Call for Proposals: Enter PEFC’s Collaboration Fund Competition!

With the deadline just over two weeks away, we encourage anyone who was not yet applied for the 2016 Collaboration Fund to send us their proposals for new and innovative projects. The last day for submitting your proposals is 18 March 2016. Interested in getting involved? Through the Collaboration Fund we seek to support efforts to advance sustainable forest management and forest certification around the world by our members and partner organizations. Any new and independent projects which embody and stand to deliver on the Fund’s objectives while be considered.
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Graphic Dimensions Joins Two Sides

Graphic Dimensions has joined Two Sides North America, the non-profit organization that promotes and encourages the responsible production, use, and sustainability of print and paper. “We have observed the great work that Two Sides has accomplished for many years. We are excited to become a member of this organization. The knowledge base that they have amassed and continue to provide is very impressive. Being that we are dedicated to the growth of the print industry our association with this organization is a perfect fit,” said Bill Reid – Graphic Dimensions VP of Sales and Marketing.
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PEFC Revision Process – Thanks for the Nominations!

We have had a fantastic response to the call for nominations for our Standards Revision Working Groups. Regarding both the competence and background of the nominees, as well as the number we received, the nominations are impressive. We would like to thank all the nominees for their interest in PEFC’s work and their willingness to contribute to the further improvement of our standards. We are now evaluating all available nominations. We will come back to the nominees in the next three weeks with further information about the acceptance or rejection of the nomination. In case of acceptance, the nominees will receive more detailed information about the further process.
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UPM Raflatac and WWF Poland continue cooperation on Polish rivers

UPM Raflatac and WWF Poland, one of the world's largest organizations for environmental protection, have signed a three-year contract to continue the cooperation on the 'Rivers for Life' project. The project embraces efforts towards the conservation and restoration of natural river ecosystems in Poland, and has been supported by UPM Raflatac since 2012. "The private business sector can have an enormous impact on the condition of nature, positive or negative. As the Biofore company, we want to lead by example, raise awareness and find ways to improve our environment together with various stakeholders," says Jani Konkarikoski, General Manager of UPM Raflatac Poland.
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Vietnamese Government Reinvigorates Efforts to Advance Forest Certification

Viet Nam has taken a big step towards the development of a national forest certification system in line with PEFC requirements, following the approval of Decision 83 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), which establishes a Vietnam Forest Certification Scheme (VFCS) Program. The government-approved VFCS Program aims to implement sustainable forest management and forest certification in the country over the period 2016-2020, and appoints key organizations with the required authority and resources to lead implementation.
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American Tree Farm System Celebrates 75 Years

The American Forest Foundation (AFF) today kicked off its celebration of the 75th anniversary of the American Tree Farm System (ATFS), the largest and oldest sustainable forestry program for family forest owners. In celebration, AFF's governance, Tree Farmers, volunteers and partners have pledged to measurably increase their impact on the clean water, wildlife habitat and wood supply that comes from family-owned forests. “Our woodlands are facing incredible challenges today – a changing climate, catastrophic wildfires, insect epidemics, development pressures, and much more,” said Tom Martin, President and CEO of AFF. “Yet we continue to need the clean water, wildlife habitat and wood supply we depend on from our forests. Tree Farmers exhibit the most exceptional forest stewardship that helps protect and enhance these benefits.”
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Russian National Forest Certification System Achieves PEFC Re-endorsement

Russia has successfully achieve PEFC re-endorsement of its national forest certification system, confirming that it meets PEFC’s globally recognized Sustainability Benchmarks and ensuring that Russian certified forest owners and companies can benefit from the global acceptance of PEFC. With the Russian Federation containing an estimated 800 million hectares of forest, the equivalent to over 20% of the world's forest area and more than Canada and Brazil combined, the continued development and increase of sustainable forest management in the country will have considerable environmental, social and economic benefits.
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PEFC to Enable Companies to Track GHG Emissions – Stakeholder Consultation on Data Transfer Requirements

Stakeholders are invited to give feedback on the enquiry draft for Emission Data Transfer – Requirements. This draft document is an attempt to outline requirements for a strictly voluntary mechanism for the transfer of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission related data along the PEFC certified supply chain. Stakeholders have until the 4 April 2016 to submit their feedback. The use of the PEFC framework to transfer GHG emission related data along the supply chain has been the subject of increasing interest among the bioenergy sector and other industry sectors processing forest-based materials in recent years.
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Episode #5 – Tony Juniper + how the world’s biggest paper company is atoning for its sins

