PEFC is embarking on a four-year journey with the ASEAN Furniture Industry Council (AFIC) to improve sustainability outcomes throughout the furniture supply chain in the ASEAN region. As consumers worldwide demand sustainable products across a variety of fields, every industry must adapt to satisfy their requests. Furniture customers are no different, and sustainable furniture is a highly sought-after product. Furniture supply chain sustainability and responsible procurement are critical to make sure that we all benefit from the many products that forests provide now, while ensuring these forests will be around for generations to come. AFIC and PEFC are therefore starting on a strategic four-year sustainability roadmap to promote furniture supply chain sustainability and responsible procurement.

Trees and wood fiber are more than just the renewable natural resources from which we make our everyday products. They serve as an important source of renewable energy. In 2020, 73 percent of the energy for our pulp and paper mills came from renewable sources. This is better than the industry average of about 65 percent, according to the American Forest and Paper Association. Our mills also generated the equivalent of 71 percent of their electricity needs, reducing their dependence on the grid. This renewable energy comes from biomass — byproducts from our manufacturing process, such as black liquor, bark and wood residues. Unlike coal or other fossil fuels, energy captured from biomass results in net zero emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the long term. Biomass (wood, wood waste and biofuels) is the United States’ largest source of domestic renewable energy, supplying more energy than wind and solar combined.

Mondi Group and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), announce a three-year partnership to identify science-based viable responses to climate-related threats to forests and forest-based industries. This partnership comes at a crucial time when drought, extreme weather events and outbreaks of forest pests and diseases are causing severe damage to forests in many parts of the world. Joining forces to mitigate the impact of climate change is vital for people’s wellbeing, biodiversity, the economy and the forest industry, in particular.

Two Sides, are excited to announce its newest member, Pepper Communications Ltd. The planet positive marketing communications company that holds the environment at the heart of its operations. Pepper’s bespoke climate friendly production facility offers a complete end-to-end print solution to help solve clients’ direct mail challenges through bespoke campaigns and designs. The quality of their facilities enables them to offer a complete service from design and pre-press through to delivery and fulfilment. Their success is not only due to their quality of work; it is down to the passion from the team of craftsmen onboard and the way they treat their clients and the environment. “At Pepper, we don’t settle for a job well done, we strive for the ‘WOW’ factor. We ensure quality and speed to market, whilst ensuring our impact on the environment is climate positive always.” says Jake Whitford, Operations Director at Pepper Communications.

Sonoco announced new commitments to advance its environmental progress by setting ambitious goals to reduce its global greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement – to limit global temperatures to warming to well-below 2° C above pre-industrial levels. These emission reduction targets have recently been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Sonoco has committed to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030 from a 2020 base year. The Company has also committed to reduce absolute scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions by 13.5 percent from a 2019 base year by working with its customer and suppliers to develop innovative packaging solutions that reduce packaging waste and improve recyclability. In addition, the Company is actively studying necessary operational changes, technology developments and market changes that would be required to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050.

Carbon sequestration efforts can help address climate change. Among the efforts championed by scientists and politicians, trees could be among the most significant. With more than a century of experience and expertise in sustainable forestry, we see the many environmental benefits of trees and responsibly managed forests. Our work with forest certification organizations and landowners has contributed to keeping the forests near our pulp and paper mills healthy and profitable. We source wood responsibly, with 41 percent of our wood deliveries in 2020 coming from third-party certified forests, and we are committed to keeping forests as forests by planting more trees to replace those that are used to produce paper and wood pulp.

Corporate giants are increasingly making ambitious climate policies, pledging to slash emissions and become more sustainable in the coming years. Companies from Google to Estée Lauder have made a pledge. These commitments create ripple effects throughout the supply chain, pushing other firms to become more sustainable themselves if they want to do business with the corporate giants. “It’s in [suppliers’] best interest to get on board with sustainability and show results,” Phil Riebel, the president of Sustainable Paper Group, tells NPTA’s Lauren Liacouras in the latest PaperChain Chat. Sustainable Paper Group has a tool that makes it easy for the paper industry to prioritize sustainability: the Environmental Paper Assessment Tool (EPAT). Riebel describes EPAT as a “sustainability scorecard for paper products and paper-based packaging.” EPAT uses more than 25 metrics to measure and examine the environmental footprint of different paper products. Watch the full interview on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btufIaIBZVs

