The companies promised to plant a tree for every five m2 of LOGOCLIC Wish Forest Edition laminate flooring sold. The final outcome for 2019 was an incredible 60,000 trees planted in the autumn.

As the climate changes, ecosystems around the world are also changing. Some say trees are getting shorter and younger, but there are ways to mitigate this. Environmental and climate changes are transforming the world’s forests. A new study published by scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) suggests that these changes are causing trees to become smaller and younger. Is this really the case and if yes, what can we do about it? Indeed, the rising temperatures are a source of stress for trees. Matti Maajärvi, Senior Specialist of Global Forest Affairs at UPM Forest, says that as the climate changes, “the frequency of negative natural phenomena – such as extreme droughts, forest fires and mass outbursts of pests – can impact the forests adversely.”

“We delivered 103.5 million seedlings, which is over a million more than our previous record. It’s great to have succeeded so well, especially considering the coronavirus pandemic. In the spring, we were concerned that we would be forced to discard seedlings due to the coronavirus, but it turns out we didn’t have to. Instead, we had a record season that will be hard to beat for a while,” says Peter Engblom, business developer at NorrPlant. Of the 103.5 million seedlings that were delivered, 63 million were pine seedlings, 33 million spruce seedlings, 7 million contorta pine seedlings and nearly 600,000 larch seedlings. “Pine dominates the forests owned by SCA. Deliveries of pine seedlings are also increasing among our external customers,” says Peter. The majority of seedlings were delivered to external customers, from Karlstad in the south to Kiruna in the north. NorrPlant also exported some seedlings to Sweden’s neighboring countries.

Our customers want to feel good about shopping at Walmart, and they count on us to deliver access to products that are safe, healthier and affordable in a way that is sustainable. For more than 15 years, we’ve been collaborating with others to drive positive impact across global supply chains. We’re on a path to becoming a more regenerative company that works to restore, renew and replenish, in addition to conserving nature. Part of meeting that goal is found in how we treat the world’s forests. Healthy forests help sustain biodiversity, support livelihoods and play an important role in combatting climate change by naturally sequestering carbon dioxide. But deforestation continues to occur at an alarming rate. According to the World Resources Institute, we lost the equivalent of a soccer field of primary rainforest every six seconds in 2019. That’s why we continue to take a holistic approach to addressing deforestation – from certification and monitoring to sustainable sourcing, advocacy and more. Walmart is focused on key commodities that, according to the World Economic Forum, drive deforestation in tropical forests: palm oil, pulp and paper, timber, beef and soy. click read more below for the rest of the story

The Appalachian Woodlands Alliance has won the 2020 Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Leadership Award. for its work to expand forest certification opportunities for small landowners. Domtar is a proud partner in the Appalachian Woodlands Alliance (AWA), joining the Rainforest Alliance and other forest products manufacturers in supporting small, private landowners in the Southeastern United States who manage healthy and productive forests. This leadership award recognizes uncommon excellence in advancing responsible forest management and forest conservation. Domtar and the AWA are proud to stand alongside landowners, retailers, manufacturers, organizations and others who promote responsible sourcing and forest certification, both of which help protect the natural resources that are vital to our industry.

Packaging leader Smurfit Kappa has launched a new company called Recycling Dual GmbH to help German manufacturers and retail businesses reduce costs and improve their sustainability efforts, in line with updated legislation. Recycling Dual offers an innovative and integrated holistic solution to track the entire life cycle of paper, cardboard and carton packaging. The unique solution highlights duplication which can be removed from the supply chain and reduce costs. For the first time Recycling Dual guarantees to close the full loop for paper-based packaging for its customers. The service provides them with a holistic solution to ensure packaging from their products is recycled through a nationwide collection system. From 2021, Recycling Dual will be the only company in the market with the ability to track the life cycle of paper, cardboard and carton packaging from production through to being recycled.

Responsible Wood, our national member for Australia, has welcomed an announcement by Woolworths, one of the country’s main supermarkets, that it will be stocking PEFC-certified paper bags. The move comes ahead of a progressive roll-out of Australian-made paper bags over the next 12 months. Woolworths paper shopping bags were first launched in June 2020 in response to customer demand for a paper carry bag option. “Whilst almost all customers are now bringing their own reusable bags, we know unplanned shops will present a challenge from time to time,” said Natalie Davis, Managing Director of Woolworths Supermarkets. “Earlier this year we introduced the option of a paper bag, which can be recycled at home, and the feedback from customers has been positive.”

The Navigator Company recently inaugurated a new biomass boiler at its Figueira daFoz industrial complex, in an overall investment totalling €55 million. This investment will allow the company to cut its fossil carbon dioxide emissions at this complex by around 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes per year, or 30% of the group’s emissions, in 2021. This investment is part of the decarbonization strategy of the company, who decided in 2019 to meet European targets early and achieve carbon neutrality at all of its industrial complexes by 2035, achieving an 86% reduction in its CO2 emissions by this date. Note that Navigator was the first Portuguese company, and one of the first worldwide, to set such an ambitious goal. Achieving this goal will require a total investment of €154 million, €55 million (around 35%) of which has already been invested to date since Navigator took on the commitment.

We are pleased to announce the release of our annual sustainability report, detailing our updated sustainability strategy including Science Based Targets, achievements, and alignment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The ‘Innovation with Purpose’ report can be viewed here and illustrates how we have made significant progress across our sustainability programme. Initiatives rolled-out over the last year include new and improved Environmental Calculator technology, our first Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) submission and various sustainable solutions delivered via our ecosystem of suppliers. Robert MacMillan, HH Global CEO, said: “I’m proud of the progress we have made over the last year through our Innovation with Purpose programme. Following our strategic acquisition of InnerWorkings, our business now purchases more materials on behalf of the world’s leading brands than ever before, and we have a responsibility to ensure our clients understand how and where we can help.”

Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), provided the following statement regarding the recent announcement by Minister Seamus O’Regan on the launch of Canada’s 2 Billion Trees initiative. “SFI and Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada) are pleased to see the official launch of the 2 Billion Trees initiative today. This initiative has the potential to elevate the role that trees and sustainably managed forests play in Canada’s health, wealth, identity and heritage while also advancing nature-based solutions as part of our sustainable future.” “We are ready to collaborate and leverage our scale and network to identify forests in need of restoration, identify new places and spaces in urban forests to increase our tree canopy, and to help administer the roll out and execution of this important initiative. This effort will contribute to more resilient forests of the future and support job creation and green infrastructure while helping to address global sustainability challenges.”

Greif, Inc. announced it has been awarded an A- Leadership ranking for the third year in a row by CDP as part of their annual climate change assessment. CDP operates a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage the impact they make on the environment. “Earning an A- Leadership ranking from CDP for a third year in a row continues to reinforce and recognize our ongoing efforts to minimize our environmental footprint,” said Pete Watson, Greif's President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are committed to providing value for our stakeholders by safeguarding the environment through our continued sustainability efforts.”

The Navigator Company has once again been given an “A” rating by the CDP in a world survey assessing company action on climate change, achieved by only 3% of companies evaluated throughout the entire world. Navigator has been distinguished as a world leader in fighting climate change by the CDP, a non-governmental organization which evaluates the environmental performance of companies and cities, whose analyses are used by investors in their decision-making on sustainable investing.

HH Global is delighted to announce the renewal of our EcoVadis Gold Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) status in recognition of sustainability achievements. As well as renewing EcoVadis Gold for 2020, HH Global’s overall score also increased by one point to a total of 67. This places HH Global within the top five percent of companies that are evaluated by EcoVadis globally, and strongly demonstrates a continued commitment to sustainability. “We are delighted to renew and improve our EcoVadis Gold status” stated Kevin Dunckley, HH Global Chief Sustainability and Innovation Officer. “The business is growing quickly and our improved score is testament to our global commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement strategy. We have also set ambitious Science Based Targets in 2020, and will shortly be releasing our latest Sustainability Report which will contain further details of our achievements and ambitions”

Tetra Pak has been recognised for leadership in corporate sustainability by global environmental non-profit CDP,[1] securing a place on its prestigious A List for tackling climate change, as well as acting to protect forests – two of the three environmental themes covered by CDP. Tetra Pak is the only company in the carton packaging sector to be included in the CDP leadership band for five years in a row and to score an outstanding double ‘A’ for climate and forests in 2020. Tetra Pak is part of a very small number of companies (1%) that achieved a double ‘A’ score, out of 5,800+ companies that were scored based on data submitted through CDP’s questionnaires in 2020. Through significant demonstrable action on climate and deforestation risks, the company is leading on corporate environmental ambition, action and transparency worldwide.

Mondi is the main sponsor for the Bristol Gulls, a four-woman team taking on the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. They will be rowing an Eco Boat for the 4,800km race and consuming food freeze dried in recyclable packaging provided by Mondi. *They will have a 55-day supply of mainly freeze-dried meals packed in Mondi’s award-winning BarrierPack Recyclable, a fully recyclable mono-material that supports a circular economy *The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge begins on 12 December 2020, covering 4,800km from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Antigua

The holidays are here! And as always, paper will play an important part in our celebrations – from shopping bags, gift boxes and decorations to greeting cards and cardboard shipping boxes. And after the holidays are over, you can give a gift that keeps on giving by recycling. The paper and paper-based packaging you recycle this holiday season extends the life of a valuable natural resource (wood fiber from trees), prevents waste from going to landfills and avoids the release of greenhouse gas emissions that occur when paper decomposes in landfills. And who knows, it might just end up as part of someone else’s holiday celebration next year! Nearly all Americans and Canadians have access to curbside or drop-off recycling programs, and both Americans and Canadians are clearly committed to recycling -not just during the holidays, but throughout the year. The U.S. recovers 66% of its paper and paperboard packaging and 92% of corrugated cardboard for recycling annually. Canada recovers nearly 70% of its paper and paper-based packaging and 85% of corrugated cardboard.

Leading global apparel company Gap Inc. has joined the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol and Textile Exchange’s 2025 Sustainable Cotton Challenge as part of its integrated sustainability strategy and to help it achieve its commitment to use only 100% sustainably-sourced cotton by 2025. Gap Inc.’s target of sourcing 100% of its cotton from more sustainable sources by 2025 is set across its collection of purpose-led lifestyle brands including Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta. The Trust Protocol will help Gap Inc. meet this goal by providing verified data on the sustainability practices used on U.S. cotton farms.

AptarGroup, Inc. has been recognized for its leadership in corporate sustainability by the global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on its prestigious ‘A List’ for tackling climate change. Aptar was recognized for its actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and further the low-carbon economy, based on the data reported by the Company through CDP’s 2020 climate change questionnaire. Aptar is one of a small number of high-performing companies out of 5,800+ that were scored. Through significant demonstrable action on climate, Aptar is leading on corporate environmental ambition, action and transparency worldwide.

CDP, a global non-profit organisation, has recognised UPM as one of the world’s Triple A List companies for tackling climate change and taking actions to ensure sustainable forest management and water security. Only ten out of more than 5,800 companies were able to receive a Triple A recognition and UPM got it for the second year in a row. “As a forest and bio products company, receiving an A on Climate, Forest and Water is an extremely valuable recognition. In January, we signed the UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C with commitment to climate-positive forestry, ambitious CO2 emission reductions and new product innovations,” says Pirkko Harrela, EVP, UPM Stakeholder Relations.

Metsä Board, the leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards and part of Metsä Group, has been recognized for leadership in corporate sustainability by global environmental non-profit CDP, securing a place on its prestigious ‘A List’ for tackling climate change, as well as acting to protect water security – two of the three environmental themes covered by CDP.  Metsä Board has been included on the CDP Climate ‘A List’ since 2016. In the CDP’s Forest programme Metsä Board scored A-. Metsä Board is shown as one of a small number of companies that achieved a double ‘A’, out of more than 5,800 businesses that were scored based on data submitted through CDP’s questionnaires in 2020. Through significant demonstrable action on climate change and water security risks, Metsä Board is leading on corporate environmental ambition, action and transparency worldwide.

BillerudKorsnäs’ contribution to the low-carbon economy and actions to cut emissions have been recognized by the global environmental non-profit CDP, when BillerudKorsnäs today secured a place on the prestigious ‘A List’ for tackling climate change. CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognized as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency. In 2020, more than 5,800 companies were scored, and only the few top performing companies achieved a place on the ‘A-list’. At BillerudKorsnäs we believe that combatting climate change is the most critical issue of our time, so we are very happy to receive this confirmation by CDP.

