Starbucks to open sustainability lab (chainstoreage.com)

Forest conversions and trees outside forests: two of the nine areas to be given specific consideration during the revision of the PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. This is one of the key outcomes of last week’s meeting of the Standards Revision Working Group 1 – the Working Group (WG) responsible for the revision of our Sustainable Forest Management standard. Taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, 35 participants from around the world and covering all relevant stakeholder groups contributed their knowledge and experience as we kicked-off of the standard revision process. The group discussed what they expect a future Sustainable Forest Management standard to deliver over the next years, as well as carrying out a detailed analysis of the existing requirements.

Since the campaign began in 2010, globally, Two Sides has successfully challenged over 1075 organisations that subject their customers to repeated greenwashing messages which are damaging to the paper, print and mailing industry. With huge pressures on the economy; banks, telecom providers, utility companies and even governmental organisations 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.” Recent consumer survey results from Two Sides 2023 ‘Trend Tracker’ report, reveals that 55% of European consumers believe environmental arguments from companies to switch to digital communications are misleading and are about reducing costs.

Smallholders are vital to the concept of meaningful sustainable commodity production. They are not only significant producers of wood-based and agricultural products, but they rely on forest and farm land for their livelihoods,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International, speaking yesterday at Innovations Forum’s Sustainable Landscape Conference 2018. “If we fail to integrate them meaningfully into global supply chains, we fail in promoting sustainability in general and more specifically, the sustainable livelihoods of hundreds of million rural based families.” Addressing the unique needs of smallholders - which differ from country to country, from community to community, from sector to sector – requires bottom-up processes. Processes that ensure smallholders are an integral part of the conversation on establishing and securing the future of sustainable supply chains. “One size doesn’t fit all,” Mr Gunneberg emphasized. Click read more below for additional detail.