Regional Forest Stewardship Standard for Smallholders in Indonesia approved

Local people from forest communities in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam and came together in Bangkok recently to discuss forest issues that are priorities for them and to prepare for the upcoming XIV World Forestry Congress. The Congress, which is the largest and most significant gathering of the world's forestry sector, takes place in Durban, South Africa this September. “As one of the few observers here, and being responsible for supporting smallholder certification, it was great to hear about the issues and priorities for Asian communities,” reported Richard Laity, PEFC South East Asia, Projects and Development Officer. “We want to ensure that certification is inclusive by working closely with these forest communities, while we develop national forest certification systems.”

Over the past year, companies such as Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, P&G and Mars publicly committed to implementing zero deforestation policies throughout their supply chains. Sustainability is evolving from a nice-to-have to a business imperative, and businesses are beginning to recognize that what is good for the environment can also be good for revenues and help drive business growth. When done right and systematically, sustainability and zero-deforestation policies lead to improved brand image, industry differentiation, brand loyalty and, ultimately, stronger relationships with customers. For consumers, in particular, a company’s environmental practices are often defined by its supply chain, which provides a clear picture into how materials are produced and sourced.

Intertape Polymer Group Inc. published its 2020 annual sustainability report, titled “Our Circular Economy”. The report provides an overview of the Company’s sustainability progress in 2020 and highlights future opportunities. The report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”): Core option, with details provided in the index section of the report. 2020 Results • Improved worker safety with a 1.9 total case incident rate2 (TCIR) and a 0.6 lost workday case incident rate2 (LWCIR) in 2020 • 21% of total IPG sales were C2C certified by the end of 2020 • 47% of the Company’s packaging products, by sales, were recyclable, reusable or compostable by the end of 2020 • 7.0% reduction in direct energy use in 2020 compared to 2019 • 7.2% reduction in energy intensity in 2020 compared to 2019 • 5.9% reduction in direct CO2 emissions in 2020 compared to 2019 • 2.8% reduction in carbon intensity in 2020 compared to 2019 • 6.4% reduction in water usage in 2020 compared to 2019