Leading global packaging and paper manufacturer Mondi has secured a place on CDP’s prestigious ‘Triple A List’ for tackling climate change as well as acting to protect forests and water security. Mondi has been recognised for leading on corporate environmental ambition, action and transparency worldwide. CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely recognised as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency. In 2020, over 515 investors with over US$106 trillion in assets and 150+ major purchasers with US$4 trillion in procurement spend requested companies to disclose data on environmental impacts, risks and opportunities through CDP’s platform. Over 9,600 responded – the highest ever. Mondi is one of only 10 companies that has achieved a triple ‘A’, out of the 5,800+ companies that were scored based on data submitted through CDP’s questionnaires in 2020.

Sappi North America, Inc., a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper, packaging products and pulp, has been awarded a platinum score in the latest EcoVadis rating, alongside the company's regional counterparts Sappi Europe and Sappi Southern Africa. EcoVadis is a leader in third-party evaluations of business sustainability performance, and its platinum medal is only awarded to those companies who score in the top 1% for sustainability practices. "We are very pleased to see improvement in all four categories," said Sandy Taft, Director of Sustainability at Sappi North America. "We are developing new strategies and processes to improve even further upon these results next year."

Currently, the public discussion on Finnish forests often boils down to everyone being concerned about our carbon sinks. However, Finnish forest owners and Finnish forestry continuously take care of our carbon sinks by investing in forest growth through efficient regeneration and good forest management. Naturally, there is also room to improve. For the climate, the most important aspect of sustainable forest use is ensuring the growth of new forests. When forests are regenerated, it is important that the new trees begin to grow rapidly. This means that choosing correct, well-bred and high quality silvicultural material is important. The majority of the forest area that is annually regenerated, around 100,000 hectares, is established by either planting or sowing. Choosing the correct forest cultivation material is an easy and long-term method for impacting the growth of the new forest and its future tree yield. click read more below for additional information

Globally accredited sustainability ratings provider EcoVadis has scored Sappi Southern Africa Platinum Medal status in its assessment of how well the company has integrated sustainability principles into its business and management system. EcoVadis is the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, creating a global network of more than 65,000 rated companies. Sappi Southern Africa scored 79 out of 100 in its assessment, affording it Platinum Medal status and placing it in the top one percent of companies assessed by EcoVadis worldwide.

Forest certification evolved from concerns about the destruction of tropical forests. Yet after more than two decades of combined efforts by PEFC and FSC, less than a tenth of the global certified forest area is tropical forest. It is time for a new boost for forest certification of tropical forests, and PEFC - together with a diverse coalition of stakeholders - is making great strides towards this goal. The loss of tropical forests was high on the agenda of the 1992 Earth Summit, but governments failed to agree on a legally binding agreement on this topic. Yet it gave raise to something potentially more important: the insight that deforestation cannot be tackled in isolation, but needs to be part of a holistic, global effort to promote sustainable forest management (SFM). As a result, the concept of “criteria and indicators for Sustainable Forest Management” became more widely accepted internationally, and eventually led to Pan-European criteria and indicators for SFM (MCPFE) and criteria for the sustainable management of tropical forests (ATO/ITTO).

There have been a number of discouraging headlines over the past few years about recycling. In 2019, China stopped accepting our recycling waste, causing a drastic increase in the amount of waste in landfills. There’s also growing doubt about the paper and plastic thrown into your curbside recycling bins, raising questions on whether or not it will ultimately be processed for reuse. The good news is, it’s not challenging to ensure your recycled packaging makes it back into the circular economy. Here are four easy steps to take: *Check With Your Local Government *Know If Recyclables Can Be Picked Up Curbside *Properly Clean Waste Before Putting It in the Bin *Research Store and Manufacturer Recycling Policies

Efforts to reduce water use, use energy efficiently and streamline resources used to ship products across the U.S. earned employees and GP facilities a variety of awards from the EPA this fall. At the beginning of November, Georgia-Pacific facilities received several awards and certifications, including the ENERGY STAR® Top Project for 2020, an ENERGY STAR® Certification and the SmartWay Excellence Award. The Leaf River cellulose mill in New Augusta, Mississippi, became the first U.S. pulp mill to earn the EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification, signifying that the manufacturing facility performed in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency this year.

As a way of thinking, sustainability is well suited to forestry, since forests have traditionally been seen as an asset that will benefit several generations. From a forest owner’s point of view, the most essential factor in climate change mitigation is ensuring that forests remain viable. “Making sure that forests are in a fit state to grow is key. When trees fall, the carbon that has been stored in them is released,” says Jyrki Kangas, Professor of Forest Bioeconomy at the University of Eastern Finland. The trees and soil in forests absorb carbon dioxide and act as carbon reservoirs. In principle, extending forest turnover times improves the carbon balance, but trees cannot be left to grow infinitely. The optimal time for harvesting, considering both forest productivity and the climate, is before tree growth begins to slow down and trees become more susceptible to damage. From the point of view of carbon binding, it is essential that forests produce wood as efficiently as possible. The faster a forest grows after a regeneration felling, the faster it will begin to store carbon.

Crown Holdings, Inc. is now operating all 14 of its beverage can plants in the U.S. and Canada on renewable energy. It is the first metal packaging manufacturer to achieve this milestone, which is the result of a 15-year wind power Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Longroad Energy. With the VPPA in effect and all of Crown's manufacturing facilities in the U.K. already completing a similar transition, 27.5% of the Company's global operations are now using renewable electricity. This accelerated usage of alternative power sources serves as a major step in Crown's plan to employ 60% renewable electricity by 2030, 90% by 2040 and 100% by 2050—targets established in Crown's Twentyby30 initiative, a comprehensive sustainability program that addresses climate issues among other areas of urgent global concern. The action also supports Crown's Twentyby30 goal to decrease Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within its global operations, targeting a 50% combined reduction in absolute Scope 1 (fuel) and Scope 2 (electricity) emissions. The transition reflects Crown's commitment to the RE100, which is led by The Climate Group and CDP and focuses on accelerating the transition to zero carbon grids at global scale.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is seeking a consultancy to develop research that quantifies the additional forest carbon impact of FSC-certified forest management in North America. This work has the potential to be transformational among the organizations that rely on FSC certification as an important tool to conserve forests, even as they use forest products. This includes many of the world’s largest companies and most respected brands, along with the best-known environmental organizations. A small staff team from the FSC Canada and FSC US national offices will work with the consultancy throughout the project. In addition, FSC has convened an advisory body of experts and representatives of end-user stakeholders – including WWF, The Nature Conservancy, Verra, Ecotrust, REI, IKEA and DPR Construction – to provide input into the project.

More than 330 virtual attendees from across the U.S. and Canada joined the Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s E-Summit, Growing Solutions, to share ideas about how sustainably managed forests, and products sourced from those forests, are great tools to achieve shared sustainability goals. Session 1: Responding to Consumers and Providing Better Choices for the Planet Session 2: Standards Revision and the Impact of Label Statements Session 3: Conservation Impact—Collaborating on Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Water Quality Session 4: How Forest Sector Professionals Can Support Forest Literacy for Youth Session 5: Building Bridges for the Next Generation of Forest and Conservation Leaders

Below is a statement from FPAC President and CEO, Derek Nighbor: “Canada’s forest sector is positioned to be one of the leaders in our move to a low-carbon economy. We have already reduced GHG emissions by over 66% since the early 1990’s and were the first major industry group in the country to put forward a plan to help achieve the federal government’s Paris Agreement targets. Canada has an advantage that is the envy of most countries on the planet. Our forests and the sustainably sourced products they provide will be among the most powerful tools in Canada’s toolbox. Our managed forests and the wood products from them already constitute a carbon sink in Canada, and we can continue to reduce emissions and store more carbon for longer in the coming years. Forests are complex ecosystems and they need to be monitored and taken care of – even more so in a dynamic and changing environment."

UPM has joined the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) which was founded in September 2020 by twelve leading companies in the chemical industry. The aim of the initiative is to support and speed up the transition from fossil carbon to renewable carbon for all organic chemicals and materials. “This is about a fundamental change in the chemical industry. Just as the energy industry is converting to renewable sources, renewable carbon will become the new foundation of chemical and material industries in the future. We want to accelerate the change,” says Michael Carus, CEO of nova-Institute in Germany and the head of the Renewable Carbon Initiative. The Renewable Carbon Initiative addresses the core problem of climate change, which is largely related to extracting and using additional fossil carbon from the ground.

Through Friday, December 18th, the draft revised National Forest Stewardship Standard is open for public comment. Following below are the top-10 reasons to review the draft and submit your comments: 1) Influence the management of more than 35 million acres of forest currently certified to FSC standards in the US, with millions of additional acres considering certification. 2) Add your perspective to the diverse coalition of voices represented by FSC. 3) Help FSC make sure the new forest stewardship standard is both rigorous and practical. 4) Stand up for science as it applies to forest management. 5) Ensure FSC certification remains a good proxy for climate-smart forestry and wood products in the construction marketplace. click read more below for the remaining 5.

From FSC certification of our Quilted Northern Ultra Soft and Strong bath tissue to the management of 75,000 acres of certified forestland and our cutting edge forest mapping, we are excited to be recognized by both SCS Global Services and FSC-US this year for our long-term efforts to manage natural resources. We all agree that certification programs help balance the environmental, social and economic benefits of forestlands. For years, SCS Global Services has helped GP validate certification requirements through audits and sustainability verifications. As an external partner, SCS had detailed insight into our work, sometimes behind the scenes, and nominated us for this award.

Global label stock manufacturer UPM Raflatac has worked hard to quantify and build upon its sustainable manufacturing processes through its innovative Biofore Site™ program, which is now celebrating its third year. Implemented at the company’s 10 factories worldwide, the program has resulted in many improvements that help further cement UPM Raflatac’s position as it is leading in sustainable labeling. The Biofore Site concept includes a scorecard with approximately 40 performance measures mapped to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which align with parent company UPM’s 2030 responsibility targets. The scorecard provides flexibility for UPM Raflatac’s factory teams to develop site-specific roadmaps for achieving their Biofore Site goals. Filled out annually by each factory, the scorecards touch on standard sustainability measures like waste generation, energy consumption, and safety performance, and some not-so-conventional measures, like supplier sustainability performance, development opportunities for employees, engagement in community activities, and measures of diversity.

Mactac® announces its role as a leading member in the newly founded CELAB (Circular Economy for Labels) global consortium, which promotes recycling in the self-adhesive label industry. CELAB is an industry initiative, comprised of more than 30 companies in the self-adhesive label industry, to create greater circularity for industry products by enhancing and promoting matrix and release liner recycling around the world. “This coalition is designed to create a powerful, positive impact on environmental sustainability in the self-adhesive label industry on a global level,” says Clunie. “Reaching across the entire value chain, we will provide education, encourage adoption of best practices and work to develop cost-effective solutions that collectively advance label recycling for all, including label printers and end-users.”

To support the clean water mission, NOVA Chemicals is donating film resins to Pregis for the production of its Inspyrebrand line of colorful hybrid-cushioning protective packaging. A portion of the proceeds from Inspyre packaging sales are donated to the Uzima Clean Water Mission. “The resins provided by NOVA Chemicals will enable to Pregis to provide greater financial support to Uzima. The partnership with NOVA Chemicals enables Pregis to offer packaging engineers and brand owners the best of both worlds. NOVA Chemicals’ resins enable us to exceed customer expectations for packaging performance while giving all of us an opportunity to serve a worthy and genuinely life-saving cause,” said Kevin Baudhuin, president and chief executive officer, Pregis. The Inspyre brand includes low-density polyethylene hybrid cushioning (HC) packaging film, stocked in water blue and available in other colors. In addition to helping brand owners enhance their unboxing experience, companies support charitable efforts through their protective packaging material choice.

Leading global producer of sustainable fiber and bio-based products, Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL), has announced a slate of progressive targets to 2030 that will have a positive impact on climate, nature and people while transforming its business. Supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Indonesia, APRIL2030 targets a drastic reduction of carbon emissions to achieve net zero emissions from land use and a 25% cut in product carbon emissions. The company also commits to net zero loss of protected areas and measurable gains in biodiversity and ecosystem benefits in the conservation and restoration areas under its active management.