Leading retailers H&M Group, Ingka Group (IKEA), Kingfisher plc and Walmart today launched a new climate change initiative – the Race to Zero Breakthroughs: Retail Campaign – in partnership with the COP26 High Level Climate Action Champions and supported by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Retailers have pledged their support to accelerate a movement in the retail industry to drive climate action and encourage other retailers to set out their plans to achieve 1.5 degree aligned carbon reduction targets. The retail sector faces unprecedented challenges due to climate change, which have only been accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The imperative to take action to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius has never been higher. Despite bold actions from some leading retail brands, a decarbonization pathway for the sector is notably absent, with only 5% of retail businesses – by total global industry revenues – having committed to taking action to limit global warming in accordance with the Paris Agreement goals.

Norske Skog has expanded its partnership with Ocean GeoLoop to support development, testing and commercialisation of their highly promising Carbon Capture, Storage and Utilisation (CCS/CCU) technologies. Through this partnership, Norske Skog aims to pursue the opportunity to become CO2 net negative, and to explore economically viable models for utilisation of biogenic CO2. “The green shift has been a key priority at Norske Skog for several years. In Norway in 2020, our fossil CO2 emissions were just above 15,000 tonnes out of Norway’s total of approximately 50 million tonnes. The reduction of fossil CO2 emissions has with significant success been incentivised by Governments and international organisations, but limited attention has been given to biogenic CO2 emissions. As Norske Skog is approaching zero fossil CO2 emissions in Norway, we will start to explore economically viable opportunities for utilisation of biogenic CO2.

Stakeholders from around the world are invited to give feedback on the revised Danish forest certification system. Deadline for comments is 2 September. Give your feedback now! PEFC Denmark revised the country’s national forest certification system following the entry into force of the revised 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. The Danish system was submitted to PEFC after being revised in line with PEFC requirements. The national system is now undergoing the PEFC assessment process, carried out by an independent PEFC Registered Assessor. It must pass this assessment to maintain its PEFC endorsement.

With pandemic lockdowns as a backdrop, banks, utilities, telecoms and other large service providers boosted their efforts to switch customers from paper to electronic communication over the last 15 months, and with those efforts came a new wave of misleading environmental claims about paper – greenwashing. The Two Sides Anti-Greenwashing Campaign mobilized to push back against this tide of new claims in January after a 10-month pandemic-related interruption, and wins have been steadily increasing. Thanks to this renewed effort, 14 companies have changed or removed misleading environmental claims related to print and paper so far this year, including large banks, utilities and notably, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whose communications reach 44 million Americans or 15% of the U.S. population. This is in addition to seven wins in 2020 on greenwashing cases that were already in progress.

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement in response to the Oregon Legislature passing the Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act (SB 582). “AF&PA looks forward to working with Oregon Governor Kate Brown and the Department of Environmental Quality DEQ to make sure that highly recycled materials, like paper, are not penalized or forced to subsidize plastic recycling. While well-intended, SB 582 has significant consequences for small businesses and manufacturers, including the paper and wood products industry, which employs more than 28,000 people in Oregon. “Oregon’s Plastic Pollution and Recycling Modernization Act may make sense for hazardous or hard-to-recycle materials. However, paper is a recycling success. Almost two-thirds of all paper was recycled last year, and for over a decade, paper recycling has met or exceeded 63 percent. AF&PA members have a demonstrated record making our products more sustainable and circular. We look forward to working on an implementation plan that recognizes the recycling and sustainability success of paper.”

The Fashion for Global Climate Action initiative calls on the fashion industry to acknowledge the contribution of the sector to climate change and our shared responsibility to strive towards climate neutrality for a safer planet. Through collective action and bold leadership, we have the power to make this fast and drastic transformation. By signing the Charter, PEFC demonstrates our commitment to playing our part to ensure the fashion sector is on the path to a low-carbon future. We express our intent to support implementation of the principles enshrined in the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action in accordance with our mandates and to work collaboratively with our peers and relevant stakeholders to develop, implement and enhance the climate action agenda in fashion.

