Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil delivered a decision that could define his time in office — his government won't amend the Boat Harbour Act, forcing the impending closure of Northern Pulp's effluent facility by the end of January. The move keeps a promise McNeil made to a First Nation almost five years ago. But forces the closure of Northern Pulp, the largest player in the province's forestry sector. Without being able to use Boat Harbour to treat its effluent, the Pictou County mill is unable to operate, and could kill as many as 2,700 forestry-related jobs.

“Congress should be applauded for continued recognition of the need to foster U.S. manufacturing growth through federal biomass policy that appropriately reflects the paper and wood product industry’s use of carbon-neutral biomass for energy production. Clear public policy on biomass carbon neutrality will level the playing field to help our manufacturers compete globally and support future economic growth and job creation. That’s a winning combination and action our industry has sought for more than nine years. Moreover, implementation of clear policy will support the use of carbon neutral biomass as a fuel source for our mills, which provides significant greenhouse gas reduction benefits to the environment.”

Zeus, the Irish-owned global packaging company has today launched the first nationwide infrastructure to recycle every type of paper coffee cup in Ireland as part of the Coffee Cup Recycling Scheme. Through an exclusive partnership in Ireland with DS Smith, the scheme will provide the long sought-after national recycling infrastructure to ensure the 200 million single-use coffee cups that are used and thrown away every year in Ireland1 do not end up in landfill. The AIL Group, the retail group behind Abrakebabra, the Bagel Factory and the O’Briens sandwich chain, has signed on as the first customer of the scheme. The coffee cup collection boxes will be rolled out to 80 O’Briens and Bagel Factory outlets nationwide from January 2020.

We’re highlighting just a few of the community investment projects accomplished by ECA teams in 2019 in our year-end review: •The Kingsport and newly established Ridgefields ECA teams volunteered more than 100 hours to construct the Castle Playground at Johnson Elementary School. •The Hawesville and newly established Owensboro ECA teams partnered with the Student Conservation Association to clean up Jeffreys Cliffs Conservation and Recreation Area. •Teams in Ashdown, Brownsville, Dryden, Fort Mill, Kamloops, Montreal, Nekoosa and Rothschild assembled 3,250 Comfort and Care Kits to donate to underserved families in our communities. Each kit contained two packs of Comfees® diapers and three board books. •Our Port Huron team initiated a core recycling program, diverting an estimated 25-plus tons of cardboard from the landfill.

Forests are at the heart of society’s action to combat climate change and its impacts. As carbon sinks, trees capture and store carbon, removing significant volumes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Forest products meanwhile, provide us with a carbon-neutral alternative to our reliance on fossil fuels. But to ensure that forests reach their full potential as a climate change solution, they must be managed sustainably. This is where PEFC certification comes in.

As we barrel through the festive season, brands are feverishly ramping up their marketing, using every channel to grab consumer attention and cash. But while many feel we have reached peak platform – the human mind unable to cope with more messages from more directions – there’s now another to add to the list: wrapping paper. It’s so simple it’s a wonder it’s not been done before. After all, the history of wrapping paper goes all the way back to the second century BC, when gifts in ancient China would be presented in ornate paper envelopes. But this year, a number of brands have spotted the potential of gift wrap as a marketing channel, as well as a tangible indicator of their sustainable values.

India generated 26,000 tonnes per day of plastic waste in 2017-18, of that only 60 per cent was recycled and the rest ended up as litter on roads, in landfills or streams. Single use plastic industry is close to Rs 80,000 crore right now and growing. Packaging accounts for a third of India's plastic consumption, and 70 per cent of plastic packaging is turned into waste in a short span. While uncollected plastic waste poses a huge threat to species on land and in water, single-use plastic bags and styrofoam containers can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, said the study released at the world's largest paper fair, PAPEREX organized by Hyve India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Hyve Group Plc, London, last week. Paper, on the other hand, is eco-friendly green product and bio-degradable, it said, adding it was a myth that the paper industries cut trees for production, and consumption of water and energy is high. Paper industry plants more trees than harvested and primary raw material are 100 per cent renewable like wood and agro-residues.

SCA has made 50,000 hectares of forest available here for the Forest Facts study. “Digital development is very important to SCA and to forest management in general and we believe it is important to be at the forefront of developments. It was therefore natural that we would provide land for this study. You can compare it with a digital test site,” says Ola Kårén, SCA’s head of forest management. Forest Facts is focusing on establishing new methods for measuring the forest. The main idea is to develop methods that use laser scanning, satellite images and data registered by harvesters.

KDC and Celadon noted that in North America e-commerce trends are driving higher OCC generation in the residential recycling stream. A technology company and investment firm say they will develop two North American facilities processing more than 800,000 tons per year of mixed paper and OCC into recycled pulp and paper. The project, led by investment firm Kamine Development Corporation Sustainable Infrastructure (KDC) in partnership with technology company Celadon, will kick off next year and will involve a total investment of $300 million.

“Paper and wood products manufacturers applaud EPA’s action that recognizes its ambient air policy must fit modern times and monitoring technology. This common-sense approach will allow the EPA to embrace realistic exposure scenarios to estimate the air quality impacts of projects aimed at modernizing U.S. manufacturing plants. Moreover, the new policy fulfills the twin purposes of the Clean Air Act to enhance the quality of our air and promote the productive capacity of the nation. As one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the nation, we have invested billions of dollars on environmental stewardship with significant air quality improvements. Our industry welcomes regulatory policy that supports its ability to apply sustainable business practices to help grow the economy and create American manufacturing jobs.”

M.Sc. (Tech.), MBA Riikka Joukio is appointed Metsä Group’s SVP, Climate and Circular Economy as of 5 December 2019. She reports to Jari Voutilainen, SVP, Corporate Affairs.In her new role, Joukio supports Metsä Group’s cooperation with key societal stakeholders and acts as the Group’s representative in climate change and circular economy related working groups and forums.

The SFI Small Lands Group Certification Module offers certification of a group of small family forest lands, under one certificate, that are supplying the SFI Program Participant that is certified to the SFI 2015-2019 Fiber Sourcing Standard. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), one of our PEFC members in North America, submitted the new SFI Small Lands Group Certification Module to PEFC in 2018. It achieved PEFC endorsement on 12 November 2019, following a vote by the PEFC General Assembly. The Small Lands Module takes the burden off the landowner, and instead places it on the organization that has a need for more certified forest content.

UPM joins 4evergreen which is a new initative by Cepi, the European association representing the paper industry, to boost the contribution of fibre-based packaging in a circular and sustainable economy. 4evergreen was created as a forum to engage and connect industry members from across the fibre-based packaging value chain, from paper and board producers to packaging converters, brand owners and retailers, technology and material suppliers, waste sorters and collectors. There is an increasing need for sustainable packaging solutions. UPM engages with customers constantly to develop new innovative solutions. “We welcome this initiative as it brings together the whole value chain and has the potential to provide strong facts in support of fibre-based packaging. We believe that we can speed up the development of improved, sustainable products and recycling solutions when we increase information sharing and collaboration between the packaging value chain members”, says Mikko Rissanen, Director, Business Intelligence and Development, UPM Specialty Papers.