Every year, we award our PEFC members that have achieved the biggest increases in PEFC-certified forest area and PEFC chain of custody certificates. In 2020, the awards for highest growth in certified hectares all went to Asia! The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) took gold, thanks to an increase of over 950,000 hectares, following the certification of 10 forest management units in Johor, Sabah and Sarawak. This is an increase of over 20%, taking the PEFC-certified forest area in Malaysia to over 5.2 million hectares. Second place went to the Network for Certification and Conservation of Forests (NCCF), our member for India. This award was particularly special, as their increase of 450,000 hectares represented the first PEFC-certified forest area in the country – this time last year, there were no certified hectares. In bronze position was the Korea Forest Certificate Council (KFCC), who also saw an extremely impressive increase, growing their certified forest area by more than 150%, up to 706,000 hectares. The Republic of Korea achieved their first PEFC-certified forest area in 2019.

UPM has been listed as the forest and paper industry leader in the Dow Jones European and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for 2020-2021. “Population growth, climate change and the scarcity of natural resources call for companies to take proactive actions. Finding alternatives to fossil materials and meeting global challenges is at the core of UPM's Biofore strategy,” says Sami Lundgren, VP, UPM Responsibility. “In 2020, we have taken significant steps to advance our responsibility agenda. In January, we became one of the world’s first forest industry companies that committed to the UN’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C and to science-based measures to mitigate global warming. Furthermore, we have established a Green Finance Framework and integrated our responsibility targets of sustainable forest management, emission reductions and innovative bioeconomy products into the company's long-term financing,” Sami Lundgren continues.

DS Smith in Gent already conducted a detailed review to the gas, water and electricity consumption in 2010. We concluded then that “Of all the sites, we were in the tail of the pack.", says Luc Arens, technical project coordinator at DS Smith. After that analysis, the company took a number of measures, such as placing high-efficiency boilers and installing LED lamps in the production halls. Today, in order to reduce total CO2 emissions by 30%, DS Smith in Gent aim to go a step ahead and has sought for a partner to further optimize the production and reduce the emissions of these processes. In the summer of 2019, an energy coaching program was set up together with the city of Ghent. This process began with a review of the processes used and provided an overview of the possible areas of improvement. By professionally measuring energy consumption at different stages in the processes, more targeted actions could be taken. In this way, the stealth consumption was addressed and the waste water was also recently collected by a specialized company.

An integrated sustainability work and an ambition to constantly meet customers' sustainability requirements are reasons why BillerudKorsnäs maintains its leading position for the third year in a row, according to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index – a globally recognized sustainability ranking for investors. The results from this year's ranking show that BillerudKorsnäs is one of the ten percent most sustainable companies and the company with the highest score in the Containers & Packaging category. S&P Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) is a comprehensive annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices and performance with a coverage of over 7,300 companies representing approximately 95 percent of market capitalization. The top ten percent are included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.

48 environmental, conservation and forest business leaders announced an agreement of principles on the important role sustainably managed forests and forest products can play in mitigating climate change. Forests in the U.S. offset 15% of the country’s industrial carbon emissions. Carbon sequestration in sustainably managed private forest lands and carbon storage in forest products can provide a natural solution to climate change while also providing a wide variety of additional benefits like clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and good paying jobs. The principles are signed by the CEOs of American Forests, American Forest Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, National Alliance of Forest Owners, The Nature Conservancy, and the CEOs of 43 forestry businesses representing over 46 million acres of working forests across the United States.

The 25th PEFC General Assembly, the first one to ever be held virtually, has welcomed three new members. The General Assembly, our highest decision making body, voted Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and UPM Kymmene Corporation into the alliance. “We look forward to joining PEFC to further strengthen our role in promoting sustainable forest management globally,” said Inka Musta, Senior Manager, Global Forest Affairs at UPM, our new international stakeholder member. The Association of Private Forest Owners “Naša Šuma” and the Association for Sustainable Forest Management, Forest Products and Services Certification (SOYDER) are the new national members for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkey, respectively. They are our 54th and 55th national members!

Kotkamills, a manufacturer of fully recyclable food service board, has signed a collaboration agreement with the organisers of the alpine skiing event World Cup Levi. World Cup Levi kicks off the FIS World Cup season with the women’s slalom event on 21 – 22 November. Food and beverages at World Cup Levi will be served in cups and trays made from Kotkamills’ eco-friendly, fully recyclable board. “Sustainability is very important to both collaboration parties, and we are working hard to advance it. We are pleased that the Levi event organisers have wanted to replace the traditional products with new, eco-friendly alternatives,” says Markku Hämäläinen, CEO of Kotkamills.

The global food packaging industry is setting ambitious targets to make its operations more sustainable, working on designing for circularity across systems and products. However, lasting solutions need cooperation between different contributors. “While we have seen a significant leap forward in terms of our industry-wide commitment to sustainability we know that to deliver groundbreaking solutions we have to work across the industry and that no single organization holds all the answers”, says Thomasine Kamerling, Executive Vice President, Sustainability and Communications at Huhtamaki. “Our Circularity report helps to set out on what is needed today to address some of the biggest challenges we face in the creation of true and lasting sustainability, together. We are delighted that so many organizations have taken the opportunity to share their thoughts on what is needed next by contributing directly to the report.

Global pressure sensitive label material supplier UPM Raflatac is pleased to announce it has made great progress toward a more circular economy for plastics and a future beyond fossils. This progress is detailed in the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment 2020 Progress Report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN Environment Programme. UPM Raflatac is the only pressure sensitive labeling company to have announced targets for reducing unnecessary plastic packaging as a signatory of the Global Commitment. As highlighted in the report, UPM Raflatac has continued to develop new sustainable label solutions that focus on more resource-efficient materials, including certified papers, recycled content, solvent-free adhesives, and wash-off and fossil-free solutions. One major step in this direction was the debut of UPM Raflatac Forest Film™ in 2019, the industry's first commercially available polypropylene and polyethylene plastic labeling material derived from wood-based sources.

Sun Chemical has signed up to the Digital Watermarks Initiative HolyGrail 2.0, facilitated by AIM, the European Brands Association. In doing so, Sun Chemical is joining forces with over 85 companies and organisations to participate in a pilot project with the goal of proving the viability of digital watermarking technologies to enable better sorting and higher quality recycling rates for packaging in the EU, in order to drive a truly circular economy. The initiative follows on from HolyGrail 1.0, a project conducted as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy programme, which brought together different stakeholders from the packaging value chain between 2016 and 2019. Having investigated different innovations to improve post-consumer recycling, digital watermarks were found to be the most promising technology.

Mondi has joined the newly created consortium CELAB (Circular Economy for Labels). This industry initiative was founded by companies in the self-adhesive label industry to create greater circularity for its products by enhancing and promoting matrix and release liner recycling around the world. In joining CELAB, Mondi and other leading companies from the self-adhesive label industry will facilitate collaboration at a global level, foster regional initiatives, and encourage the universal adoption of industry best practices.

Supermarkets in New Jersey will no longer be able to give paper bags to customers starting in mid-2022. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed a law prohibiting N.J. retailers and other businesses from handing out single-use paper and plastic bags, single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam containers. The law, which is being called one of the toughest of its kind in the country, goes into effect in May 2022. The bans apply to a variety of businesses, including restaurants, convenience stores, food trucks, movie theaters and grocery stores that are 2,500 sq. ft. or larger. The ban also does not apply to reusable carryout bags, defined in the bill as those made out of polypropylene, or nylon, cloth, hemp and other washable fabrics.

Berry Global Group, Inc. takes pride in announcing that its team members recently joined together in a three-week global campaign to clear litter from local communities around the world. The Company’s team members tracked their progress through the Litterati app, where they recorded over 400,000 pieces of litter. Berry’s campaign was held in conjunction with the Alliance to End Plastic Waste and in support of the ALL_TOGETHER GLOBAL CLEANUP. “Berry was proud to take part in this very worthwhile initiative. Not only is this program in direct support of our Impact 2025 Sustainability Strategy, but it also served as a catalyst for raising awareness of properly disposing of waste,” said Tom Salmon, Berry’s Chairman and CEO. “I extend sincere appreciation to our team members around the globe for their ongoing dedication to volunteerism and helping to further beautify their local communities.”

Kimberly-Clark announced that it has earned a 2020 SmartWay® Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for leadership in environmentally responsible shipping. The award recognizes companies for using a range of fuel-saving strategies in their shipping and freight delivery services that reduce transportation emissions and make freight delivery more sustainable. "We are proud to receive an eighth consecutive SmartWay Excellence Award for our efforts to minimize the carbon footprint of our transportation network," said Scott DeGroot, Vice President of Global Distribution and Planning at Kimberly-Clark. "We will continue to work with our suppliers to find innovative ways to increase operating efficiency, lower greenhouse gas emissions across our value chain, and minimize our impact on the planet. This aligns with our ambition to improve the lives and well-being of 1 billion people in underserved communities around the world with the smallest environmental footprint by 2030."

Kotkamills will continue as the main partner of the KooKoo ice hockey team also in the next league season. The partners have agreed to exercise the agreement’s option year for 2021–2022. KooKoo is pursuing a completely plastic-free game event, and the agreement means a big step closer to realising that goal. One of the big social responsibility targets of the collaboration that started between KooKoo and Kotkamills in 2019 is to make the Finnish ice hockey elite league, Liiga, games played at Lumon Arena plastic-free. “When we started the partnership with Kotkamills, our ambitious goal was to be the first sports club to develop our operations so that one day we can have a completely plastic-free game event and together show our strength in building social responsibility,” says KooKoo’s Managing Director Sakari Välimaa.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement regarding New Jersey’s Paper Bag Ban (NJ Senate Bill 864 / Assembly Bill 1978): “The American Forest & Paper Association opposes the action taken today by Governor Phil Murphy, signing into law a statewide ban on paper bags. This action undermines an environmentally responsible option for consumers. New Jersey is now the only state in the nation to ban paper bags, which are made from a renewable resource and are recyclable, reusable and compostable, providing a safe packaging option to protect purchases from damage and contamination. With the stroke of a pen, Governor Murphy sent an alarming message in devaluing family-wage manufacturing jobs, which are often union labor. This is an unfortunate message to send to the thousands of people working in direct and indirect jobs supported by the paper and wood products industry in the Garden State.”

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has joined CELAB (Circular Economy for Labels), a global coalition recently created to promote the development of circular economy for self-adhesive label materials. The purpose of CELAB is to create greater recyclability for the products in the self-adhesive label industry by enhancing and promoting options for recycling their waste streams around the world. There are two main process stages in the value chain of label materials which generate waste streams. The first stream is generated from the unused surrounding area of the self-adhesive face stock material after cutting the labels; this is also known as “matrix waste”. The second stream arises from the liner from which the label is peeled away during dispensing. Turning these waste streams into resources offers important sustainability improvements.

International technology Group ANDRITZ has opened a new, state-of-the-art test and research center for the recycling industry in St. Michael, Upper Styria, Austria. The new ANDRITZ Recycling Technology Center – the ART-Center– has been equipped with innovative shredder technology from the ANDRITZ ADuro product line that was presented recently, and it enables customers to conduct recycling tests under real plant conditions with industrial-scale equipment. The ADuro shredders can be used for primary and for secondary shredding as well as for fine granulation and dismantling of composite materials. As a result, tests are possible with very different waste streams and complete recycling processes can be replicated.

Global pressure sensitive label manufacturer UPM Raflatac has worked hard to embrace the circular economy and sought a way to measure performance. The company tested the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circulytics tool and received an overall score of B, indicating that UPM Raflatac has made great strides in enabling circularity, but still has work to do in measuring output as a supplier in the packaging value chain. Circulytics is a tool that allows organizations to assess how circular they currently are via a broad set of metrics which deliver a company-level score. This score, alongside insights and analysis from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, helps businesses understand the extent of their success in adopting circular economy business opportunities. It provides a comprehensive picture of a company's circular economy performance — going beyond product and material flows — and highlights the most important development areas to concentrate on.

• Mars, working with SABIC and Huhtamaki, will include food-grade recycled plastic in packaging of pet food brands in 2021 • The company has plans to expand to other brands in the next year • This important step helps accelerate Mars’ progress towards achieving 30% recycled content and 25% less virgin plastic by 2025 • Chief Sustainability and Procurement Officer Barry Parkin describes milestone as “encouraging the development of recycling systems in support of a circular economy, where no packaging becomes waste”

When paper was invented by the Chinese more than 2,000 years ago, merchants quickly became an integral part of its history, taking paper making around the world and helping to develop its many variations and uses. Today’s merchants remain a vital part of the paper chain, linking paper to people and delivering value to those they serve in more ways than ever before. In Values a Merchant Provides, the National Paper Trade Association (NPTA), a long-time member and enthusiastic supporter of Two Sides, spells out important ways merchants add value to the paper chain. These include not only critical operational values such as managing efficient supply chains, developing strong relationships with mills, sharing best practices and fostering creativity, but also efforts that speak to the very foundation of the industry, namely, proactively telling the great sustainability story of print, paper and paper-based packaging. Aligned with these efforts, the paper merchant community supports a variety of organizations that promote fiber-based sustainability options. These include Two Sides, which currently has 29 merchant companies as members.