As the world faces up to the climate emergency, urgent action is required if we are to reduce our individual and collective environmental impact. Packaging has an important role to play. The environmental impacts of plastic packaging are well known. 40% of plastic produced is for packaging, while plastic packaging accounts for 50% of plastic waste. Answers must be found to boost the production and use of sustainable packaging, with renewable and recyclable solutions increasingly in demand. A 2020 Two Sides Survey on European Packaging Preferences found that paperboard packaging is favoured by consumers as being better for the environment and considered easier to recycle and home compost. Increasing the use of sustainable, certified forest-based packaging has huge potential to not only help companies meet sustainability targets, but also have a positive impact on the world’s forests and the communities that depend upon them.

The Danish Forest Certification Scheme has been submitted to PEFC for assessment. The public consultation, which is your chance to give your feedback on this revised system, will run from 5 July to 2 September 2021. PEFC Denmark revised the country’s national forest certification system following the entry into force of the revised 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. To provide you with additional information about this revised national system, we are holding a webinar on 5 July, at 10:00 CEST. The webinar is free to attend, and everyone is welcome.

The Navigator Company is committed to sustainable development, environmental responsibility and a fair society. This is encapsulated into their marketing practices and they have chosen to partner with Love Paper to highlight and promote the sustainability of their practice and products. Love Paper, created by not-for-profit campaign Two Sides, is a global initiative aiming to improve consumer perceptions of the sustainability and attractiveness of print, paper, and paper packaging. There are many misconceptions relating to print, paper and paper-based packaging. *37% of European consumers believe that paper and paper packaging are bad for the environment. Whilst only 16% believe the paper recycling rate exceeds 60%, when in fact it’s 72%. – Cepi, 2019. (*Toluna/Two Sides, 2021.) Paper is based on wood, a natural and renewable material. As young trees grow they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. Furthermore, as a wood product, paper also continues to store carbon throughout its lifetime.

With pandemic lockdowns as a backdrop, banks, utilities, telecoms and other large service providers boosted their efforts to switch customers from paper to electronic communication over the last 15 months, and with those efforts came a new wave of misleading environmental claims about paper – greenwashing. The Two Sides Anti-Greenwashing Campaign mobilized to push back against this tide of new claims in January after a 10-month pandemic-related interruption, and wins have been steadily increasing. Thanks to this renewed effort, 14 companies have changed or removed misleading environmental claims related to print and paper so far this year, including large banks, utilities and notably, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, whose communications reach 44 million Americans or 15% of the U.S. population. This is in addition to seven wins in 2020 on greenwashing cases that were already in progress.

Packaging has a fundamental role in building sustainable, safe, and hygienic food systems globally. We believe that the value of packaging is more than its impact on the planet. But just as with all innovations, there are challenges to be dealt with. Water, a limited yet critical resource for both natural ecosystems and human survival, is becoming increasingly scarce. Our increasing use of this natural element, which ranges from personal consumption to agricultural and industrial applications, has led to global water demand increasing at twice the rate of population growth over the past 100 years.i Whilst climate change is an important driver of geographic water shortages across the globe, an expanding population and rapid economic development have a more immediate impact on current water levels globally. According to the EU’s Joint Research Center, approximately two-thirds of the world’s population – half of whom reside in India and China – experience severe water scarcity for at least one month per year. In Europe, more than 120 million citizens lack access to safe drinking water and half a billion people across the globe face critical shortages annually. In a study of 71 cities with more than 750,000 inhabitants, it is estimated that 35 per cent are vulnerable to water scarcity at present.ii

The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) President and CEO Heidi Brock issued the following statement in opposition to the Maine Legislature’s passage of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging (LD 1541): ”American Forest & Paper Association members have a measurable record of success in making paper and paper-based packaging more sustainable and circular through market-based approaches. Maine’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging ignores the fact that our industry has achieved a consistently high paper recycling rate. Last year, nearly two-thirds of all paper was recycled, and for over a decade, paper recycling has met or exceeded 63 percent. “We urge Governor Janet Mills to veto Maine LD 1541. The current bill has direct consequences for Maine’s businesses and manufacturers, including the forest products industry, which operates 35 facilities and employs more than 13,000 people in the Pine Tree State. This legislation does not recognize the material recovery and market development achievements of the paper industry, and it should be based on sound policy that benefits the environment, consumers and reflects best practices for doing business and creating jobs.”

