Earth Day 2019: HP Is Reinventing ‘Reuse’ and Creating Environmental, Social Impact

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) welcomes Natural Resources Canada’s Clean Growth Program launched today in Ottawa. The $155-million program will fund clean technology projects, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve environmental performance in the natural resources sector. Canada’s forest products sector was the first major Canadian industry to commit to helping the Government of Canada meet its carbon reduction goals. In 2016, the sector launched the 30 X 30 Climate Change Challenge, pledging to remove 30MT of C02 per year by 2030 – 13% of the government’s goal. “The Clean Growth Program will provide much needed support to forest product companies working hard to mitigate climate change,” says Derek Nighbor, CEO of FPAC. “We are a sustainable industry committed to doing our part to take care of the environment for generations to come.”

Paper manufacturers encourage forest sustainability through their purchase and use of certified wood fiber and by promoting sustainable forest management policies and practices at home and around the globe. By providing a dependable market for responsibly grown fiber, the paper industry encourages landowners to manage their forestland instead of selling it for development or other non-forest uses.², ³ • Net forest area in the U.S. has been stable since the early 1900’s and has increased from 754 to 766 million acres between 2005 and 2015. Net volume of growing stock increased by over 10% between 2005 and 2015.4 Canada’s forest area of 857 million acres has been quite stable over the past 25 years.5 • Each year forests in the U.S. and Canada grow significantly more wood than is harvested. In the U.S., average net annual increase in growing-stock trees nationwide is about 26 billion ft³.6 In 2015, Canada harvested just over 5.6 billion ft3 of timber, well below the estimated sustainable wood supply level of 7.98 billion ft³.7 Click read more below for additional detail.

It’s important that the use of water to make products doesn’t result in contamination of waterways. Pulp and paper manufacturing requires a large amount of water, and facilities are often located near rivers or lakes to be close to a good water supply. Once the water is used in the process, it is treated in an effluent treatment plant, and regulatory standards have been established to ensure that the final discharged effluent meets government environmental regulations for the protection of waterways. EPAT provides water quality data, such as TSS, COD, BOD and AOX, to its users and they can be especially useful to buyers of paper-based products who are tracking the environmental performance of their paper or packaging suppliers.