The report describes Sun Chemical’s emphasis on sustainability in the way it develops, manufactures and distributes its products while also showing how it works with customers and suppliers to improve their sustainability goals. The 2019 report shares key research and development highlights and Sun Chemical’s contributions to a more sustainable future, such as: *a long-term strategic target to reduce manufacturing CO₂ levels by at least 30% by 2030 *waste reduction programs focused on improving the utilization of incoming materials, promoting recycling and optimizing the end of life of a product or material *a silver corporate social responsibility rating by EcoVadis, a 3rd party organization that measures a variety of categories, including environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement *partnerships with various industry associations and consortia focused on large-scale sustainability objectives *products that are developed with bio-renewable raw materials *solutions designed to improve PET bottle recycling and composting

Engaging young people on the benefits of circular living and the circular economy is a key part of our ‘Now & Next’ Sustainability Strategy. As is supporting the local communities around our offices and paper mills. That’s why we have sponsored the launch of a new children’s book by the charity ‘Litter Angels’. Our sites across Europe do so much work to engage with our local communities. In a typical year we open our doors to school educational trips, our employees volunteer to teach the circular economy in classrooms, we organise community litter picks, and much more. As the second-largest recovered fibre-based paper operation in Europe, and one of the area’s largest employers, our Kemsley Paper Mill also supports a number of local and charitable initiatives, including Sheerness-based charity Litter Angels. Founded in 2008, Litter Angels aims to make the local environment a cleaner, greener place to live. Its main objective is to encourage young people to understand about the anti-social nature of litter and the damage it does to our environment. So we were delighted to provide a grant of £5,795 from the DS Smith Charitable Foundation to fund the charity’s second book which encourages primary school-aged children not to drop litter.

More than 30,000 gallons of pulping chemicals from the ND Paper mill in Old Town leaked into the Penobscot River earlier this month, violating state and federal laws, according to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The mill suspended production after discovering that chemicals were spilling into the river through a ruptured underground sewer line and a failed floor drain on Oct. 7. It appears the spill happened periodically over a six-day span, said Brian Kavanah, director of the state agency’s bureau of water quality. The mill reported the leak to the Department of Environmental Protection, which helped with the spill cleanup and repairs to the infrastructure the following day.

UPM and the Guides and Scouts of Finland have initiated a cooperation in order to increase the dialogue and understanding between young people, companies and policy makers especially on topics concerning climate change and responsibility. UPM finds it important to understand the expectations of its stakeholders and to constantly develop its operations increasingly sustainable. "The concern about climate change is growing, especially amongst young people, which is why we want to contribute to the constructive discussions about solutions and alternatives. This long-term collaboration aims to organise joint events and to build a dialogue between young people, experts and policy makers in different ways", says Saara Tahvanainen, Vice President, Stakeholder Relations at UPM Biorefining.

We are pleased to present the Two Sides Q3 Campaign Update 2020. Never has there been such widespread attention of the environmental credentials of the products and materials we use. A seismic shift is happening in both public and business attitudes towards sustainability. More people than ever appreciate that paper can be an environmentally sound choice for reading materials, communications, and packaging solutions. But, there is still a significant underestimation of just how sustainable paper and paper-based packaging is. It’s making our work at Two Sides more important than ever. Especially when we speak to consumers via our Love Paper campaign. The awareness of the Love Paper campaign is growing. We are continually seeing more visitors to our website (lovepaper.org). This year to date, we have had 15,000 website visitors, 30,000 website page views and gained over 2,500 social media followers.

Mondi’s Sustainable Development report 2019 is named in the ‘Top Performer’ category, honouring the top ten overall reports, from an annual review of the sustainable development reporting of leading global companies by WBCSD. "Setting ambitious targets and being transparent on how we report on our progress and performance are two compelling steps companies can take to help create a sustainable future. At Mondi, sustainability is intrinsic to how we do our business, so we are delighted that our efforts to produce exceptional reporting have been recognised once again." Gladys Naylor, Group Head of Sustainable Development

Ford Motor Co. is establishing the Bronco Wild Fund with the goal of helping off-road enthusiasts enjoy the wilderness responsibly through preservation, education and access programs. The efforts will be funded by a portion of the proceeds from every Bronco sold. Bronco brand’s endowment is targeted to raise up to $5 million annually for reforestation, trail management, outdoor adventure and scholarship programs through nonprofits dedicated to the preservation of the outdoors. The initial commitment also includes planting 1 million new trees by the end of 2021. The automaker has created a dedicated website for the effort.

In a new sustainability report, Pactiv Evergreen has announced a new goal that by 2030, 100% of its products will be made with recycled, recyclable or renewable materials. “Consumers and brands are increasingly looking for sustainable packaging solutions. Pactiv Evergreen is committed to meeting those market demands,” said John McGrath, the company’s CEO. “We are nearly two-thirds of the way towards our goal based on 2019 net revenues, and in the next decade, we will work to achieve that 100% goal.” The report further outlines a comprehensive sustainability strategy, which includes a new vision, mission and pillars that ground the company’s current and future initiatives.

Heinzel Group’s operations are characterized by saving resources, environmental protection, energy efficiency and use of renewable sources of energy. Besides the own power generation for pulp and paper production and the green energy obtained from hydropower, the roofs of Laakirchen Papier AG and Zellstoff Pöls AG are now used for the generation of renewable energy through photovoltaic systems. In cooperation with Heinzel Energy, over 9,000 solar modules are installed on around 15,000 m² of roof area which generate more than 3 GWh of green energy per year. Up to 800 tons of CO2 can be saved with both photovoltaic systems and the electricity produced will supply more than 850 households.

The impact-focused startup accelerator, Food System 6 (FS6), is today announcing the eight early-stage companies from around the world selected to participate in their new Circular Economy program, launched in partnership with global sustainable packaging solutions leader Huhtamaki. The purpose of the Huhtamaki Circular Economy Start-up Program by Food System 6 is to accelerate the development of young and promising companies working to deliver innovative sustainable solutions in areas such as waste management, sustainable packaging alternatives, new materials innovation, and regenerative production models. Through the partnership with Huhtamaki, FS6 is committing critical mentorship, advising and networking resources to provide direct support and help the selected participants build their efforts to scale. The eight cohort members were selected for their unique and timely innovations across the impact areas of: circularity, healthy people, vibrant farms, sustainable ecosystems, and justice & fairness.

HH Global has joined Aim Progress, a forum of leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturers and suppliers, assembled to enable and promote responsible sourcing practices and sustainable supply chains. Through Aim Progress, HH Global will collaborate with other members by sharing sustainable sourcing initiatives, raising the profile and importance of responsible sourcing, and proactively managing risk in the supply chain.

The Wall Street Journal recently issued its inaugural list of the 100 most sustainably managed companies in the world. Crown is one of only two companies in the containers and packaging industry—and the only metal packaging company—named on the list and is ranked as the top U.S. company for environmental issues management, scoring “highly for its management of water, waste and air quality.” As a Company that has been guided by the principles of sustainability since it was founded, we are incredibly proud to be recognized as a top global performer. We take our role of being a responsible employer, partner and corporate citizen seriously and are committed to doing our part to maximize our impact while reducing our footprint.

On October 5th, FSC US opened a 75-day public consultation for the first draft of a revised FSC US National Forest Stewardship Standard. Due in large part to the quality and rigor of our forest management standards, FSC is widely recognized as the world’s most trusted certification system. Draft 1 of the revised Standard offers further refinement of the respected existing standard for the United States, aligning it with the FSC Principles and Criteria Version 5 and the International Generic Indicators. Our goal is to deliver a standard that is both best-in-class and achievable by streamlining the existing standard and addressing a number of priority issues, identified below. To help achieve this goal, we will need clear, actionable input from an informed and diverse set of stakeholders during this consultation.

Climate change is the challenge of our time, requiring action across all sectors of society. While there are many emerging technologies, today there is only one proven, economical way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a global scale: Forests. While much of the emphasis to date has been on reforestation and afforestation, increasingly leaders are looking to responsibly managed forests as an opportunity to sequester additional biogenic carbon. As the world’s most trusted forest certification – impacting more than 500 million acres – the Forest Stewardship Council represents the gold standard for responsible forest management. As a result, many stakeholders – including leading brands, supply chain companies, architects, builders, and developers – are asking FSC about the carbon impacts of FSC-certified forest management.

Procter & Gamble shareholders overwhelmingly approved a proposal urging the company to issue a report that increases its efforts to eliminate deforestation, with the implication that more needs to be done. The vote was pegged a major victory for environmentalists concerned about P&G’s policies. Because of the company’s size and stature worldwide, it could send a loud statement to other consumer packaged goods manufacturers that paying attention to environmental issues is becoming a real factor with the public and Wall Street. The shareholder proposal, sponsored by the environmentally sensitive Green Century Equity Fund, passed Tuesday with over two-thirds of investors’ votes -- -and over the recommendation to vote against it from P&G’s board.

Amcor is proud to be joining a new call for a UN treaty on plastic waste, following a recent report from Boston Consulting Group, World Wildlife Foundation and Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Amcor has embraced a leadership role in the packaging industry, to drive fast and tangible progress towards responsible packaging. Our company’s contribution is most visible through 1) our innovation - such as our recent, world first recyclable retort pet food pouch – 2) collaborating for better policy and 3) informing consumers about how their recycling practices make a huge difference in keeping waste out of the environment. That progress at industry level must continue and gather even more pace. But it must also be matched by a serious, concerted effort by governments to invest in the necessary infrastructure needed to manage waste and increase recycling – of all of types of waste.

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.

Metsä Board, the leading European producer of premium fresh fibre paperboards and part of Metsä Group, is delighted to announce that two of its folding boxboards, MetsäBoard Natural FBB and MetsäBoard Pro FBB OBAfree, as well as two food service grades, MetsäBoard Natural FSB Cup and MetsäBoard Pro FSB Cup, have now received home compostability certificates complying with NF T 51-800 standard. Metsä Board’s eco-barrier paperboard MetsäBoard Prime FBB EB already holds the same certificate. “In order to enhance a circular economy our main target is that our paperboards are recycled after use. But recycling is not always possible – the paperboard may be contaminated due to its contents and therefore cannot be recycled. In such a situation compostability is the next best alternative,” says Helena Moring-Vepsäläinen, Product Safety Manager at Metsä Board.

Global sustainable food packaging leader Huhtamaki is donating €600,000 to fund a project that aims to stop the flow of plastic into the Indian Ocean from the Mithi River in Mumbai, India. The project is one of three initiatives that Huhtamaki has funded as part of its 100-year anniversary to address global sustainability challenges and build and learn from circular economy initiatives globally. The Mithi River project is run by a global partnership between the United Nations Technology Innovation Labs UNTIL, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, RiverRecycle and Earth5R. Each partner has a unique role in the project which seeks to use emerging technologies to collect plastic waste from the river and raises awareness on effective waste management in order to drive systemic change locally. The project is also focused on developing ways to valorize waste, e.g. by turning it into valuable fuels, chemicals, bio energy and bio fertilizers.

Join us at the virtual Consumer Goods Forum Sustainable Retail Summit (CGF SRS) later this month as we take a deep dive into the science behind forests and how they contribute to climate change mitigation through sequestration, storage and substitution. Sustainably managed forests are the most significant nature-based solution for action on climate change and carbon emissions. But how can global manufacturers and retailers play a meaningful role? Join us and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) as we discuss this with two leading forest science experts at our CGF Special Session on 15 October. Together, we’ll discover how sustainable procurement policies that fully leverage forest certification support global action on climate and other key sustainability action targets.

WWF Russia and UPM have today released The Guidelines on Sustainable Forest Management for Wood Suppliers in Russia. This cooperation aims to help wood suppliers in adopting ecologically, socially and economically sustainable practices in wood supply and forestry. The guidelines bring together the requirements set out in both Russian legislation and international voluntary forest certification schemes. They offer practical instructions and provide examples of best practices in safeguarding biodiversity, mitigating environmental impact and encouraging work safety and interaction with local communities and other stakeholders.

