January 2016 - Midland Paper

Making the Best Even Better: PEFC Revises Core Standards

Stakeholders globally are invited to nominate candidates to participate in the revision of some of the core standards of PEFC, the world's largest forest certification system. The standards include PEFC's global requirements for sustainable forest management, forest certification procedures, standard setting procedures at national level, and the PEFC assessment and endorsement process of national/regional forest certification systems. The nomination deadline is 22 February 2016. "We review our standards every five years to ensure that they incorporate latest knowledge, best practices, and evolving stakeholder expectations," explained Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International. "This process is of fundamental importance as these documents define not only the environmental, social and economic requirements for sustainable forest management, but also how implementation in the forest is certified."

McDonald’s partners with James Cropper for paper cup recycling trial

McDonald’s UK have partnered up with British papermaker James Cropper in a new trial aimed at recycling the fast food giant's paper cups. The partnership will enable paper cups used in McDonald’s restaurants across the UK, every week, to be recycled at James Cropper’s state-of-the-art reclaimed fibre plant – turning previously non-recyclable, plastic-coated paper cups into new paper products. Richard Burnett, market development manager at James Cropper, said: “It’s estimated that up to 2.5 billion paper cups are used in the UK every year. Most of these are currently not recycled as, being polyethylene-coated, they can’t be recycled amongst ordinary household waste. In addition, collecting used paper cups for recycling has been problematic due to the nature of their use – they’re used on the go and are often taken away from the place of purchase”.

What’s the Difference between Digital Vinyl and Opaque Vinyl?

Do you ever wonder why there are so many different types of vinyls? If you go to the Avery Dennison Graphics Solutions website you will see that we have two specific lines of media. One is the Digital line and the other is our Screen & Cut line which includes the Supreme Wrapping films and Conform Chrome series of films. Some of you may be wondering what the difference is, so in this blog post I will give a brief explanation of each and why you would use one over another. The Screen & Cut line is our oldest product line and dates back to the time when films were only screen printed, thermal transfer printed, or plotter cut. Within this line, we have our cast opaque, metallic, ultra-metallic and translucent films. We also have intermediate and economy calendered films as well as reflective products. In the last few years, we have added our very popular Supreme Wrapping Film 900 series (SW 900) which is a 3.2 mil cast film designed for color change wraps and the Conform Chrome films, which is a 5.7 mil chrome film material, designed primarily for vehicle accents and is frequently used for wraps.

AF&PA Intervening in Ozone NAAQS Lawsuit

“If the court forces EPA to lower of the ozone standard even more, projects to keep paper and wood products manufacturing facilities competitive could be halted, putting at risk countless high-paying jobs in rural America. The new standard at 70 parts per billion (ppb) is already precariously close to background levels in the environment. Lowering the ozone limit to 65 ppb or lower - as petitioners demand - would unnecessarily divert needed resources from more productive use and is not supported by the scientific evidence.”

AWC, AF&PA: Biomass Benefits Should be Recognized in Clean Power Plan Federal Plan and Model Rules

Donna Harman, President and CEO, AF&PA: “EPA’s federal plan and model rules should provide for least-costly implementation possible to ratepayers and the economy, including recognizing the climate benefits of biomass energy. EPA needs to provide more certainty to biomass as a fuel. For example, the agency should list pre-approved qualified biomass fuels so that states know which options are on the table for CPP compliance. Our industry relies on forest biomass and manufacturing residuals in a variety of forms to generate about two-thirds of the energy we need to operate; failure to explicitly list these materials as good sources of energy will result in inefficiencies and unnecessary waste.”

Hungary Becomes Latest PEFC Member

PEFC International is delighted to welcome the Hungarian Forest Certification Non-profit Ltd. as the 41st national member joining the PEFC family. “We have learned from experience that PEFC is much more than a just label that allows consumers to make ethical purchases. PEFC is a cleverly designed, robust technical framework. Perhaps even more importantly, PEFC is a community of friendly people who care about forests and care about our future. We are proud to become a member of this community,” said Endre Schiberna, Head of the Standard Setting Committee. “Hungary is a perfect example of how the forestry sector can benefit from forest certification,” continued Mr. Schiberna. “While our forest related regulations are said to be among the most rigorous in Europe, the general public is unaware of this, even within the country. This means that Hungarian forest products are not favored by environmental-conscious consumers.”