Sappi is pleased to announce that it has joined the CBA, a new global movement which places Nature at the heart of the global circular bioeconomy. Commenting on the decision to join the CBA, Dr Tracy Wessels, General Manager Group Sustainability and R&D said: “Sappi’s purpose and vision aligns very closely with the CBA. We fully support the work of the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance in facilitating a science-informed dialogue and in demonstrating on the ground through targeted investments the potential of a Circular Bioeconomy in the global South.” The Circular Bioeconomy Alliance was established by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales under his Sustainable Markets Initiative in 2020. The Alliance aims to accelerate the transition to a circular bioeconomy that is climate neutral, inclusive and prospers in harmony with nature, by providing knowledge-informed support and a learning and networking platform. It connects the dots between investors, companies, local communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations to advance the circular bioeconomy – while also restoring biodiversity.

Intertape Polymer Group Inc. published its 2020 annual sustainability report, titled “Our Circular Economy”. The report provides an overview of the Company’s sustainability progress in 2020 and highlights future opportunities. The report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”): Core option, with details provided in the index section of the report. 2020 Results • Improved worker safety with a 1.9 total case incident rate2 (TCIR) and a 0.6 lost workday case incident rate2 (LWCIR) in 2020 • 21% of total IPG sales were C2C certified by the end of 2020 • 47% of the Company’s packaging products, by sales, were recyclable, reusable or compostable by the end of 2020 • 7.0% reduction in direct energy use in 2020 compared to 2019 • 7.2% reduction in energy intensity in 2020 compared to 2019 • 5.9% reduction in direct CO2 emissions in 2020 compared to 2019 • 2.8% reduction in carbon intensity in 2020 compared to 2019 • 6.4% reduction in water usage in 2020 compared to 2019

D.Sc. (Tech.), Maija Pohjakallio is appointed Metsä Group’s VP, Climate and Circular Economy as of 1 August 2021. She reports to Jari Voutilainen, SVP Corporate Affairs. In her new role, Pohjakallio 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. Pohjakallio joins Metsä Group from Sulapac, a developer of new types of fibre packaging materials, from the position of Sustainability Director. Prior to this, Pohjakallio has worked at VTT, the Chemical Industry Federation of Finland and Aalto University, amongst others.

For the first time, more than 100 businesses in the packaging value chain, together with more than 50 other organisations, publicly recognise that without Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging collection and recycling is unlikely to be meaningfully scaled and tens of millions of tonnes of packaging will continue to end up in the environment every year. For a circular economy, packaging that can’t be eliminated or reused must be collected, sorted and recycled or composted after use. But currently the economics do not stack up: collection, sorting and recycling or processing packaging costs more than the revenues made from selling the recycled materials. We need dedicated, ongoing and sufficient funding to make the economics of recycling work. This statement and the supporting position paper set out why mandatory, fee-based EPR is the only proven and likely way to provide this funding.

UPM Raflatac helped launch The U.S. Plastics Pact's “Roadmap to 2025,” an aggressive national strategy illustrating how the U.S. Pact, UPM Raflatac and fellow signatories, known as Activators, will achieve each of the U.S. Pact’s four 2025 targets through specific actions, responsibilities, and interim timeframes to realize a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025. Launched in August 2020, The U.S. Plastics Pact is a consortium led by The Recycling Partnership and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact network, which unites a holistic ecosystem of cross-industry stakeholders behind a common vision and national strategy to address plastic waste at its source by 2025. “It has been exciting to be part of the U.S. Plastics Pact since its inception and work with these incredible and passionate individuals. The launch of the Roadmap illustrates how far we have come in a very short time. We have set some ambitious goals and laid out the details of our execution plan in the Roadmap,” says Kyle Strenski, Business Director, HPC, Food and Beverage, at UPM Raflatac Americas

We are a proud partner of the World Rainforest Day initiative, organized by the Rainforest Partnership to celebrate World Rainforest Day. Taking place on 22 June, World Rainforest Day is a collaborative effort to raise awareness and encourage action to protect the world’s rainforests. Did you know that rainforests cover less than 3% of the Earth's area, but are essential to life on Earth?