Norwich City and Kotkamills are delighted to announce their sustainability partnership, the first ever in the club’s history. The multi-year partnership will see Kotkamills work with the club to reduce the amount of plastic waste that is disposed of as a by-product of food and drink at Carrow Road football stadium and the Lotus Training Centre. The partnership is a part of the measures aimed at achieving the club’s wider sustainability goals. Once fans are allowed back to the stadium, they will see the revolutionarily easily recyclable paperboard to have replaced plastic cups and food boxes. As a result, the changes already implemented will result in over 100,000 items switch to plastic-free over the next three years with a view of continuously implementing more sustainable measure over this time.

Across all environmental issues related to the manufacture of paper-based products in North America, the harvesting of trees for wood fiber is arguably the most familiar, yet also the most misunderstood. Decades of misguided marketing messages that suggest using less paper protects forests along with deliberate anti-paper campaigns by environmental groups that twist scientific facts to suit their own agendas have left many feeling guilty for using products that are inherently sustainable. They are made from a renewable resource, are recyclable and are among the most recycled products in the world, and are manufactured using a high level of renewable energy – all key elements in a circular economy. In the U.S., total forest area increased by 18 million acres between 1990 and 2020, which averages out to the equivalent of around 1,200 NFL football fields every day. Canada’s total forest area remained relatively stable over the 30-year assessment period at approximately 857 million acres. Approximately 59% of forestlands in North America has long-term forest management plans.

DS Smith has joined other leading businesses in signing up for Business for Nature’s Call for Action to reverse the loss of biodiversity, urging government to enact effective change for the environment. Businesses, societies and economies all rely on nature and its resources, however, over half of the world’s total GDP ($44 trillion) is moderately or highly exposed to risks from biodiversity loss. For industries like corrugated packaging, which uses wood and water, this represents an insurmountable loss of income, livelihoods and essential materials. DS Smith has always had a strong focus on sustainability, putting it at the heart of everything it does and making biodiversity a particular priority.

University of Oulu and Metsä Group have entered into a partnership agreement in which research and educational cooperation will be deepened in order to develop sustainable forest industry. The aim is to increase interaction and work life contacts between students and the company. The co-operation includes, for example, visiting lectures, company visits, thesis work and internships. The themes of the joint research projects are the utilization of inorganic production sidestreams from the forest industry, for example as bioproducts, and the development of autonomous solutions and automated logistics in the wood, pulp, paperboard and sawmill industries. Experiments and solutions for the introduction of the technology utilize the university's extensive research expertise in 5G / 6G, IoT and cyber security, robotics, fibre and particle technology, and process technology.

As part of a new initiative to eliminate single-use plastic bags from the wastestream, Dick’s Sporting Goods is joining an industry consortium. Dick’s is committing to remove all single-use point-of-sale plastic bags from its stores by 2025. As a first step toward this goal, Dick’s is taking part in the Closed Loop Partners' Center for the Circular Economy’s Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag as the lead sports & outdoors sector partner. Dick’s will work alongside Closed Loop Partners founding partners CVS Health, Target and Walmart, as well as Kroger and Walgreens, in the Beyond the Bag initiative. Closed Loop Partners launched the initiative earlier this year to identify, test and implement viable design solutions and models that more sustainably serve the purpose of the current retail bag. The consortium recently launched the challenge in partnership with global design company IDEO, which is currently accepting ideas from across the globe to re-invent the current retail bag – which could include reusable models, new materials, or software and hardware innovations that eliminate the need for bags altogether.

REI Co-op announced today it will complete a 14-year commitment to be carbon neutral in its operations in 2020 and launched an ambitious new climate platform that will see the co-op more than halve its carbon footprint over the next decade – even as the company anticipates future growth in size and revenue. “The climate crisis is the greatest threat to the future of life outdoors and to REI’s business. The science is clear about what we, as a society, need to do to change that future. The world must halve its greenhouse gasses emissions by 2030, so that’s where REI – and the broader outdoor community – must lead,” said REI Co-op President and CEO Eric Artz. “Going forward, we’re embedding the impact of doing business, and the cost, into our business model.”

Amcor, a leading global developer and producer of responsible packaging, has received prequalification to carry How2Recycle’s® store drop-off label on consumer packaging for a variety of barrier and non-barrier specs in the AmPrima™ PE Plus heat resistant portfolio, subject to conditions like product application and final package design. “This is exciting for Amcor and our customers. It’s an outstanding step forward as we work toward our commitment to make all of our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025,” said Amcor Flexibles North America Sales and Marketing Vice President Laurel Spencer. “Prequalification saves time, cost, and reduces risk for brand-owners and retailers by eliminating the need to engage external labs for recycle-ready testing in the development phase. In short, it allows our customers to take their packaging straight from package development to How2Recycle to request usage of the How2Recycle store drop-off label,” said Spencer.

A new survey conducted by global packaging leader Smurfit Kappa has revealed that consumers are making a statement by demanding more sustainable packaging from brands before making online fashion purchases. The survey, which was conducted with consumers across four European countries, found 41% of online fashion shoppers have become more eco-conscious when buying the latest fashion online since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The research, which surveyed consumers in Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands and the UK, found nearly half of consumers purchase fashion items online once a month or more, reflecting its increasing popularity among both female (44%) and male (43%) shoppers. The research found: >23% of fashion consumers have researched a brand online to assess its level of sustainability >35% of fashion consumers stated they would not make an online purchase from a fashion company if they discovered its packaging wasn't eco-friendly >23% of those surveyed have re-purchased from a fashion brand based on its sustainability credentials

Georgia-Pacific announced today that it is now accepting mixed paper bales that contain single-use polyethylene (PE)-coated paper cups at its recycled paper mills in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Muskogee, Oklahoma. The development follows two years of partnership with the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) and collaboration with the NextGen Consortium, a global initiative led by Closed Loop Partners with founding partners Starbucks and McDonald’s, to help open opportunities for paper cup recycling. PE coatings, along with any remaining liquid and food left behind from use, have historically left single-use paper cups out of the recovery and recycling process. GP, though, has proven through its extensive re-pulping trials that the Green Bay and Muskogee mills can effectively recapture valuable cup fiber from paper cups while screening out PE-coatings and reuse the fiber to make toilet tissue, napkins and paper towels. “As single-use paper cups have grown in popularity in recent years so, too, has paper cup waste. As a leading manufacturer of paper foodservice products, we continually look for ways to consume fewer resources as part of our longer-term strategy to identify solutions that benefit society. Accepting mixed paper bales containing PE-coated cups at our Green Bay and Muskogee mills is a significant step in this direction,” said John Mulcahy, vice president of sustainability for Georgia-Pacific, which manufactures the Dixie® brand of paper cups.

Holmen's paperboard and paper mills have been awarded the highest possible rating by the international assessment company Ecovadis. The paperboard mills in Iggesund and Workington as well as the paper mills Braviken and Hallsta have all been awarded Ecovadis Platinum, which means that all Holmen's mills belong to the absolute top tier of all assessed companies. Ecovadis assesses companies on the basis of their performance in four themes: environment, labour & human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. With more than 65,000 assessments in over 200 sectors and 160 countries, Ecovadis is a guide for companies' choice of suppliers.

Sappi has joined businesses around the world in calling for ambitious, collective action for nature. Covid-19 is causing societies, businesses and governments around the world to focus on ways to emerge more economically resilient from the crisis. With nature at a tipping point – nearly one million species are at risk because of human activity – we also need to focus on how to reverse nature loss. With this in mind, Sappi Limited has signed up to Business for Nature’s Call to Action, a global coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and business groups including the International Chamber of Commerce, WWF, We Mean Business, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

In fact, it’s become so common that 7,500 companies issue sustainability or corporate responsibility reports in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative detailing various initiatives to reduce their environmental impact. It helps that this is a hot topic among consumers right now, with 77 percent of people wanting to learn ways to lead more sustainable lives. Companies have numerous options when it comes to answering the sustainability call. Among them, companies can introduce fleet vehicles with alternative energy sources, install green features such as solar panels, or use recycled and recyclable materials in their products and packaging. But sometimes it helps to get back to basics, particularly as the new school year begins. Approach learning the world of sustainability as a child would master learning their ABCs. Who knows — maybe you’ll discover a few new ideas to include in your company’s efforts, too.

Debuting 9/9/2020, a new documentary gives an inside look at the U.S. paper and packaging industry’s decades-long legacy of environmental stewardship. A story of grit, passion and dedication, “Paper Makers” provides a rare and intimate insight into how the industry’s foresters, mill workers and engineers have cared for the land, working in tandem with nature for generations. In a critical decade for climate action, “Paper Makers” looks at the philosophy and practices that have made the U.S. paper and packaging industry a vocal advocate for responsible land management, sustainable design and the protection of our planet’s most valuable resources. Paper is at the forefront of environmentally friendly innovation with top brands and corporations across personal care, food and beverage, and fashion, making the switch to paper packaging as part of their sustainable business strategies. There’s new attention on paper-based materials to provide solutions for some of society’s biggest environmental challenges. But how did the industry get here? Want to check out the film? Visit www.howlifeunfolds.com/paper-makers to watch the film and follow @HowLifeUnfolds on Instagram for more information.

Domtar recently received the new Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) recertification standard for the Canadian government lands that we manage in the Wabigoon forest. We successfully completed a surveillance audit on the Wabigoon Forest related to the new standards in July, and the auditor recommended that certification be maintained under the new Canadian FSC standard. “Our on-the-ground management practices, coupled with a rigorous provincially-mandated forest management planning process, help to hit the mark with FSC,” says Marie Cyr, general manager of the Dryden pulp mill. “We are proud of our record of sustainable forest management. The fact that the Dryden Mill has been operating in this forest area for over 100 years demonstrates that we are managing our forests sustainably.” The new Canadian FSC standard, which launched in June, replaces the previous National Boreal Standard and raises the bar for demonstrating sustainable forest management.

Plantma X combines soil scarification and mechanical planting – at the same time. SCA borrowed a machine for a few weeks to see if it could be the solution that would enable tomorrow’s efficient planting process. The machine looks almost like something from a Star Wars film when it crawls across the clearcut in the Graninge area. The two long swivelling arms extrude from the back and plant seedlings every time the arm tips reach the ground. Plantma X has been developed in a collaboration between Grangärde Konsult och Innovation and other companies*, together with Sveaskog. Over the course of a few summer weeks, SCA borrowed the machine to carry out its own trials. Click read more below for the rest of the article.

In the beginning of 2020 UPM committed to the United Nations Global Compact’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C, promising to pursue science-based measures to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C. “Investors, customers, the society at large – even school children – ask about companies’ sustainability actions,” says Sami Lundgren, Vice President, Responsibility at UPM. “It is important for us to do our part. I believe our employees are very proud that we have signed this commitment.” UPM will meet this commitment by novel uses of their products, reducing CO2 emissions and by practicing climate positive forestry. Cick read more below for the rest of the article

As part of its continued focus on global sustainability leadership and from Plastic to Purpose’ campaign, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has released its innovative process aid for Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and Copper Clad Laminates (CCL) laminating systems. OptiLayup™ PCB and CCL lamination aid boast sustainable features, while offering a cost-effective alternative and added technical-value compared to the plastic films traditionally used to protect the press tools, ensuring process performance in these markets. “Our ‘from Plastic to Purpose’ campaign aims at raising awareness around the world regarding the possibility of fiber-based solutions as a renewable option,” said Robyn Buss, Executive Vice President of Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Food Packaging & Technical Solutions business area.

North Carolina State University is investigating the crucial role that SFI-certified forests play in facilitating landscape connectivity in a changing climate. Landscape connectivity represents the extent to which a landscape supports the ability of plants and animals to move across the landscape. Some species with a limited range, like salamanders or pitcher plants, depend on connected landscapes to maintain healthy populations. Connecting habitats has long been recognized as one of the keys to supporting conservation in landscapes dominated by people. But rapid changes to the earth’s climate and land use patterns mean new research is needed to ensure that conservation potential is maximized, while mitigating climate change impacts and limiting the loss of biodiversity.

Between our operations in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine, JDI Woodlands had 124 summer students who planted over 13 million trees this year. These students are dedicated, hardworking and are helping regenerate the forest for the future. A great incentive we offer to our Tree Planters if they are returning to school is between $750 - $1,000 scholarships. This year, we were pleased to give a total of $60,500 in scholarships to 71 planters!

