PEFC and osapiens partner to advance sustainable forestry and EUDR compliance

Fossil-free heating is to be installed at SCA’s Bogrundet nursery. The investment includes a large, environmentally-friendly heating system that will operate on pellets. SCA is also receiving a grant from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s Klimatklivet initiative to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases. The Bogrundet nursery in Timrå is the world’s largest tree nursery and SCA grows about 95 million seedlings here every year. The company has been looking for a climate-friendly and good technical solution for some time to heat the 14 greenhouses and avoid the use of oil.

On the eve of the United Nations International Day of Democracy, the assessment of the Myanmar forest certification system has been suspended with immediate effect due to concerns that Myanmar-based stakeholders are unable to participate in the assessment process. Open, transparent, and meaningful stakeholder engagement is core to PEFC processes, which includes the ability of all participants to speak freely without fear of reprisal. Information received following the launch of the global public consultation, and integral part of the assessment process, indicates the risk of potential or actual self-censorship or self-imposed restriction by Myanmar-based stakeholders. The recent arrest of Kyaw Min Htut, an environmental and democracy activist and former civil society representative on the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee, exemplifies the restrictions to speak freely.

Humanity is more aware than ever of its own impacts on the environment, given increased exposure to information in a modern media landscape. The most recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) numbers revealed that Americans produce over four pounds of trash per day, per person. Increasingly, consumers are concerned with living more mindfully and sustainably where possible. As evidenced in a 2018 report by Nielsen, 81 per cent of global consumers surveyed feel strongly that companies should help improve the environment. With media reports attesting to the impact of synthetic materials on our planet (for example with the growing Great Pacific Garbage Patch), consumers have expressed concern with the overuse of synthetics in our day to day lives. Many businesses globally have pledged to lessen their environmental impact by reducing the use of non-renewable materials in their products, including companies like Samsung, Wal Mart, and Ikea. Click Read More below for additional detail.