Resolute’s Hialeah tissue mill recently received its EcoLogo certification after completing a comprehensive audit process last December. Products bearing the EcoLogo designation are certified for their reduced impact on the environment. The certification also provides assurance to our customers that our products are produced responsibly. EcoLogo is the world’s second oldest environmental standard and certification organization, and the only North American standard approved by the Global Ecolabeling Network as meeting the international ISO 14024 standard for environmental labels. EcoLogo certification is voluntary, and demonstrates that a product has undergone rigorous scientific testing and exhaustive auditing. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Two Sides North America recently released a fact sheet outlining key facts and figures about the environmental sustainability of the North American pulp and paper industry. The information was compiled from over twenty different reports, studies, and sources. Below are some of the highlights of the fact sheet: Forest area is stable to growing in North America. The key causes of deforestation are not forestry, but rather agriculture, urbanization, hydro and other industrial development (ex: oil and gas). Sustainable forestry practices, either voluntarily or through regulation, ensure that the majority of harvested areas are replanted to regenerate forests. Nearly half of the globally certified forests are located in North America. Forest certification based on standards such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council, promotes strong forest management practices which result in economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially just outcomes. Many companies in North America comply with these standards and the forest area certified increases annually. Click Read More below for additional detail.

From the beginning of 2019 approximately one third of the nutrients used by UPM Kaukas mill integrate’s biological wastewater treatment plant has been replaced by Kekkilä Recycling Joutseno composting plant’s side stream: reject water rich in nitrogen. The co-operation is another exciting step towards the 2030 target of using only recycled nutrients for wastewater treatment at all UPM sites around the world. Using recycled nutrients is the third commitment UPM has made to the Baltic Sea Action Group, an organisation devoted to protecting the Baltic Sea. UPM Kaukas uses all the nutrients available at the Joutseno composting plant replacing around 4,5 tonnes of nitrogen each month. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Earlier this month, more than 4,700 government officials and business leaders from around the globe gathered for the fourth UN Environment Assembly, to align on decisions regarding its 2030 agenda. While the focus was on solutions for achieving sustainable consumption and production (UN SDG of Responsible consumption and production), a 2018 ScienceDirect study interestingly points to the importance of forests in contributing to the achievement of other SDGs, concluding that “forests and the services they provide are critical to [all other] SDGs and can advance multiple goals simultaneously”. The United Nations proclaimed March 21st the International Day of Forests, with 2019’s theme as Forests and Education. With deforestation being a notable contributor to global warming (responsible for roughly 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions) protecting forests is crucial to lessening the impacts of climate change and to maintaining “healthy, resilient communities and prosperous economies”. Mining the “urban forest” is key to Rolland’s success in limiting our impact on world forests, and central to our three-pillar 2019 Sustainability Strategy of protecting the planet, while supporting people and optimizing our products: Click Read More below for additional detail.

In Finland, there is more forest than ever and forests are growing faster than ever. Despite this, due to climate change, one of the hottest topics in recent months has been preserving forests as carbon sinks through harvesting restrictions. The discussion has become stuck on the smaller details of different scenarios. People tend to forget the big picture. The big picture is that since the emergence of climate awareness, the entirety of Finland’s forests have already been harvested once. In 1990, when climate reporting began, Finnish forests contained 1.9 billion cubic metres of wood, and the same amount was harvested between 1990 and 2017. However, the forests now contain a record 2.5 billion cubic metres of wood. The forests’ increasing growth can mainly be attributed to good forest management. This, in short, means sensible harvesting, without neglecting the importance of ditching and fertilisation. Click Read More below for additional detail.

UPM continues its long-standing co-operation with the Baltic Sea Action Group (BSAG) to prevent eutrophication in the Baltic Sea and in Finnish waters. "Preventing eutrophication requires collaboration between various parties. We are able to utilise nutritious sidestreams from other operators at our biological treatment plants. This way, we can replace nutrients essential to industrial treatment plants and reduce the amount of nutrients ending up into waters at a local level", explains Eerik Ojala, Director, Responsibility, Production support. In 2016, UPM set a responsibility target to use only recycled nutrients at its wastewater treatment plants by 2030. "So far, our work has progressed well: in 2018, already 22 per cent of all nutrients used by us were recycled. In other words, we are utilising nutritious sidestreams from other local operators in our operations", Eerik Ojala clarifies. Click Read More below for additional detail.