An industrial pavilion and a road section, both in the Aveiro region, are the first visible results at real scale of using waste generated in the pulp and paper industry in precast concrete structures and in bituminous mixtures for roads paving in Portugal. The challenge, which is both complex and ambitious, emerged as part of the paperChain European project and is already being put into practice in Ílhavo and Cacia: using waste from pulp production, such as lime ash, dregs and grits (granular waste) as secondary raw materials in the construction sector, integrating them in a circular economy logic. The paperChain project includes 20 partners from five EU countries committed to circularity boosting). In Portugal, the entities involved include the University of Aveiro, The Navigator Company, Spral, Megavia, RAIZ Research Institute and the Sustainable Habitat Cluster. Called "New niche markets for waste from the pulp and paper industry based on the circular economy", it is coordinated by the company Acciona Construction (Spain).

Ahlstrom-Munksjö is one of the founding members of the #GreenSource initiative to promote the role of forest-fiber industries in the effort to achieve the EU’s climate neutrality target by 2050. #GreenSource brings together members of the European Pulp Industry Sector Association (EPIS) and the Confederation of European Paper Industries (Cepi). The forest-fiber industry wishes to play a central role in offering solutions that respond to the needs of the European citizens and contribute to a sustainable lifestyle, while making sure that forests keep growing, absorbing CO2 and protecting biodiversity.

UPM is one of the founding members of the #GreenSource initiative, to promote the role of forest-fibre industries in the effort to achieve the EU’s climate neutrality target by 2050. #GreenSource brings together members of EPIS, the European Pulp Industry Sector Association and Cepi, the Confederation of European Paper Industries. The forest fibre industry wish to play a central role in offering solutions that responds to the needs of the European citizens and contribute to a sustainable lifestyle while making sure that forests keep growing, absorbing CO2 and protecting biodiversity.

Heinzel Group is a member of EPIS (European Pulp Industry Sector) and therefore supports the #GreenSource initiative to promote the role of forest-fibre industries in the effort to achieve the EU’s climate neutrality target by 2050. The forest-fibre industry wishes to play a central role in offering solutions that respond to the needs of the European citizens and contribute to a sustainable lifestyle while making sure that forests keep growing, absorbing CO2 and protecting biodiversity.

The report outlines the company’s wide-ranging sustainability efforts, the use of recycled content key among them. In 2019, the company increased its use overall of post-consumer recycled (PCR) fiber and resin in its products. For its fiber-based products, the percentage of recycled fiber in the company’s supply chain was nearly half the total procured. When using post-consumer recycled (PCR) material was not possible, Novolex focused on procuring Chain of Custody (COC) certified prime fiber content traceable to the original source. When combined, 69% of fiber volume was either PCR or COC-certified content, an increase of 4% over 2018. Plastic resin used by Novolex consisted of 4% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content and 20% post-industrial resin in 2019, the same percentages as the prior year. While the reported 4% PCR is the same in 2018 and 2019, Novolex purchases of PCR material increased in total pounds. That was driven in part by the company’s two world-class polyethylene recycling centers, which specialize in recycling plastic consumer retail bags as well as films such as dry-cleaning bags, newspaper bags and other items labeled for “store drop off” recycling programs.

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) can now add Inteplast Engineered Films (IEF) to its roster of members, which includes the likes of DuPont, Hello Fresh, Clorox, and Fitbit. IEF, a manufacturer of technologically advanced film for printers, converters, and various markets, is excited to join forces with SPC’s growing collective focused on this area of sustainable and eco-friendly innovation. IEF, already expanding its sustainable film portfolio, expects to take advantage of forging partnerships within this valuable network of progressive brands such as Amazon, FedEx, and many more.

We achieved two of our six major goals: We reduced our total direct greenhouse gas emissions and indirect emissions from purchased energy by 19 percent at our pulp and paper mills, compared to our goal of a 15 percent reduction from 2010 levels. We also completed development of a water usage model for our mills to measure and more strategically manage the full cost of using water. In addition, we have nearly achieved two other Domtar sustainability goals that center on certified fiber procurement and employee engagement (as measured by establishing EarthChoice® Ambassador teams at each of our facilities). Finally, we are actively working toward achieving our final two Domtar sustainability goals — targeting a 0.50 recordable safety incident rate and ensuring a 40 percent reduction in waste to landfill from pulp and paper mills. click read more for more great info

This week, the supermarket chain Morrisons has launched a “paper bag only” trail in eight stores. If successful, the chain will consider removing plastic bags from all stores and will offer paper bags only. Morrisons started to give their customers the choice between paper and plastic bags earlier this year when they introduced reusable paper bags into their stores at a 20p charge (the same price as a plastic “bag for life”). However, since they have seen little evidence to suggest that the plastic bags are being re-used and therefore, continue to have a negative impact on the environment, they are considering ditching them altogether. Andy Atkinson, Group Customer and Marketing Director, at Morrisons said: “We are taking another meaningful step that will remove an estimated 1,300 tonnes of plastic out of the environment each year. Our customers have told us that reducing plastic is their number one environmental concern so introducing the paper bag across the nation will provide another way of reducing the plastic in their lives.”

Amcor announced today it has joined the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative, solutions-driven initiative to create a path forward to a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025. The U.S. Plastics Pact is focused on four ambitious goals intended to drive significant systems change by unifying diverse cross-sector approaches, setting a national strategy, and creating scalable solutions. The first North American Pact of its kind, the U.S. Plastics Pact is a collaboration led by The Recycling Partnership, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

UPM Raflatac, a global leading manufacturer of pressure sensitive labels, is pleased to announce it has joined the U.S. Plastics Pact. This collaborative, solutions-driven initiative is rooted in four ambitious goals intended to drive significant systems change by unifying diverse cross-sector approaches, setting a national strategy, and creating scalable solutions to create a path forward toward a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025. The first North American Pact of its kind, the U.S. Pact is a collaboration led by The Recycling Partnership, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Activators like UPM Raflatac recognize that significant, systemwide change is imperative to realize a circular economy for plastics. As such, the U.S. Pact will convene more than 70 brands, retailers, NGOs, and government agencies across the plastics value chain to bring one voice to U.S. packaging through coordinated initiatives and innovative solutions for rethinking products, packaging, and business models.

Kimberly-Clark today announced it has joined the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative, solutions-driven initiative rooted in four ambitious goals intended to drive significant systems change by unifying diverse cross-sector approaches, setting a national strategy, and creating scalable solutions to create a path forward toward a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025. The first North American Pact of its kind, the U.S. Pact is a collaboration led by The Recycling Partnership, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Ellen MacArthur Foundation. As part of the U.S. Plastics Pact, Kimberly-Clark and its trusted brands including Kleenex®, Cottonelle® and Huggies® join more than 70 brands, retailers, NGOs, and government agencies across the plastics value chain working to bring one voice to U.S. packaging through coordinated initiatives and innovative solutions for rethinking products, packaging, and business models.

Domtar has successfully completed a surveillance audit on the Wabigoon Forest for the new Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) National Standard for Canada. The audit took place the week of July 13th ending with the auditor’s recommendation for certification to be maintained under the new Canadian standard. This new standard replaced the previous FSC® Boreal standard and has set the bar high for demonstrating sustainable forest management. The Wabigoon Forest was first certified to the FSC® standard in 2008. “Our on-the-ground management practices, coupled with a rigorous provincially mandated forest management planning process, helps to hit the mark with FSC®,” said Marie Cyr, general manager of the Dryden pulp mill. “We are proud of our record of sustainable forest management. The fact that the Dryden mill has been operating in this forest area for over 100 years demonstrates that we are managing our forests sustainably.”

You may know Georgia-Pacific for making paper towels, plates, cups and toilet paper. But we also preserve land for birds, bears and other wildlife. In this the video below meet wildlife biologist Bobby Maddrey, and hear how satellites keep six million acres of forests protected in this unique to GP program. Take a deeper look between the trees at Georgia-Pacific’s decade of dedication to forest mapping. With the combination of forest mapping and the advancement of satellite monitoring, GP is now able to receive automatic alerts if changes happen to tracts of land and to assess vegetation and connect with foresters directly, improving the protection of endangered forests in real-time.

AptarGroup, Inc. is proud to announce its science-based targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Aptar’s targets approved by the SBTi are: *Aptar commits to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 28% by 2030 from a 2019 base year (well-below 2°C) *Aptar commits to increase annual sourcing of renewable electricity from 57% of total consumption in 2019 to 100% by 2030 *Aptar also commits to reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions 14% by 2030 from a 2019 base year (in-line with 2°C)

This August and September, UPM will be organizing forest trips for 6th grade primary school students in five different Finnish cities, where UPM’s mills are located. The trips will take place if the COVID-19 situation allows it. This is the fourth time that UPM has organized such excursions. The aim is to provide pupils with a positive forest experience and increase knowledge of how Finnish forests are used. During the excursions, which are called “Commercial forest — Development and Sustainable Use,” pupils will learn about the commercial and recreational use of forests, wildlife management and wood-based products. In addition, every pupil gets a chance to plant a seedling that will become a part of a forest. With 40 classes taking part, there will be roughly 800 pupils and teachers in total taking part during these excursions. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the number of classes is smaller than before. Despite the exceptional circumstances, the forest excursions will provide a safe experience for pupils: sp ecial arrangements have been made for the excursions, e.g. taking into account safety distances and hygiene.

Many banks, utilities, telecoms and other service providers continue to encourage (and sometimes force) their customers to switch from paper to electronic communications, using claims that electronic communication is “greener,” “saves trees” or “protects the planet” as justification. One can only conclude that the CEOs of these companies are either 1) misinformed about the inherent sustainability of print and paper, the rapidly expanding environmental footprint of digital communications or both, 2) trusting marketing teams who don’t bother to validate environmental claims or 3) seeking to save costs by ignoring established environmental marketing rules from the U.S. FTC and Canadian Standards Association that say marketers “should not make broad, unqualified environmental benefit claims like “green” and that “claims should be clear, prominent and specific.” There’s no arguing that the use of electronic devices has exploded over the last decade. According to a 2019 study by the Pew Research Center, the vast majority of Americans (81%) now own smartphones, up from just 35% in 2011. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults now own desktop or laptop computers, and roughly half now own tablets and e-readers. This boom has resulted in many advances that make our lives more efficient, productive and enjoyable. But it has also brought with it serious and increasing environmental, health and economic consequences.

Smurfit Kappa Colombia has announced a new alliance with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Colombia to highlight the protection and conservation of forests in the country. Under the new partnership, both organisations will work together to restore, expand and protect forests and ecosystems that are the habitat of several species of flora and fauna. Commenting on the new alliance, Juan Guillermo Castaneda, CEO of Smurfit Kappa The Americas, said: “This new alliance is further proof that sustainability is at the core of our business and that Smurfit Kappa has a deep commitment to the circular economy and contributing to the communities in which we operate.”

‘Chichibu Mayu’ means ‘cocoon-shaped marshmallow’ in Japanese and is the name of the world’s first forest-born sweets to achieve SGEC/PEFC certification. The forest sweets are made from the sap of maple trees grown in the SGEC/PEFC-certified municipal forests of Chichibu in Saitama, Japan. The forest-born sweets are produced by Chichibu Nakamuraya, a company that has been operating in Chichibu since 1924, and were put on the market this June by Mori for Forest Certification Inc. (MFC). The packaging of the sweets carries both the MFC and SGEC/PEFC labels.

In the world of electronics and digital, new records are set every day. Speed, size, image resolution, connectivity, simplicity – with every new launch or software update, performance parameters are increased and limits pushed further. It’s got to the point where there are no surprises in the digital industry. Indeed, the only surprise would be if a device managed to lower its performance or increase in size. However, one record the electronics industry won’t be proud to break is its own size of e-waste. In 2019, the industry was responsible for a gigantic 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt) of e-waste across the world. That’s equivalent to the weight of 350 cruise ships the size of the Queen Mary 2, and up by an alarming 21% over the past five years. Even more troubling is the fact that, at the current rate, global e-waste will reach 74 Mt by 2030, almost double the 2014 figure. These figures make e-waste the fastest-growing domestic waste stream in the world – a fact that should make everyone take a very different look at their devices.