APP is one of the biggest pulp and paper companies in the world, based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It manufactures about 18 million tonnes of paper products a year and sells them into 120 countries. And it is a company that has faced a number of run-ins with the NGO community over its practices, with Greenpeace its most vocal critic once labelling APP the world’s "worst destroyer of pristine forest". In 2011, Greenpeace ramped up its campaign against APP when it targeted the LA headquarters of the toy company Mattel – a huge buyer of packaging from APP – unveiling a huge poster across the front of the building featuring Ken dumping Barbie (made by Mattel) with the slogan, "Barbie: It's over. I don't date girls that are into deforestation.” APP had to act. And act it did; in an extraordinary turn of events, APP and Greenpeace teamed up to work together on a new zero deforestation policy for the business. In early 2013, Greenpeace promised it would suspend active campaigning, after three years of continuous protest against the business.
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How to Participate in PEFC’s Standards Revision

As we begin our standard revision process 2016-2017, there are several different ways for stakeholders to get involved. Please take a look at the range of options below, and help us to make the best even better! Working Groups: The Working Groups (WGs) are the most powerful institution in the revision process. Expert Forum: The deliberations of the Working Groups will be informed by two online Expert Forums for Sustainable Forest Management and for Chain of Custody. People with expertise in these two areas can apply for membership. Stakeholder Conference: In spring 2017, we will organize 2-3 Stakeholder Conferences in different geographic regions. Public Consultation: Global Public Consultations will allow stakeholders anywhere in the world to provide input into the Enquiry Drafts of the standard, for a minimum period of 60 days. Revision Newsletter: We have created a new Standards Revision Newsletter with specific information about the revision process.
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JDI Forester Finds Rare Plant Population in New Brunswick

Forester Grant Steeves of the JDI Sussex Woodlands office has discovered a rare plant population on JDI-managed Crown Land near Havelock, New Brunswick. During his survey walk of a forest block last fall, Steeves noticed a low-ground plant with unique broad white stripes on its leaves. Having had rare plant identification training, Steeves was aware that this could be quite a find. Steeves took a photo of the plant and sent it to JDI Naturalist Kelly Honeyman, who then visited the site to confirm the rarity: a Downy Rattlesnake Plantain - classified as an S-1 plant (with five or less known populations in New Brunswick) - the rarest in the rare plant ranking system.
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SFI Partnering for Conservation and Community Impact Throughout North America

Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI), our National member from North America, recently announced grants for 19 projects to help further understanding of the conservation benefits of managed forests, and to strengthen the connection between communities and forests. The grants were made as part of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc.’s Conservation and Community Partnership Grants Program. These grants represent collaborations between SFI Inc., SFI Program Participants, and partner organizations throughout North America. “Our conservation grants advance SFI’s long-standing commitment to forest research. These projects provide the science-based data that resource professionals need to improve forest management, and to assess the value of that work,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI Inc. “Our community grants represent SFI’s unique role at the intersection of sustainable forestry, responsible procurement and thriving communities. SFI engages local communities through a variety of initiatives including youth outreach, forest education programs, and green building projects for low-income families.”
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Imperial Communications Joins Two Sides

Imperial Communications has joined Two Sides North America, the non-profit organization that promotes and encourages the responsible production, use, and sustainability of print and paper. “We welcome Imperial Communications to the Two Sides network and look forward to working with them to promote the sustainability of print and paper among their stakeholders,” says Two Sides North America President, Phil Riebel. “By becoming more resourceful, more respectful and more forward-thinkers we ensure the paper that is used on our customer’s projects is responsibly sourced,” says Joel Salzman, Executive Vice President at Imperial Communications.
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Hachette Reports Progress on Green Initiatives

Hachette Book Group increased its use of paper from certified sources, and upped its use of recycled fiber in 2015 over 2014, according to a progress report released by the publisher. HBG’s carbon footprint rose by 9% in 2014 (the last year for which results are available), but HBG still hit its long-term goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 50%. It was able to hit that target thanks to substantial gains made in previous years. The company's increased use of carbon in 2014 was due to a 20% increase in ground product transportation, which HBG attributed to an increase in the sale of print books. Though shipping more books increased the amount of carbon HBG emitted in 2014, the company said it had declines in other areas that contribute to carbon footprint, including copy paper (20% reduction), mail transport (-19%), business travel (-12%), and employee commuting (-6%).
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Going Paperless Does Not Save Trees