As a producer of metal packaging, Crown Bevcan Europe & Middle East is acutely aware of its responsibility to ensure as much of its product remains within the circular economy as possible. In the U.K., for example, some nine billion canned drinks are consumed each year – 30% of which are enjoyed on-the-go. However, only 42% of local authorities provide recycling bins in public spaces – a figure that Crown is committed to help increase.

As a major producer of beverage cans for the U.K. market, Crown is dedicated to ensuring it facilitates and encourages the recycling of as much of that packaging as possible. In addition to supporting a wide range of initiatives – such as the Every Can Counts programme and the Metal Recycles Forever mark – Crown purchases Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) to comply with U.K. packaging waste regulations, the proceeds going towards the recycling infrastructure. Crown recently partnered with Ecosurety to support the “Leeds by Example” initiative in Leeds, U.K., run by the environmental behaviour change charity, Hubbub. The organization’s research showed that the city did not provide on-the-go recycling options for food and beverage packaging. As a consequence, the amount of food and drink packaging placed into general waste bins on the streets of Leeds city centre could fill a 20-foot shipping container every three days. Click Read More below for additional detail.

This World Water Day we wanted to share the efforts of J.D. Irving, Limited to conserve and protect the water that is home to many different species. Throughout our woodlands we have over 27,000 KM (almost 17,000 miles) of protective buffers around lakes and rivers. This is in addition to many conservation efforts with universities and environmental groups. Working with Nature Conservancy of Canada the Tusket River Headwaters have been protected as one of the largest private conservation projects ever in Atlantic Canada. Since then, JDI has worked with local stakeholders and partners to manage and steward this site. Click Read More below for additional detail.

In line with United Nations'World Water Day 2019 theme, "leaving no one behind," Kimberly-Clark is pursuing a global initiative to help communities develop sustainable water management plans for watersheds at risk, using an innovative, web-based analytical tool. The maker of trusted brands including Huggies, Cottonelle and Kotex has partnered with Deltares, an independent institute for applied research in the field of water, to develop WaterLOUPE, a dashboard which visualizes water scarcity risks for an entire watershed as well as specific sectors and sub-groups, such as industrial users, farmers and households. Kimberly-Clark is using the dashboard to raise stakeholder awareness of local water risks and to encourage collaboration between government, business, communities and NGOs to preserve freshwater resources. Click Read More below for additional detail.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. (SFI) announced 15 community grants today featuring collaboration between 78 partner organizations. The grants will help communities across the United States and Canada grow their relationship with forests and improve their quality of life. Through these grants, SFI is bringing together a diverse range of organizations to engage and educate youth; train and educate current and future practitioners; support and promote Indigenous, Tribal and Heritage values; and support underserved communities through forestry. Grant project leaders include conservation organizations, environmental education providers, forest-sector non-profit organizations and community and Indigenous groups. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Leading British recycler calls on government to prioritise immediate action as recycling gap threatens to impact UK homes. DS Smith, a leading international packaging provider, has today published new research, in conjunction with Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, showing that the UK will fall short of its 2035 recycling targets by more than a decade1. The Tipping Point report outlines new consumer behaviours which are compounding the recycling challenges the UK is facing, including the rapid adoption of e-commerce and therefore the exponential growth in the delivery of packages. The UK is now the third largest B2C e-commerce market in the world, with around 18% of all retail sales in the UK now made online2. The reality is that 1.9 billion parcels – and the corresponding required packaging – are currently delivered directly to doors across the UK annually3. Within 10 years the number of parcels will have grown by over 50%4. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Each year on March 21, we celebrate the International Day of Forests to raise awareness of the importance of sustainably managed forests. You’ve probably heard many common myths about the pulp and paper industry’s effect on forests, but the truth is that sustainable forestry practices are instrumental (not detrimental) to the health and vitality of our precious forest resources. At Domtar, we understand that the more valuable trees become, the more our environment and the forestry industry will flourish. That’s why our commitment to sustainably managed forests has never been stronger. We help ensure continued viability of the forestry industry for decades to come. Thanks to innovations we’re developing every day, we believe there’s more potential than ever for trees to change the world by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and the amount of harmful plastics getting into landfills and oceans. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Humanity is more aware than ever of its own impacts on the environment, given increased exposure to information in a modern media landscape. The most recent Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) numbers revealed that Americans produce over four pounds of trash per day, per person. Increasingly, consumers are concerned with living more mindfully and sustainably where possible. As evidenced in a 2018 report by Nielsen, 81 per cent of global consumers surveyed feel strongly that companies should help improve the environment. With media reports attesting to the impact of synthetic materials on our planet (for example with the growing Great Pacific Garbage Patch), consumers have expressed concern with the overuse of synthetics in our day to day lives. Many businesses globally have pledged to lessen their environmental impact by reducing the use of non-renewable materials in their products, including companies like Samsung, Wal Mart, and Ikea. Click Read More below for additional detail.