The platinum rating is a new category rating for CSR performance and this award puts Mondi in the top 1% of companies in its industry, a position it has held since 2015. EcoVadis, the global business sustainability ratings organisation, annually assesses companies’ performance on international sustainability standards1 covering four key areas: environment, labour and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. Mondi’s overall score of 82% for 2020 is up from 78% in last year’s assessment, with 90% in the Environment and Labour & Human Rights categories. "Sustainability is core to Mondi’s approach, whether that’s providing sustainable packaging and paper solutions for our customers, looking after our people and communities, or promoting biodiversity in our forests. To be recognised by EcoVadis as an industry leader is testament to our dedication across the value chain and the action we are taking to deliver the UN SDGs as we look towards a more sustainable future." Gladys Naylor, Group Head of Sustainable Development at Mondi

Sappi Europe received a platinum score in the latest EcoVadis rating. The leading global provider of sustainable woodfibre products and solutions retained its top position from the previous year among the leading one per cent of all companies assessed which exhibit high activity and responsibility with regard to corporate social responsibility (CSR). •Sappi Europe receives top rating for sustainability •Unlocking the power of renewable resources to benefit people, communities and the planet. As part of its clear strategic goals in relation to sustainability and environmental protection, Sappi reached a new milestone. The market leader in environmentally friendly packaging and graphic papers received a platinum score in this year’s sustainability rating from EcoVadis, establishing itself as one of the top performers, with a score well above the overall average. The EcoVadis rating covers a total of 21 criteria, which in turn are divided into four general areas: environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

Biofuels offer a climate-positive solution that society cannot afford to ignore. Panu Routasalo explains how UPM is spearheading efforts to replace carbon-intensive fossil energy with plant power. Thirteen years ago Panu Routasalo was working as an engineer in oil production. Around the same time, UPM also stood at a watershed point in its history. Squeezed by digitalisation, forestry was branded a sunset industry and doomed to a rapid demise. Prematurely, it turns out. Today forestry is a thriving sunrise industry, with UPM leading the pack as an innovator of sustainable wood-based alternatives to oil-based products. Routasalo heads this pioneering work in his current role as UPM’s Vice President of Biofuels.

Sustainability has always been a core aspect of our business—present in the products we make and the way we operate. Now, the launch of our new Twentyby30 program will accelerate our efforts across all three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social and governance. Designed to address issues of critical global concern, Twentyby30 outlines 20 measurable goals to be achieved by 2030 or sooner, with each goal falling within one of the following pillars of action: *Climate Action *Resource Efficiency *Optimum Circularity *Working Together *Never Compromise. With these focus areas, we are pledging to raise our global performance around energy, water, waste, material use efficiency, recycling, employee health and safety (EH&S), Diversity & Inclusion, responsible and ethical sourcing, food contact and chemical safety and other topics. All program pillars are underpinned by responsible governance and ethics, which guide every business decision we make.

DS Smith, a leading sustainable packaging company, and Aquapak, an innovative developer of biodegradable polymer, are teaming up to develop the next generation of packaging solutions. By working together, the two organisations can provide sustainable fibre based packaging solutions that will replace hard to recycle packaging made from combined materials such as cardboard and plastic. After a period of pilot trials with the combined materials, focusing on both performance and recyclability, the partnership will now begin developing practical applications. This includes a range of fibre-based packaging where traditional plastic films can be replaced with Aquapak’s HydropolTM, a biodegradable and water-soluble polymer that will help to improve the recycling process.

Smurfit Kappa has today announced it has been chosen to participate in an innovative energy research project on renewable energy storage. The HYFLEXPOWER project will see Smurfit Kappa’s Saillat Paper Mill in France become the first plant in the world to introduce an integrated hydrogen gas turbine demonstrator. The announcement comes as the European Commission published its ‘Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate-Neutral Europe’ report which outlines the essential role that hydrogen will play within the European Green Deal carbon neutrality and energy transition initiative. The highly innovative research that will take part at the Saillat Mill, which will mainly be funded by the European Commission, aims to prove that hydrogen can be produced and stored from renewable electricity and ultimately replace up to 100 percent of the natural gas currently used by combined heat and power plants.

We are pleased to announce our Sustainable Menu of printing papers to meet the quickly changing menu needs of bars, restaurants, and hospitality businesses operating under stringent COVID-19 regulations. Made with the environment in mind, all Monadnock’s fine text and cover papers are FSC® Certified (FSC C018866), manufactured carbon neutral (VERs) and made with 100% renewable Green-e certified wind-powered electricity (RECs) under a third-party certified ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. The Sustainable Menu features Monadnock’s new Astrolite PC 100 Velvet C2S, notable for its bright white appearance and double-side coating; Astrolite PC 100, which is smooth, bright, and uncoated; and Astrolite PC 100 Digital+, which is 3-star certified for HP Indigo presses.

If the people who depend on forests for their livelihoods aren’t included in conversations about sustainable forest management, how can it be truly sustainable? After all, people and forests are closely linked. Forests contribute to the livelihoods of some 1.6 billion people worldwide, the majority of which are in rural regions of developing countries. This means sustainable forest management and certification have the potential to positively impact a huge number of lives around the world. This subject is at the heart of both PEFC and Building and Wood Worker’s International (BWI). Earlier this month, our CEO Ben Gunneberg and Coen van der Veer from BWI came together to talk about this vital issue. Check out their conversation in the video below:

Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials announced that its Clear Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) film portfolio has been certified to comply with the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) Critical Guidance Protocol for HDPE recycling. The Avery Dennison BOPP portfolio is the first to pass testing, and the company is committed to expanding the portfolio of film materials with pressure sensitive emulsion acrylic adhesives that meet the APR HDPE Critical Guidance moving forward. The announcement gives brands in the personal care and beauty space, as well as other segments that use Avery Dennison clear BOPP films on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics, validation that the labels stay with the container without impacting the recycling process. The APR Critical Guidance is a comprehensive laboratory scale protocol that is used to assess the compatibility of packaging innovations with reclamation systems. The Critical Guidance for HDPE-CG-01 was released on July 20, 2020. Avery Dennison is the first label manufacturer to achieve certification in accordance with the new guidelines. The company has previously achieved certification with APR Critical Guidance for PET plastics.

Headquartered in Boston, Sappi North America (SNA) is an industry leader with more than 2,000 employees in the United States and Canada, and four mills with the capacity to produce 1.35 million metric tons of paper and packaging and 1.17 million metric tons of kraft, high-yield and dissolving pulp. SNA has been a member of Two Sides since its beginning, and both organizations benefit greatly from this strong partnership. With its long-standing commitment to employee and product safety and its dedication to delivering products that meet customers’ needs for more sustainable solutions, SNA is an invaluable source of environmental expertise and thought leadership for Two Sides. With its global network and wide-ranging sustainability resources, Two Sides helps amplify Sappi’s voice in telling the great environmental story of print and paper products.

Two Sides, the paper advocacy group that promotes the sustainable and attractive attributes of print, paper and paper packaging has extended its reach and launched the campaign in Latin America. Two Sides has been established in Brazil for many years, but recently announced the expansion of its activities across all 19 countries in Hispanic Latin America with the support of entities representing the sector, who are part of the “Confederación Latioamericana de la Industria Gráfica”.

Flint Group‘s 2020 Sustainability Report outlines the company‘s performance in three key areas—Governance, Environment and Social – detailing the way in which Flint Group has incorporated sustainable business practices into its daily activities. Governance: reflects the company strong culture of integrity and compliance. Environment: Divisional sustainable initiatives present the company strategy with a clear focus on energy usage, water consumption, waste reduction and recycling. Social: shows some of our actions to make the world a better place both for Flint Group employees and for those around us.

Convenience store chain Circle K has released its first sustainability report, and PEFC-certified packaging plays a critical role as they look to reduce their environmental footprint, use resources efficiently and help protect our planet. Using certified paper was an important requirement in the tender process for Circle K’s new range of holistic food packaging within all stores across Europe. “Food is a crucial part of our business, and with food comes packaging. As we serve our great food in all European markets, this means we use large volumes of paper within in our food packaging,” explains Vibeke Veiseth, Senior Concept Development at Circle K Europe.

Certification body representatives and trainers are invited to register for one of our upcoming online Initial Sessions, as part of the PEFC Training Recognition Programme. This Initial Session is the first phase for certification bodies wishing to get their internal PEFC chain of custody training programme recognized by PEFC, through the PEFC Training Recognition Programme (TRP). Once your internal training programme is approved, you will be able to train your personnel to carry out audits against the 2020 PEFC Chain of Custody standard.

Mondi Syktyvkar, part of Mondi Group, a global leader in packaging and paper, has successfully completed a major step in the modernisation of its power plant, with the installation of a new bark boiler. Mondi Syktyvkar worked with Valmet as main equipment supplier to execute this transformation. This project will allow the plant to significantly improve its environmental performance and to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Stora Enso and Helsinki Olympic Stadium have signed a partnership agreement to develop low-carbon, eco-friendly operations at the stadium by promoting the use of renewable materials and circular economy solutions. Stora Enso explores reusing products as well as recycling used materials to give high-quality wood fibers a second life in new products that will be available at the stadium for different services and operations. Stora Enso and Helsinki Olympic Stadium share the aim of promoting the use of renewable materials in customer and food service packaging to reduce the climate impact of stadium operations. In addition, the aim is to ensure that materials get recycled to a high degree. Packaging made of renewable materials has a high recycling rate throughout Europe and it typically has a low carbon footprint that is further reduced when recycled.

The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, announced companywide sustainability progress in its 2020 Responsibility Report, which outlines the company's 2019 progress on its corporate responsibility strategic pillars: focus on people, operate sustainably and strengthen communities. The report also introduces several new goals and provides an update on the company's recent response to COVID-19 and social equality issues. New goals include a commitment to produce and procure energy from 335 megawatts of renewable and alternative energy projects by 2025 – equivalent to the amount of energy it takes to power more than 90,000 homes. Additionally, the company pledged to eliminate expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film from its private brand packaging by 2023. As part of its existing pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 2035, The Home Depot reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent in 2019.

Walgreens Boots Alliance is pleased to announce that it has joined the United Nations Global Compact Initiative, a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices. The UN Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption, and to take action in support of UN goals and issues embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “We are proud to join the UN Global Compact, reinforcing our long-term commitment to taking responsible business action to create the world we all want,” said Ornella Barra, co-chief operating officer of WBA and chair of the company’s CSR Committee. “Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy is aligned to the SDGs through four key areas: Healthy Communities, Healthy Planet, Sustainable Marketplace and Healthy and Inclusive Workplace.”

The American Forest & Paper Association released its 2020 Sustainability Report, highlighting the paper and wood products industry’s sustainability efforts, including members’ progress toward achieving the Better Practices, Better Planet 2020 sustainability goals. 2020 AF&PA Sustainability Report accomplishments (based on 2018 calendar year performance, except where noted) include: • AF&PA member companies achieved a 38.4 percent improvement in the safety incidence rate from the 2006 baseline, surpassing the 25 percent goal. • AF&PA members adhere to sustainable fiber procurement principles, which assure that wood is sourced from suppliers who are committed to sustainable management and harvesting practices. • AF&PA members’ purchased energy use per ton of product was 13.3 percent lower than the baseline year, surpassing the goal to improve energy efficiency by 10 percent. • Members surpassed their goal, reducing GHG emissions – measured in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) per ton of product – by 23.2 percent from the 2005 baseline.

Earlier this month, a crew of Alberta Junior Forest Rangers (JFR) made a big contribution to forest health while learning about one of the most challenging jobs in our industry—tree planting. The Fox Creek JFR crew, composed of eight high school students and two leaders, spent a day planting 2000 pine seedlings at the Huestis Demonstration Forest. The tree planting was guided by one of Millar Western’s Woodlands summer interns, Garreth Carey, who is studying Forest Technology at NAIT. Located within Millar Western’s Forest Management Agreement area, the Huestis Demonstration Forest is a few minutes’ drive northwest of Whitecourt. The site includes a seven-kilometre driving loop with interpretive signs, informing visitors about how a forest can offer recreational opportunities, sustain wildlife, and provide resources for wood products, all while continuing to grow and thrive. Huestis is a working forest, containing cutblocks of varying ages that have been successfully reforested in decades past or are currently being regenerated after recent harvest.

PEFC International meets all Dutch procurement criteria for timber. This is the conclusion of the Dutch Timber Procurement Assessment Committee (TPAC), that gave full marks to PEFC International. TPAC assesses certification systems for compliance with the sustainable procurement policy of the Dutch government. Following the assessment, TPAC has recommended the Dutch State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment to continue the approval and acceptance of PEFC with regards to the Dutch procurement policy.

