2.8 million acres and counting…

“Certifying Trees outside Forests creates a win-win-win situation,” said Thorsten Arndt, Head of Communications at PEFC International, during the International Softwood Conference 2018* in Riga, Latvia, last week. “We can positively impact the lives of small famers and improve the management of trees in agriculture, whilst increasing the amount of wood available to society for products from sustainably managed sources.” “We will also enable cities to certify urban trees and parks, making it possible for them to provide assurances to their inhabitants that city trees are managed sustainably and raising awareness of the tremendous services that trees in cities provide to urban populations,” he added. PEFC is well-positioned to further expand the area of certified forests, explained Mr. Arndt. With the PEFC General Assembly expected to approve the revised sustainable forest management standard in November, trees outside forests will be eligible for certification. Click read more below for additional detail.

Two Sides’ efforts to combat misleading claims related to print and paper has resulted in over 400 companies worldwide, including 118 in North America, removing unsubstantiated ‘green’ claims in their marketing materials. Despite our repeated efforts to contact TIAA and BlackRock, they continue to ignore consumer preferences and fact-based research to make unsupported environmental claims in their literature and mailings. Common consumer misconceptions about print and paper are reinforced by service providers as they increasingly encourage their customers to switch to electronic bills, statements, and correspondence to reduce costs. The incentive to switch is often based on unfounded environmental claims such as ‘Go Green – Go Paperless’ and ‘Choose e-billing and help save a tree.’ Not only are these claims misleading, but the drive to digital is not without environmental impacts and not welcomed by many consumers. Click "read more" below for additional information.

Keep Me Posted (KMP) is a global advocacy campaign working for the right of every consumer to choose, free of charge, how they receive important information from their service providers – on paper or electronically. Overseen by Two Sides North America, the KMP North America campaign focuses on educating and challenging corporations that are removing consumer choice and charging fees for paper. KMP compiled online and email comments from a survey by Consumer Action and the Keep Me Posted and Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications websites. The comments were compiled into the latest KMP fact sheet to demonstrate why paper documents are important to millions of North American consumers. The testimonials had common themes as to why consumers want the choice to continue to receive paper documents.