SCA’s positive trend with increasingly less damage to ancient and cultural remains has continued. The target is zero damage to remains during site preparation and final harvesting operations. “We are moving steadily towards our zero-damage target,” says Anna Cabrajic, forest ecologist at SCA. In 2016, SCA launched an action plan with the goal that no known or registered archaeological or cultural remains would be damaged by forestry operations. The most serious damage is caused by driving over remains during soil scarification and final harvesting operations. In 2018, the total rate of damage was 10.7%, of which 4.8% was caused by site preparation operations. In 2017, the corresponding figures were 23% and 10%, respectively. Click Read More below for additional detail.

DS Smith, the leading provider of sustainable packaging solutions, and energy provider E.ON have today announced the signing of a major agreement to construct a state-of-the-art combined heat and power (CHP) facility at Kemsley Paper Mill in Kent. The facility will replace the existing CHP and extend E.ON’s partnership at the site with DS Smith for the next 20 years. The facility has been specifically designed to set the standards in efficiency, sustainability and reliability. The new plant will enable a carbon reduction of 36,000 tonnes per year. This is the equivalent of 30,000 medium-sized cars driving over 6000 miles1 a year. Once complete, it will have an electrical capacity of c75MW, generating steam and power for DS Smith’s production processes at its flagship Kemsley Mill site. Click Read More below for additional detail.

On 14th of March, Mondi confirmed its four ambitious commitments as part of its efforts to eliminate plastics waste and thereby contribute to a better world. Mondi first started collaborating with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2017, and joined the New Plastics Economy initiative in 2018 to work towards eliminating plastic pollution and creating 100% reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging by 2025. Peter Oswald, said: “We believe all packaging must be ‘fit for purpose’: paper where possible, plastic when useful. Paper is the packaging material of choice as it is naturally compostable and a renewable resource, not just recyclable. Mondi, as the world’s leading producer of kraft paper and paper bags, has many innovative solutions to reduce plastic waste." Click Read More below for additional detail.

Stora Enso has joined the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment to eliminate plastic waste and pollution at the source. The Global Commitment and its vision for a circular economy for plastic is led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in collaboration with UN Environment. For Stora Enso, signing the commitment is another step to combat the global problem of plastic pollution by providing renewable alternatives. Stora Enso will contribute by cooperating with customers and suppliers to develop circular and low carbon solutions to replace plastic packaging. The materials are based on wood fibres from sustainably managed forests and plantations. This commitment is an example of the increasing demand for alternatives to plastic, also demonstrated by the EU’s recent policy on single-use plastics. Click Read More below for additional detail.