Amazon and We Mean Business, a global nonprofit coalition working with businesses to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon economy, announced they have partnered to establish the world’s most comprehensive effort to drive companies to adopt more ambitious carbon emissions reduction goals. The We Mean Business coalition works with over 1,200 companies, with a total market capitalization of more than $24.8 trillion, to drive business action and policy ambition on climate change and increase chances of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. The partnership will: *Encourage companies to take a leadership position and accelerate their goals to meet The Climate Pledge — the commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to achieve net-zero carbon by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement. *Mobilize supply chains, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to take and scale-up measurable and direct action on climate change. *Determine ambitious and accountable means for companies to credibly integrate Nature-Based Solutions in their climate strategies.

Heinzel Group is a member of the “4evergreen” alliance, which strives to increase the share of fiber-based packaging in order to sustainably reduce the impact on climate and the environment. In addition, the alliance aims to increase knowledge and raise awareness of the advantages of fiber-based materials in society. Among other things, the initiative advocates the development of optimized collection systems and appropriate recycling infrastructures. Members of the “4evergeen” alliance are represented throughout the entire fiber-based packaging value chain: paper, board and packaging producers, technology and material suppliers, waste sorting and collection companies, and retailers.

Smurfit Kappa has unveiled a new, state-of-the-art solar panel system in its Colombian Forestry operation. The Solar One photovoltaic system, which was developed with renewable energy provider Celsia, will generate 50% of the energy needs of the nursery and the entomology and plant pathology laboratories. The 168 panels that comprise the system will generate an estimated 78,000 kWh/year reducing CO2 emissions by 29.7 tonnes annually. The new system has been installed in an optimum location in the forestry nursery to maximise exposure to the hours of sunshine available.

A Sappi-sponsored programme which helps communities adjacent to forestry plantations to become beekeepers, has shown some unexpectedly encouraging results during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Non-profit consultant and founder of the African Honey Bee programme, Guy Stubbs, who has more than 30 years’ experience in small and micro-enterprise development, was struck by the incredible resilience being demonstrated by the families that have been part of this beekeeping project. Collectively, since the beginning of the year, the participating families have harvested about five tonnes of honey, earning close to R360,000, despite the national lockdown. During a recent survey undertaken in the Sokhulu community in KwaZulu-Natal (North of Richards Bay), where the project has been running for the last couple of years and a new community in Thembalethu, Mpumalanga where training had not yet begun, Guy noticed some marked differences in people’s approach to the situation brought about by the international health crisis. “While the families in Thembalethu were watching TV and waiting for government to hand out food parcels, the 100 families that we interviewed in Sokhulu were producing and even selling vegetables, chickens, eggs and honey,” he says. All 100 families were producing honey, 85 were growing vegetables, 27 were producing eggs and 39 were producing chickens for meat,” he says.

In 2011, Resolute made an ambitious commitment: to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 65% by 2015, compared to 2000 levels. Thanks to significant efforts deployed across our operations, we reached our goal ahead of schedule. But we didn’t stop there – at the end of 2019, we reached a new high of 83%. That’s the equivalent of taking over 2 million cars off the road! Resolute continues to seek opportunities to reduce emissions and increase efficiencies. In 2019, in addition to achieving a 65% reduction in indirect emissions (scope 2) at our Coosa Pines (Alabama) pulp mill through the modernization of the cogeneration turbine, we increased operational stability and made improvements to the power boiler at our Saint-Félicien (Quebec) pulp mill; optimized the electrical power boilers at our Alma and Kénogami (Quebec) paper mills; improved control of combustion on the boiler at our Baie-Comeau (Quebec) newsprint mill; and completed the optimization project at our Thunder Bay (Ontario) pulp and paper mill for a 20% reduction in direct emissions (scope 1).

Right in time for the back-to-school shopping season, Walmart is strengthening our sustainable sourcing requirements for products that contain paper and pulp (excluding wood pencils) sold in Stationery departments across our U.S. stores. Walmart requires these products be made from either recycled material, virgin fiber certified to standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), or a mix of recycled and certified virgin fiber. With this step, we are extending our sourcing approach for paper products in Stationery departments across our U.S. stores to include both private and national brands. That means customers can expect the same commitment to sustainability across all the brands available in Stationery departments of our U.S. stores.

For the first time in 230 years, Britain has completed 67 days, 22 hours and 55 minutes without burning coal to generate electricity, due in part to our renewable wood pellets. The last time coal was burned at any of Britain's four coal-fired power stations was April 10, 2020, and began again on June 16, according to the National Grid, marking the longest period without deriving energy from the fossil fuel since 1790, the start of the Industrial Revolution. This coincides with the one year anniversary of Grand River Pellets. These pellets displace coal and other fossil fuels in power generation and heating and have played a role in achieving this historic environmental milestone in the UK. The pellets come from wood sourced from environmental certified forests owned or managed by Irving Woodlands.

How many trees are there on Earth? It sounds like an impossible question, but researchers at the Crowther Lab have come up with a number: 3.04 trillion – or roughly 422 trees per person. That may seem huge, but it is a far cry from what it used to be. Collecting data from over 400,000 forest plots worldwide, the Zurich-based ecological lab setup by British ecologist Tom Crowther estimated there are 46% fewer trees today than when human agriculture started 12,000 years ago, but humans could reset the dial and tackle the climate crisis through mass tree planting. According to Crowther’s report, planting one trillion trees globally could remove up to 200 billion tonnes of carbon over the next 50-100 years.

The International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) recently announced its biennial international Blue Sky Young Researchers Award contest to generate interest and raise awareness around innovations taking place in the world of forestry. The ICFPA is an international group representing twenty-eight countries from around the world that liaises with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) on forest policy development and shares leading practices. It supports important dialogue across this global network to promote global forest policy commitments on sustainable forest management, recycling, innovation, water conservation, mitigating climate change, ensuring a safe and inclusive workplace, and optimizing the use of environmentally-friendly wood and paper-based products.

Kimberly-Clark has announced its new 2030 sustainability strategy and goals, aimed at addressing the social and environmental challenges of the next decade with commitments to improve the lives and wellbeing of one billion people in underserved communities around the world with the smallest environmental footprint. "These extraordinary times remind us why our purpose is more important than ever. Our values, that have guided us for nearly 150 years, will continue to shape our response to the challenges ahead," said Mike Hsu, Chairman and CEO, Kimberly-Clark. "I am inspired by our ambition to advance the well-being of one billion people around the world and proud of the significant environmental commitments that we are making to address the impact our products have on the environment." The ambitious strategy is outlined in the company's 2019 Global Sustainability Report, which reflects progress towards the company's Sustainability 2022 strategy and its pivot to 2030.

Join us next Wednesday for our latest ‘In conversation with…’ webinar! We’ll be joined by Coen van der Veer from Building and Wood Worker's International (BWI) to discuss how forest certification improves the lives of the people living and working in the forest. The webinar is free to attend and takes place 15 July at 11:00-12:00 CEST. Do you know how many people worldwide are directly affected by forests? The formal forestry sector employs around 13 million people globally, while forests contribute to the livelihoods of some 1.6 billion people worldwide. The figures are impressive.

Lund University and Tetra Pak have recently signed a five-year strategic partnership agreement, expanding on their rich history of collaboration on packaging logistics, food technology and packaging materials. Together, Lund University and Tetra Pak will aim to create new industry-academia development opportunities, promote the sharing of resources and competencies, explore opportunities to enrich ideas, and create a platform of exchange between students and professionals. Collaborative working is key to how Tetra Pak operates as a business and this partnership makes no exception especially to collectively address areas such as circular and bio-based economy. Industry-academia cooperation is critical for the company to fostering new solutions within the food value chain and perfecting numerous industrial processes. By collaborating with Lund University, Tetra Pak has been able to advance the mixing of industrial emulsified products and the forming of new package shapes and formats.

UPS announced the launch of its 18th annual Sustainability Report, “Accelerating Sustainable Solutions.” The digital Report is fully interactive and details efforts that took place during 2019 to advance the company’s 2020 and 2025 sustainability goals in alignment with its enterprise strategy. Most notable is surpassing four goals one year ahead of schedule, including: $123.8 million in charitable contributions, 21.7 million employee volunteer hours, 15.4 million trees planted, and, a 3.1% reduction in auto accident frequency.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Project Learning Tree Canada (PLT Canada), an initiative of SFI, are pleased to welcome Dawn Carr, Executive Director of the Canadian Parks Council, to SFI’s 18-member Board of Directors. Carr has a successful track record of collaborating with SFI and PLT Canada. Notably, through the Canadian Parks Council and its network of national, provincial and territorial parks, she has supported, and continues to support, hundreds of high-quality work experiences for youth across Canada as part of PLT Canada’s Green Jobs program. “I’m thrilled to be joining the SFI and PLT Canada Board of Directors. It is a welcome opportunity to contribute to an organization that is clearly committed to sustainability and growing the community of future forest and conservation professionals,” says Carr. “Nurturing a conservation ethic among young professionals is critical for sustaining nature and our collective health and wellbeing. I’m really looking forward to contributing my time and energy to help make a positive difference.”

Some highlights from the 2019 report. 60% green energy use from renewable fuels like biomass – up by 7% from 5 years ago; 22% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the past 5 years; 12% reduction in water usage over the past 5 years per tonne of tissue product made; 6% reduction in overall (all operations) water usage of the past 5 years; 32% increase in conservation sites over the past 5 years as part of our voluntary, award winning Unique Areas program in Canada and the U.S.; 17% increase in waste that is diverted from landfill for beneficial use over the past 5 years.

We are holding two sessions as part of our PEFC Training Recognition Programme (TRP) for certification bodies. The sessions will focus on technical calibration for the 2020 standards and the certification body internal training recognition requirements. Following this training, certification bodies can apply for recognition of their internal trainings. Once approved, they can provide internal PEFC training to their own auditors. Both sessions will be held online over three half-days, approximately four hours a day. We are holding the sessions at two different times, to ensure certification bodies around the world are able to attend.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, Canada’s forest products industry has been hard at work delivering urgently needed, critical products that are helping Canadians and Americans weather this unprecedented crisis. Our industry is a vital part of supply chains that produce a range of in-demand goods like masks and gowns for the health care sector; packaging for food, pharmaceuticals, and online purchases; and hygiene products like tissue and toilet paper. Because of its important role, the Government of Canada designated the forest sector an essential service, to prevent shortages of key items we need and use every day. Despite the value placed on our products, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a U.S.-based lobby group, has chosen this time to release a report critical of Canada’s forest sector. Regrettably, this report misrepresents our industry and makes numerous false claims and accusations. It states, for example, that toilet paper production is putting the boreal forests at risk. In reality, forest products from Canada’s boreal region can be counted among the most responsibly made in the world.

By buying PEFC-certified products, we can all help support local communities to continue looking after our forests. Learn more about the importance of supporting sustainable forest management from our CEO Ben Gunneberg! “Although we have already been reaching out to over a million people to safeguard the forests and to manage them in a sustainable way, we do have a problem. When the shoppers in the shop see a wooden product, they still think that they are participating in the destruction of trees,” he explains. “They are not realising that by buying these products they’re helping local communities and they’re safeguarding those forests that they love.”

Two Sides North America today announced the launch of Love Paper, a new campaign designed to raise consumer awareness of the unique and inherently sustainable characteristics of print, paper and paper-based packaging. The centerpiece of the campaign is a consumer-friendly website, lovepaperna.org, where the click of a mouse reveals surprising facts about how print and paper products contribute to a sustainable future for us all. “As consumers become increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts of the publications they read, the products they buy and the packaging those products come in, they need factual, science-based information to make informed purchasing decisions,” says Two Sides North America President Phil Riebel. “But all too often, they have little more than unsubstantiated marketing claims like ‘go green, go paperless’ or ‘going paperless saves trees’ to guide them. We created the Love Paper campaign to make it easy for anyone to get verifiable facts about the sustainability of print and paper products from a wide variety of trusted sources.”

The U.S. paper industry has met or exceeded a 63 percent recycling rate since 2009. Paper and wood products are widely used across the United States — from toilet paper and paper towels to corrugated and paper bags used to deliver items to your home. And these essential products have something in common — recyclability. Recycled wood fiber can be used at least seven times to create new products, and approximately 80 percent of U.S. paper mills depend on recovered fiber from recycling operations to make the everyday, essential products we rely on.