Today, Two Sides North America released a new study outlining key facts on why paperless initiatives do not save trees. Findings point to mounting evidence that loss of markets for paper and other wood products, a large portion of which are produced from wood harvested on privately-owned land, increases the risk of forest loss. The study was conducted by Dovetail Partners, an environmental think-tank specializing in forestry research and analysis. "This study is another example of why slogans such as 'go paperless - save trees' or 'go green - go paperless' are not only misleading, but false. Over the past 60 years, the number of trees on managed U.S. forest lands has been increasing considerably due to responsible forestry practices. Wood is a valuable renewable resource that we are taking care of," explains Phil Riebel, President of Two Sides North America.
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Future is Looking Bright for PEFC’s Global Reach

PEFC Forest Certification Week not only provides an opportunity for PEFC members from around the world to gather together, but also welcomes representatives from countries actively developing national forest certification systems. This year, we welcomed representatives from Ghana, Guatemala, Nepal, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam and to our 2015 PEFC Week. “PEFC is the best way to enable the one million small-forest owners in Viet Nam to access certification,” said Bach Le Van, from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MARD. David Everard, from SAPPI South Africa, echoed this, highlighting how “PEFC offers an important solution to South African smallholders.” Other countries, including South Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam, all took the opportunity to express their desire to become part of the PEFC alliance, “We are ready to join PEFC,” said Seoggu Son, from the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute.
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Best Buy’s recycling program is changing. Here’s how and why.

Since 2009, Best Buy has voluntarily operated the most comprehensive e-waste recycling service in the United States. We remain an industry leader and the only national retailer to provide this service. We are fully committed to being a convenient local resource for people to safely dispose of their consumer electronics and appliances. From time to time, though, we will make changes to ensure the service itself is sustainable, including charging fees to recycle certain products for which recycling costs have risen sharply. And we will continue to work closely with the consumer electronics industry to develop more and better recycling options. Our goal has always been to simply break even on our recycling program, and we’re not there today. The new fees will help cover the increasing cost of managing TV and monitor disposal through our network of stores, distribution centers and recycling partners. E-waste volume is rising, commodity prices are falling and global outlets for recycled glass, a key component of TVs and monitors, have dramatically declined. More and more cities and counties have cut their recycling programs for budget reasons, limiting consumer options even further. While providing recycling solutions for our customers is a priority, Best Buy should not be the sole e-cycling provider in any given area, nor should we assume the entire cost.
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PEFC Welcomes APRIL Group as International Stakeholder Member

“By joining the PEFC alliance we have the opportunity to share our experience as an advocate for sustainable forestry, while benefiting from the insights shared by other members,” said Lucita Jasmin, APRIL Group Director for External Affairs. “As an industry based in the global South, there is much to contribute from our journey, particularly on the aspect of integrating social development and poverty alleviation in our sustainability approach. We are also eager to participate in conversations that help advance the standards and best practices of sustainable forestry.” APRIL Group achieved PEFC Sustainable Forest Management certification for its first forest area in June earlier this year. The company now has more than 60 percent of its concession in Indonesia PEFC-certified, adding to the existing PEFC Chain of Custody certification awarded to its manufacturing operations.
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Industry Welcomes Conservation & Logging Agreement in the Great Bear Rainforest

Today’s announcement of the Great Bear Rainforest Land Use Order by the Government of BC and First Nations is being applauded by five BC forest product companies as a unique solution for a globally significant area. BC Timber Sales, Catalyst Paper Corp., Howe Sound Pulp & Paper Corp., Interfor Corp., and Western Forest Products Inc. formed the Coast Forest Conservation Initiative (CFCI) in 2000. For 15 years, CFCI worked with ForestEthics Solutions, Greenpeace and Sierra Club to deliver joint recommendations to the Province and First Nations. “It is collaboration not conflict that ultimately drove the solutions in the Great Bear Rainforest,” said Rick Jeffery, representing CFCI. “This agreement will deliver certainty for coastal forests, local communities and jobs for years to come.”
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Renewed offering for tomorrow’s forest

On 1 February, Södra will launch a new package of forestry services. The new services will facilitate forest ownership and present opportunities to improve the profitability of members' forest estates. The new package includes a financial advisory service and improved digital services. The new package will be launched on 1 February and includes an advisory service to facilitate ownership transfers, as well as cash flow analysis and property valuation services. The forest estate agreement is a new service for forest owners who seek secure, profitable and professional management for their entire estate. "This is a comprehensive package of services, designed to meet the needs of Södra's members. The requirements of forest owners - as well as technological solutions - change over time, and these new services represent a major step forward toward a new and improved member offering. The aim is to make active and profitable forestry easier," says Håkan Larsson, President of the Södra Skog business area.
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