UPM Raflatac is proud to announce the ambitious commitments it is making to reduce unnecessary plastic packaging as a signatory to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. UPM Raflatac is the only label supplier among the more than 350 organisations announcing commitments, which include many of the world's largest packaging producers, brands, retailers, recyclers, governments and NGOs. "As the world's most sustainable labeling company and a packaging solutions provider, we know collaboration for sustainability is critical. That is why we joined with other leaders in signing the Ellen MacArthur Foundation New Plastics Economy Global Commitment," says Robert Taylor, Sustainability Director, UPM Raflatac. "This is one of the most important steps we have taken as a company to develop more circular solutions for plastic packaging." Click Read More below for additional detail.

TC Transcontinental takes a bold step in becoming the first Canadian-based manufacturer to join the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. TC Transcontinental is pledging, by 2025, for 100% of its plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable and to achieve a 10% use of post-consumer recycled content on average by weight across all plastics in its product basket. Additionally, the Corporation commits to collaborating towards increasing reuse, recycling and composting rates for plastic in the communities where it operates. Ever since TC Transcontinental adopted its first environmental policy in 1993, the Corporation has demonstrated proven leadership in conducting its business responsibly. Throughout its transformation and steadfast growth in packaging, TC Transcontinental remains driven by its unwavering commitment towards sustainability. Click Read More below for additional detail.

SCS Global Services (SCS) is pleased to announce that it is now offering chain of custody certification to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Chain of Custody Standard. SFI is a leading, credible certification in North America for responsible forest products. This new service offering leverages SCS as a one-stop shop for the wood and paper industries, providing clients with increased efficiency for dual and triple chain of custody certification to the major three forest sustainability standards. SCS is also currently undergoing accreditation for, and will soon be offering certification services for SFI Forest Management and SFI Fiber Sourcing Standards. “SFI is pleased that SCS Global Services is now an accredited certification body that can deliver certification to the SFI Chain of Custody Standard. We appreciate SCS’ commitment to our efforts to promote the value of sustainably managed forests across the U.S. and Canada,” said Kathy Abusow, President and CEO of SFI. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Auditors from around Southeast Asia are invited to join our Chain of Custody auditor training session, with a special focus on the Due Diligence System (DDS) for sourcing from smallholders. The training takes place in Yangon, Myanmar, 2-3 May, with an optional field trip and demonstration audit on 4 May. Sign up now! The training costs USD350/person for all three days (including field trip). This includes lunch and training material. The training will be in English. You will receive a certificate of attendance after successful completion of the course. Register for the training! Registration deadline is 25 April 2019. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Those figures get worse for millennials – the demographic driving the boom in food delivery ­– with 66% of 18-24 year olds not realising that food packaging tainted with food or an excess of grease can’t be put into the recycling bin (against 34% who knew). Considering that Domino’s sold over half a million pizzas in just one night last December, that’s potentially a lot of cardboard that cannot be recycled. According to the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI), empty pizza boxes are fully recyclable, as long as there are no food residues. They add that if more than 50% of the packaging is heavily stained, it may be better suited for other options. Similarly, The Recycling Association say that official guidelines allows stained pizza boxes to be collected and recycled via the municipal waste stream, but food particles are not permissible. To help the problem, Deliveroo have produced 100,000 biodegradable greaseproof paper inserts for the pizza restaurants that use its service. These inserts will catch any food left from the pizza and prevent excess amounts of grease soaking into the base of the box. Click Read More below for additional detail.

The latest results from the off-road vehicle test carried out at Vuosaari Harbour, Helsinki, confirm that renewable UPM BioVerno diesel reduces tailpipe emissions. The test in the Vuosaari Harbour focused on measuring the tailpipe emissions of a Volvo wheel loader. Both the nitrogen oxide and particle emissions were around 10% less when compared to a fossil reference fuel. "The average load of the wheel loader during the test was low. Heavier load would have produced more particles, and there would probably have been greater reduction in particle emissions while using the renewable diesel," estimates Nils-Olof Nylund, Senior Advisor at VTT, the VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland. Click read more below for additional detail.

