International Paper gets $2.8 million to reduce carbon emissions (poststar.com)

The environmental rationale for protecting forests is well known. Lesser known, but equally significant, is the role of forest products. Forest products are key to a green economy, an economy that relies on sustainable materials with a minimal environmental footprint. Rovaniemi Action PlanThis is the spirit of the Rovaniemi Action Plan, a regional blueprint to support the contribution of the forest sector to the transition to a green economy. Approved in 2013, the Rovaniemi Action Plan remains the main framework to guide the transition to a green economy in the forest sector in the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) region. Click Read More below for additional information.

American Forest & Paper Association President and CEO Donna Harman has issued the following statement regarding the letter sent today to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency from 154 members of the U.S. House of Representatives supporting biomass as a sustainable energy source. “The paper and wood products manufacturing industry is the largest producer and user of bioenergy of any U.S. industrial sector. Our industry’s use of biomass residuals and commitments to forest planting and regrowth help to ensure that the nation’s forest stocks are stable and rising. The natural carbon cycle should be recognized in EPA policies. “This letter from House members joins support from Senators, scientists and agencies around the world in recognizing the carbon neutrality of biomass energy. AF&PA thanks Representatives Ribble, Bishop, Poliquin, Schrader, Harper and Graham for their leadership.”

Södra’s port in Mönsterås, Sweden, will become completely free from fossil fuels in October. All work vehicles and cranes at the port will begin using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) diesel – a completely fossil-free alternative to standard diesel, as the company says in the press release received by Lesprom Network. Södra’s port has four cranes and 16 work vehicles. Together, these handle about 3 million tonnes of freight each year. The freight is loaded for transport to Europe by land and sea and includes 430,000 tonnes of paper pulp and 170,000 cubic metres of sawn timber. This will now be carried out using only fossil-free HVO diesel. The switchover at the port began in the spring of 2017 and was completed at the end of September. The move is part of Södra’s sustainability targets that aim to achieve fossil-free production by 2020 and fossil-free transportation by 2030 – targets adopted in 2016 and assigned the same status as Södra’s financial targets. Click Read More below for additional information.