Sonoco Recognizes Iowa City Facility for Sustainability Progress

Sonoco has granted a silver-level Sonoco Sustainability Star Award to its Display & Packaging facility in Iowa City, Iowa, for successful and exemplary efforts to reduce its waste to landfill and implement sustainability-oriented processes. Administered by Sonoco Recycling, the Sonoco Sustainability Star Awards program is comprised of three tiers. Gold awards recognize facilities that have achieved 99 percent landfill diversion; silver awards honor facilities achieving 95 percent landfill diversion; and bronze awards distinguish facilities that have made significant waste reduction achievements, such as drastically reducing their waste streams or implementing a new composting system.

Slovakian and Norwegian National Systems Achieve PEFC Re-endorsement

Slovakia and Norway have become the latest countries to successfully achieve PEFC re-endorsement of their national forest certification systems, verifying their continued compliance with PEFC’s globally recognized Sustainability Benchmarks. With this re-endorsement, the countries’ certified forest owners and companies can continue benefitting from the global acceptance of PEFC. Norway, one of the 11 original national members of PEFC, was among the first to achieve PEFC endorsement of their forest certification system back in 2000. This was followed by two more successful endorsements in 2006 and 2010. Since then, more than 9.1 million hectares of forest have become PEFC certified, equaling more than three quarters of the country’s forest area. In Slovakia, almost two-thirds of the country’s forest area, more than 1.2 million hectares, has become PEFC certified in the ten years since the system was first endorsed by PEFC. This is the second successful re-endorsement of the Slovakian certification system, with the country achieving their first re-endorsement back in 2010.

Forest Industry Commits to New Forest Management Approach to Mimic Elements of Nature

Member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) have agreed to follow an innovative approach to sustainable forest management that takes its cue from nature. The approach, known as Natural Range of Variation (NRV), is aimed at recreating natural landscapes by harvesting in patterns that are similar to the impact of wind, fire, insects and other natural disturbances. FPAC members committed to follow this approach after working collaboratively with environmental groups under the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The pledge to implement NRV is considered a major step towards the environmental and industry CBFA goal of making Canada a world leader in sustainable forest management.

Sustainability and the digital ‘revolution’

A common rallying cry for “going digital” is environmental sustainability—using less print and paper, the argument goes, saves resources—but rarely do those making the argument consider the very real environmental…

Forest Industry Welcomes Paris Agreement on Climate Change

The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) is pleased with the landmark global climate deal reached in Paris including its recognition of the fundamental role played by the world’s forests. Nearly 200 countries, including Canada, have agreed to hold the increase in global temperature to 2°C above pre-industrial levels to reduce the risks and impacts of climate change. The agreement calls on countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, while recognizing the role of conservation and the sustainable management of forests. Canada has more than 9% of the world’s forests which absorb tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide to the benefit of our entire planet. Unlike many other forest nations, all harvested trees are regrown largely ensuring the maintenance of our carbon stocks. More to the point, Canada has virtually zero deforestation, just 0.02% per year.

Vallvik Mill granted a new environmental permit

Rottneros' subsidiary Vallviks Bruk AB has on January 12th been granted permission by the Land and Environment Court in Östersund to produce the requested 255,000 tons of sulphate pulp. It is a comprehensive permit under the Swedish Environmental Code, which is associated with a number of conditions, which are broadly in line with the company's previously stated position. "The new permit will ensure that we can continue with our long-term industrial plan, Agenda 500 and increase the capacity of both our mills. The permit also ensures that we can continue to develop the company and our organization," says Per Lundeen, CEO of Rottneros.

Two Sides North America Admonishes Communications Giant Verizon for Green Claim

Two Sides spends a lot of time batting down the baloney that often gets passed around under the guise of environmental sustainability. The latest major company to incur Two Sides’ wrath is Verizon, which may have run afoul of the Federal Trade Commission’s Green Guides for environmental marketing. In a customer communication, Verizon told customers to “Go Green with Paperless Billing and Auto Bill Pay.” Among the bulleted points in favor of paperless billing, Verizon lists “Green—Help save the environment, one paperless bill at a time.” That drew the ire of Two Sides.

Sustainable Supply Chains and Bottom Lines—The Two Are No Longer Mutually Exclusive

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.