Last week, both Premier Stephen McNeil and Progressive Conservative leader Tim Houston had an opportunity to debate the future of the forestry sector. Lacking in the conversation was discussion regarding providing Northern Pulp with a short extension to complete its new wastewater treatment facility. “It needs to be said: without Northern Pulp there can be no plan B that does not include massive job losses,” states Jean Francois Guillot, Vice President Operations East with Paper Excellence Canada, owner of Northern Pulp. “The forestry sector’s future was discussed in the legislature last week, but no one discussed a short extension for our wastewater treatment facility.” “Without a short extension, we will be forced by the government to cease operating and that will cost jobs throughout rural Nova Scotia.” Northern Pulp’s new wastewater treatment facility will ensure no untreated wastewater ever leaves the site and will then continue our practice of releasing treated wastewater into the Northumberland Strait. Click read more below for additional detail.

With 26 power-generating dams over its length, the Wisconsin River lives up to its billing as one of America’s hardest working rivers. However, there is growing concern about algal growth — specifically green and blue-green algae — in Wisconsin’s waterways. Much of the algal growth is attributed to high nutrient levels in the water. The vast majority of these nutrients come from nonpoint sources, such as fertilizer runoff from agriculture and contamination from developed urban areas, that eventually reach the river. This is the opposite of a point source, such as our Nekoosa Mill, which returns effluent (or treated wastewater) into the river via a large pipe. While the regulatory path to control nonpoint sources is unclear, Wisconsin has strict regulations that apply to point sources. As concern over algal growth increases, the state has proposed a requirement for point sources to reduce phosphorous levels in effluent by 80 percent or more. That is where our ‘bugs’ come in. Click read more below for additional detail.

This spring, UPM will begin a transplantation project of rare and threatened wood-inhabiting fungi in co-operation with Natural Resources Institute Finland and the University of Helsinki. The aim of the project is to accelerate the reintroduction of species inhabiting deadwood to forests by planting these fungi to deadwood concentrations in the company forests. The project advances UPM's target to improve the biodiversity of the company forests in Finland. Increasing deadwood is a key method for achieving this target. "This is a completely new and a globally unique way to protect biodiversity", says Timo Lehesvirta, Sustainable Forestry Lead at UPM. Volume of decaying wood is the biggest difference affecting to forest species between sites reserved for wood production and natural forests. A quarter, i.e. approximately 5000, of forest species in Finland live on deadwood. Most of them are fungi and insect species. "The mycelia of fungi are grown in petri dishes. The mycelia are transplanted onto wooden pegs planted during the growing season to naturally developed deadwood and to deadwood made for the project", says Timo Lehesvirta. Click read more below for additional detail.

The boiler at the heart of Georgia‐Pacific's Broadway mill in Green Bay, Wisconsin, arrived by barge on the banks of the Fox River more than four years ago. Designed to replace the company's largest coal‐fired unit, the new natural‐gas boiler has dramatically reduced emissions from the manufacturing process, and the surrounding community and environment are seeing the benefits. Sulfur dioxide, or SO2, is a natural byproduct of burning coal, which was needed to produce energy in making everyday household products such as Angel Soft® tissue, Quilted Northern® tissue, and Sparkle® paper towels. Cross‐discipline teams from operations, engineering, environmental, safety, and procurement working together at GP facilities across the country have driven a collective 59 percent reduction in SO2 emissions (nearly 30,000 tons) over the last 5 years, with goals for more reductions. Click read more below for additional detail.

Was timber a key material in one of your construction projects? Did you choose wood for its many aesthetic, natural and architectural properties, or simply because it is the only renewable building material? If yes, you can enter your project for a World Architecture Festival prize! For the second time, PEFC is sponsoring the WAF Best Use of Certified Timber Prize, rewarding architects and project teams for their use of certified timber as a main construction material for buildings outstanding in sustainability, innovation, quality or aesthetics. “We sponsored the prize for the first time last year and were very pleased with the quality and diversity of the entries,” said Fabienne Sinclair, Head of Marketing at PEFC International. “We are excited to see what projects will be submitted this year.” Click read more below for additional detail.