Public consultation: Bulgarian forest certification system

One year on, and our project to support Myanmar as it reforms its forest sector is gathering pace. This was clear last month, as the Myanmar Forest Certification Committee (MFCC) held its first annual multi-stakeholder coordination meeting. The half-day coordination meeting was attended by a range of stakeholders, including the Myanmar Government’s Forestry Department, Timber Enterprise and Department of Research and Innovation, FAO, FLEGT VPA advisors, international and national NGOs, certification bodies and the private sector. This coordination meeting marks an important step in this 3-year project to support the country as it transitions to the sustainable management of its forests, funded jointly by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, PEFC and MFCC. Click Read More below for additional information.

FEFCO (European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers), together with CCB (Cepi Container Board), has released the new “European Database for Corrugated Board Life Cycle Studies 2021”. FEFCO and CCB have been collecting and publishing life cycle data for more than 25 years. The life cycle analysis follows a robust process of data collection, evaluation and validation by LCA experts. The process and data are subject to independent peer review by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg GmbH, Germany. The 2021 report and data collection cover a significant proportion of the sector representing: *84% of the total annual production for kraftliner and semi-chemical fluting and 74% of the production of testliner and recycled fluting. *73% of the total annual corrugated board production in average.

On Thursday 15 August, an environmental incident was discovered at a Stora Enso harvesting site in Kainuu, Finland, and the incident is being investigated as an aggravated nature conservation offence. Forestry machinery has crossed a river where there is a population of the highly endangered freshwater pearl mussel. Stora Enso takes the matter extremely seriously. The authorities and the company have strict responsibility requirements and comprehensive guidelines for the consideration of freshwater pearl mussel in harvesting operations. Stora Enso is cooperating with the police and other authorities to find out what happened at Hukkajoki. As a result of this and our own investigation, our guidelines and procedures will be refined to ensure that everyone involved in harvesting in valuable natural areas is aware of them in the future. This applies both to Stora Enso employees and to our partners, such as contractors and forest owners.