According to McKinsey, the pandemic accelerated the shift to e-commerce by as much as ten years, completely altering consumer and industry trends in a matter of months. While a lot of businesses benefited from reaching new and larger audiences online, supply chains were left to figure out how to adapt based on increased consumer demand for packaging. Meanwhile, consumers have been increasingly paying closer attention to the sustainability practices of companies and brands. More than half of U.S. consumers are highly concerned about the environmental impact of packaging. Companies, then, are challenged to find cost-effective and sustainable packaging at speed and scale. But embracing sustainability in the supply chain isn’t as simple as switching out your current packaging for a perceived “eco-friendly” alternative. Before anything else, companies must define what sustainable means. Consider paper packaging — it’s commonly accepted as an environmentally friendlier option, but it requires access to forests. In this case, companies would be forced to weigh the benefits of paper packaging with limited supplies and the environmental costs of acquiring it. much more at source

Stakeholders from around the world are invited to give feedback on the revised American Tree Farm System (ATFS). Deadline for comments is 13 August. Give your feedback now! The ATFS was revised following the entry into force of the revised 2018 PEFC Sustainable Forest Management standard. The ATFS was submitted to PEFC after being revised in line with PEFC requirements. The national system is now undergoing the PEFC assessment process, carried out by an independent PEFC Registered Assessor. It must pass this assessment to maintain its PEFC endorsement. An important aspect of the assessment process is the public consultation. Over the sixty-day consultation, stakeholders from around the world can give their comments and provide feedback on any aspect of the system. The Registered Assessor will use the information received from this consultation in their assessment of the system.

Solopress retains a place at the forefront of print technology, with state-of-the-art software and infrastructure that allow the company to guarantee high quality print with fast turnarounds. It’s a formula that’s earned them over 23,000 five-star reviews on Trustpilot. “Now is the right time for Solopress to become members of Two Sides. Having recently introduced the Solopress Green range of carbon-offset products, we look forward to enhancing our position on sustainability yet further and promoting the wider sustainable attributes of print media,” says Simon Cooper, Managing Director at Solopress.

Lecta has published its new Responsible Purchasing of Wood and Forest-Based Products Policy, in keeping with the principles and criteria of its Integrated Management System that guides the company’s activity. With this document, Lecta strengthens its commitment and responsibility to communities and habitats where the company operates. Lecta is keenly aware of the critical role forests play for the planet and its inhabitants. Lecta also acknowledges that the wood used to manufacture all its products is a natural raw material that is both a great ally in preserving the environment as well as a source of income for many families and local communities. Wood is a renewable resource obtained from forests and forest plantations, and protecting these areas is vital for the carbon cycle. With this new policy, along with the PEFC™ and FSC® C011032 Chain of Custody forest certification systems that Lecta promotes and strictly adheres to, the company reaffirms its commitment to the purchase of responsibly managed wood and wood-based products. Lecta thereby contributes to better management of wooded areas used for forestry, environmental protection and the betterment of local communities.

A new sculpture to highlight the issue of electronic waste has been built in Cornwall in preparation for the G7 Summit, which will see 7 world leaders discuss big issues such as Covid recovery, climate change and trade. Sculptor Joe Rush, commissioned by the online tech retailer musicMagpie, created an impactful sculpture with hope of provoking a deeper discussion during the G7 meeting on the damage caused by the disposal of electronic waste. Named “Mount Recylemore”, the sculpture is made up entirely of electronic waste and depicts the seven leaders, from left to right, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and the U.S. President Joe Biden. Joe Rush explained to the BBC, that the location for his sculpture had to be highly-visible to the seven leaders during the summit and therefore chose to build the piece just across the water from the Carbis Bay Hotel, where the summit is due to take place. In an interview with the BBC, Joe Rush said “We have this looking at them and hopefully we’re going to prick their conscience and make them realise they’re all together in this waste business.” He further added that “The key message is ‘talk to each other’ and let’s sort this mess out”. When talking about the reusability and recyclability of electronics, he said ”It needs to be repairable or made to last longer because the stuff is going into landfill.”